[Review] Battle Scribe

Everyone who is in to gaming has a need for certain items, a very important item for us all is the army list.  Without it, our models are just a vague mass of points with vague options.  The traditional manner has always been on a bit of paper, either printed up nice and neatly or quickly scribbled on the back of a napkin. It took no time at all for people to start making programs to be used on computers for army lists.  My traditional manner has been to use excel all nice and neatly laid out with cells doing the calculations for totals, points remaining and on the fantasy side, percentages.

Review - Firedrake by Nick Kyme

It has been a while since I have had a new Black Library novel to read, but I knew that when I did get one I wanted Firedrake to be one of those I read.  After reading the first novel Salamander (review can be found here), I knew I had to read the next in the series. 

The review will be after the cut.

LOTR: Strategy Battle Game - Review

As you might know I have recently decided to pick up the LOTR:SBG and so this is my review of the game.  I will start off with my thoughts on the LOTR boxed set - "The Mines of Moria", and then move on to the rules of the game itself.  

 

Podcast review - Garagehammer, episode 8

This is the first time I listened to this podcast, but I have heard of them about.  And as luck would have it, this episode discusses my favourite Fantasy topic.. DWARFS!

Now, this podcast comes across to me as being a very laid back ship.  I didn't get the feeling that they were geared for tournament play like many of the other podcasts you can find on the net.  I think this is a great difference, I really liked how laid back they were.  For example when discussing their army lists, they didn't go for all the more powerful options but rather they sounded quite fluffy and fun.  I enjoyed the general discussion they had over their local gaming and stuff, and the "Phoenix Prince" section was an amusing and interesting touch.  One nice point I did enjoy, was that they avoided swearing or cursing.  I personally don't mind that much in general, but this makes it more family friendly and does just show that you don't need to swear all the time to have fun.  It makes a nice change.

I really enjoyed the very comprehensive discussion of the dwarf army book, by a rather experienced dwarf general.  There were some nice comments and ideas, a lot of which I am sure most dwarf players would agree with.  They spent a great deal of time on each army option, giving a good strong description of each option they have and explaining the units roles and rules.  I would say if someone is looking to get into a dwarf army, this section of the podcast is a great way to learn how they work. 

I really enjoyed the podcast, I am thinking of making this a regular feature for my painting times.  Go listen!  But be warned, their shows aren't short!

You can find them at: http://garagehammer.net/

Review - Salamander

This is a first book in the series labelled as "The Tome of Fire" written by Black Library author Nick Kyme (see his blog here).  As you might have gathered the novel follows the Salamander space marine chapter.  Or to be more specific it follows the 3rd Company of the Salamander's chapter.  There are a number of characters the novel follows, these being two sergeants of tactical squads - who bear a not so friendly rivalry - a librarian attached to the company, and the company's commander(s), along with other members of the chapter and company.. 

It begins with the death of the previous company's captain at the hands of an insidious, and mysterious traitor marines, the Dragon Warriors.  The company is then thrown into turmoil, with the selection of a new captain and are given a mission of utmost importance.  I will keep the spoilers to a minimum here, so I will not go into the rest of the story.  You'll have to read the novel, yourselves to find out what happens.

I will admit to being a bit biased towards Nick Kyme, I am an avid reader of his blog (though, he doesn't post as often) and love his previous novels.  That aside I thoroughly believe he has written a great novel.  The Salamanders are an unusual marine chapter, in their care for humanity, and this is something I think Nick got across in most of the main characters.  You truly feel at times that they genuinely care.  I found the momentum and the action to be well paced, especially as the action at times was split over a number of different characters - sometimes all in the same conflict.  Other novels I have read from Black Library have struggled sometimes, the characters seeming forced and quite cookie cutter.  Not so with the Salamander's Nick has brought to life.  Each one has their own curious personalities, and in some agendas.  All of which work alongside of each other to produce some well written characters.  I also enjoyed Nick's work on bringing out more detailed information on the inner workings of the Salamanders, their homeworld Nocturne and the 'Promethean Cult' they hold close.

I myself am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

Irregular Magazine - Review

 The magazine's layout is very well done.  The articles all have a consistent and well balanced layout, with the good use of images and text.  I found the pure black and white colours of text and page a bit boring but it works well enough, and perhaps other colours would distract from the content.  The images work well; all of them fit the text on the page and are formatted to be an accompaniment to the text.  Something they do very well.

The tutorials and painting articles are quite simple to follow and understand, along with good pictures for each step in the guides.  They make good reads and I believe most with a decent understanding of highlighting and shading can follow them to a decent degree.  There are a couple that are for the more advanced hobbyist - such as the casting article.  In the future I would like to see a better range of articles, going from some quite basic or beginner articles all the way to advanced/expert ones.  In addition to these articles there are some good gaming articles, a lot dealing with RPGs, something that seems to be a trend with the previous issues also.  Personally, I’d quite like to see more varied gaming articles, incorporating other gaming systems.

Overall, the magazine itself is pretty damn good.  I enjoy reading it and think its great to see a hobby heavy webzine being produced and look forward to more issues in the future.