I have a large collection of WarMachine figures. I truly enjoy painting miniatures and I might just pick back up once my house is more unpacked. I recently asked for a critique on my painting ability and the scheme I picked, but realized I have so much undone it isn't funny. So maybe more critiques will come.
Here's the list of what I have:
Vlad
Sorscha
Devastator
Juggernaut
Destroyer
Assault Commandos
Doom Reavers
Man-O-War Shock Troopers
Man-O-War Demo Corps
Man-O-War Kovnik
Widowmakers
Iron Fang Pikemen
And Fluffy the War Dog
So now I have a good bit. I might actually be able to field an army if I ever decide to play... but I don't know about that yet. Some of them came with paint because I bought them used, and I can live with that. For the most part, they match what I already have going one. One or two squads will need to be repainted because they are very shiny silver rather than the grungy brass theme I'm doing.
And I am trying to keep to Khador, but I'm not really trying to PLAY. I am interesting in painting at this point. Why Red? I just like the way they RedMachine looks, and find it easy to paint. There's a lot of wide, open metal to put my brushes on, and that's just the way I like it until I get MUCH, MUCH better.
I'm ----- NO. GOOD. ---- at "fiddly bits".
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Sharing With Others
I'm helping a friend learn to blog; specifically regarding my favorite game I don't play, 40K.
I find that sharing my knowledge, experience, ideas and perspective with others is one of the many ways I can enrich my gaming life. Most of the time, I don't feel QUITE creative enough to do things completely on my own, so going in for the assist is effective and rewarding.
I'm excited to see how the project turns out, which I hope will be in just a few days.
I find that sharing my knowledge, experience, ideas and perspective with others is one of the many ways I can enrich my gaming life. Most of the time, I don't feel QUITE creative enough to do things completely on my own, so going in for the assist is effective and rewarding.
I'm excited to see how the project turns out, which I hope will be in just a few days.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Zombie Gamers Want Tacos, Not Brains
My regular WOD group heard a couple weeks ago that I was planning to move. I had scheduled today (Sunday) as my move day but they volunteered to help me instead of gaming on Saturday (yesterday). This group is pretty large, and then several others in my gaming circle decided to join in as well. I offered my husband's famous tacos as reward for the volunteers, and that got around. More people came to help; many having been lured by the promise of food.
I had 20 people show up to help me move.
The group of us arrived at my house in a convoy (10+ vehicles) and we began loading up. Just a few hours later, my stuff was at my new place.
I was one of the last to arrive at the new place, and it was later in the day (actually full dark out) and there was a large group of my friends waiting for me on my lawn. My son had coordinated all of them to zombie shuffle towards my vehicle, moaning
"Taaaaaaaaaacoooooooooooooooos"
I have not laughed that hard in a while.
The slavering horde was fed, and I am proud to know that many zombies.
I had 20 people show up to help me move.
The group of us arrived at my house in a convoy (10+ vehicles) and we began loading up. Just a few hours later, my stuff was at my new place.
I was one of the last to arrive at the new place, and it was later in the day (actually full dark out) and there was a large group of my friends waiting for me on my lawn. My son had coordinated all of them to zombie shuffle towards my vehicle, moaning
"Taaaaaaaaaacoooooooooooooooos"
I have not laughed that hard in a while.
The slavering horde was fed, and I am proud to know that many zombies.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Eile's latest find
Eile loves couture shoes. She's a true snob and looks for the best- Jimmy Choos, Prada, Blahnik, Ferragamo and of course, Christian Louboutin.
Here are her latest finds-simple, classic, elegant and very spendy. She's definitely going to have to do some hustling to pay them off!
Here are her latest finds-simple, classic, elegant and very spendy. She's definitely going to have to do some hustling to pay them off!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Vague idea
a CtL character concept:
Mannikin or Elemental with Communion- Paper. Incorporeal unless communing with specific element.
Envision a paper poltergeist- able to communicate via guestures, folding, shaping and application to other items. Depending on scenario, windows, paper and scrapbooks are also tools or contractual abilities. Scissors could be both a greatest ally or a demonic tormentor.
Just ruminating.
Mannikin or Elemental with Communion- Paper. Incorporeal unless communing with specific element.
Envision a paper poltergeist- able to communicate via guestures, folding, shaping and application to other items. Depending on scenario, windows, paper and scrapbooks are also tools or contractual abilities. Scissors could be both a greatest ally or a demonic tormentor.
Just ruminating.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Idea Generation
I have discovered that many RPG players that I know read or belong to an online message board dealing with the topic most near & dear to them.
It seems natural- like minded people sharing ideas and thoughts on a topic that is of interest to them. Most of the time, this communal sharing is a fun and exciting experience. There's usually a good spread of ability levels- total newbies post just as often as the guys discussing the esoteric offshoot ideas. Even when things go south, it's possible to learn something new and gain a new perspective on an idea or theme you've not seen previously.
I'm a huge World of Darkness fan, and have been since Mark and the gang first introduced Vampire. I loved the rich and detailed way they showed an idea that was both new and old at the same time. The group of friends I was hanging around with at the time already told stories and made them into games, but I know my group wasn't the norm.
A lot of old school guys did the same, but there was a group of folks out there that never ran anything but pre-writen adventures. This new concept was a huge leap in how games were thought about, and was the foundations for some great games to come.
So it should come as no surprise that I read the WOD boards very often. I check them out for new ideas, different scenarios, character concepts, etc. It just so happens that no one else in my WOD group checks out the boards there. None of them had seen the pages of contracts based on Shakespeare, or the discussion of freeing slaves having a consequence of being charged for theft.
I steal ideas from the boards all the time. I might not use them the same way, and I may not even put the ideas into the game- but I steal things whole cloth from the WOD boards. I have a pretty good sense of how to make the ideas "mine"; but I sure didn't come up with them myself.
I know my husband takes ideas from outside sources very frequently also. He once based an entire run of a game off of lyrics of a song. He's not the only one. My son made a TV character into a villain in his game. I played in a "Miami Vice" RPG. One of my favorite movies is pure Shadowrun inspiration.
Every now and then I get asked; "Where did you get that idea?". I'm always honest- "I was inspired by" or "I saw this and adapted it" are pretty standard answers. But I love that I have a resource that is pretty untapped and ready to be perused any time I have a moment.
It seems natural- like minded people sharing ideas and thoughts on a topic that is of interest to them. Most of the time, this communal sharing is a fun and exciting experience. There's usually a good spread of ability levels- total newbies post just as often as the guys discussing the esoteric offshoot ideas. Even when things go south, it's possible to learn something new and gain a new perspective on an idea or theme you've not seen previously.
I'm a huge World of Darkness fan, and have been since Mark and the gang first introduced Vampire. I loved the rich and detailed way they showed an idea that was both new and old at the same time. The group of friends I was hanging around with at the time already told stories and made them into games, but I know my group wasn't the norm.
A lot of old school guys did the same, but there was a group of folks out there that never ran anything but pre-writen adventures. This new concept was a huge leap in how games were thought about, and was the foundations for some great games to come.
So it should come as no surprise that I read the WOD boards very often. I check them out for new ideas, different scenarios, character concepts, etc. It just so happens that no one else in my WOD group checks out the boards there. None of them had seen the pages of contracts based on Shakespeare, or the discussion of freeing slaves having a consequence of being charged for theft.
I steal ideas from the boards all the time. I might not use them the same way, and I may not even put the ideas into the game- but I steal things whole cloth from the WOD boards. I have a pretty good sense of how to make the ideas "mine"; but I sure didn't come up with them myself.
I know my husband takes ideas from outside sources very frequently also. He once based an entire run of a game off of lyrics of a song. He's not the only one. My son made a TV character into a villain in his game. I played in a "Miami Vice" RPG. One of my favorite movies is pure Shadowrun inspiration.
Every now and then I get asked; "Where did you get that idea?". I'm always honest- "I was inspired by" or "I saw this and adapted it" are pretty standard answers. But I love that I have a resource that is pretty untapped and ready to be perused any time I have a moment.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Game Breakers
One of the guys that hangs out at my FLGS is pretty well known for finding ways to legally "break" any game he is playing.
A recent case in point involved the following: During a planned, published adventure, buying an ox from the supply table, killing/sacrificing it, and then re-animating it so as to have a Zombie Ox for use in combat. (And rendered the fighter of the party useless in the works.)
His alignment and diety situations were such that this was all totally legal and in no way affected his moral standing nor his ability to gain XP for the adventure.
He liked the idea so much that he did it again in another adventure in the same system (because you don't keep equipment from session to session in the organized play league).
He also formerly ran a droid in one of the Star Wars games where he bought skill chips for any possible scenario, and left all the other PCs twiddling their thumbs.
Sometimes this type of behavior is funny- and the group loves it. Other times it is truly annoying and makes playing NO FUN. Most of the time, it's the response of the GM that bothers me.
The mentality of "well, it's legal so I must allow it" really aggravates me. I like games where GMs and players work together to make things fun, and I don't mind an occasional "here's why I think this might be appropriate" kind of good natured arguement. But when it comes to rules, whether something is allowed, or making the game a sham of what it should be, I'm firmly in the "I'm the GM and I say NO" camp.
Some folks are not good at saying no to other people. Others are so intent on "let's have a good time" that refusing something that is legal (but potentially game breaking) is out of their mindset.
I played with a guy recently who was unintentionally coming close to breaking the game we were in. He kept trying to use OOC knowledge in character and kept justifying it off through very shaky reasoning. The GM in question called him on it several times in very subtle (but effective) ways. The player continued in some of this behavior by asking questions that he really should not have been asking to another player in the game. The other player was doing a pretty good job of avoiding the questions, but my character found the whole thing creepy and told off the offending character.
I knew this player would be a little problematic. He's young and just learning the social aspects of gaming, and still hasn't outgrown the "look what I can do" mentality. He really has not had a lot of opportunity to roleplay (most of his experience has been in miniatures) and so many of the lines between personal knowledge and character knowledge have yet to be drawn. Despite all this, he's a good and willing kid, and I don't mind helping him learn - other people helped me learn when I was in his position.
The difference between these examples, I think, is intent. The first guy INTENDS to to find ways to break the system- and in many cases, takes pleasure in it. The second guy doesn't know better.
There's also a difference in response- the first guy has gotten away with quite a bit because of GMs who don't want to say no, or feel they can't. The second guy has a GM who is not afraid to tell him "stop doing that; it's annoying".
I actively look for GMs that will say no, and avoid the known game breakers as often as possible.
A recent case in point involved the following: During a planned, published adventure, buying an ox from the supply table, killing/sacrificing it, and then re-animating it so as to have a Zombie Ox for use in combat. (And rendered the fighter of the party useless in the works.)
His alignment and diety situations were such that this was all totally legal and in no way affected his moral standing nor his ability to gain XP for the adventure.
He liked the idea so much that he did it again in another adventure in the same system (because you don't keep equipment from session to session in the organized play league).
He also formerly ran a droid in one of the Star Wars games where he bought skill chips for any possible scenario, and left all the other PCs twiddling their thumbs.
Sometimes this type of behavior is funny- and the group loves it. Other times it is truly annoying and makes playing NO FUN. Most of the time, it's the response of the GM that bothers me.
The mentality of "well, it's legal so I must allow it" really aggravates me. I like games where GMs and players work together to make things fun, and I don't mind an occasional "here's why I think this might be appropriate" kind of good natured arguement. But when it comes to rules, whether something is allowed, or making the game a sham of what it should be, I'm firmly in the "I'm the GM and I say NO" camp.
Some folks are not good at saying no to other people. Others are so intent on "let's have a good time" that refusing something that is legal (but potentially game breaking) is out of their mindset.
I played with a guy recently who was unintentionally coming close to breaking the game we were in. He kept trying to use OOC knowledge in character and kept justifying it off through very shaky reasoning. The GM in question called him on it several times in very subtle (but effective) ways. The player continued in some of this behavior by asking questions that he really should not have been asking to another player in the game. The other player was doing a pretty good job of avoiding the questions, but my character found the whole thing creepy and told off the offending character.
I knew this player would be a little problematic. He's young and just learning the social aspects of gaming, and still hasn't outgrown the "look what I can do" mentality. He really has not had a lot of opportunity to roleplay (most of his experience has been in miniatures) and so many of the lines between personal knowledge and character knowledge have yet to be drawn. Despite all this, he's a good and willing kid, and I don't mind helping him learn - other people helped me learn when I was in his position.
The difference between these examples, I think, is intent. The first guy INTENDS to to find ways to break the system- and in many cases, takes pleasure in it. The second guy doesn't know better.
There's also a difference in response- the first guy has gotten away with quite a bit because of GMs who don't want to say no, or feel they can't. The second guy has a GM who is not afraid to tell him "stop doing that; it's annoying".
I actively look for GMs that will say no, and avoid the known game breakers as often as possible.
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