Where the heck have I been?

I've been out of the blogging loop for several months, but not without good reason. Earlier in the year my family had some health problems, and while we've gotten past them, it took up a lot of my time.

Second, and this is good news, I got to welcome my son into the world on July 5.

Both Mom and baby are doing great.

Since I now have two children...

...finding time to paint miniatures is even harder to come by.

Coupled with that, most of my free time over the past several months has been spent writing. Last year I discovered that Black Library accepts open submissions for novels and short stories, but only during a window from May 1 to July 31. See their FAQ. Anyway, I've had a bunch of ideas about 40k stories (who hasn't?), and decided to give it a try. So I've submitted proposals for two novels and one short story. If one of them is accepted, I'll hear in the next two months. If not, I won't hear anything at all. I have few illusions that one of my submissions will be accepted, but the fastest way to get rejected is not to submit anything at all. So here's hoping that the powers that be at Black Library like what I wrote...

Perhaps during the waiting period I can get back into painting. Sitting idle while waiting would be a mistake... As for actually gaming and fighting any battles...that's even harder.

My usual gaming opponent and good friend of mine, Jack Badelaire, has also been busy this year writing as well. Although he's a fan of Black Library's novels, he's going independent. Jack is very much into post-modern pulp fiction--that is, men's action/adventure novels, running the gamut from WWII commando stories to 70s and 80s pulp thrillers (check out his blog for more details). He's recently published the first issue of an e-journal called Hatchet Force Journal, which includes many articles on the subject including an interview with a prominent author in the field. It's a mere $0.99, so check it out.

Jack's also working on a pair of novels--one is a modern revenge thriller, the second is the first in a series of WWII novels based on British Commando raids in Europe. Both of these should be released on Amazon.com in the next few months.

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Despite all these things taking up my time, I have a bunch of miniatures queued up on a shelf. Every time I walk past them I feel guilty. Sooner or later I'll find a few hours of free time, and I'll start painting. Someday I might even be able to get back into gaming...

Update

First I wanted to say thanks to suneokun over at Pathfinder for nominating my blog with the "Stylish Blog Award."

I apologize that I haven't been posted in a while--real life has taken over in a major way. Suffice it to say that my family has experienced some serious health problems over the past few months, and while everything is ok, the road to recovery can be a long one. As such I have had very little time to devote to the hobby recently.

Still, it is good to see that the blogosphere is moving along just fine, and when I've been able I've been reading the various blogs with interest. It's good to have a community of bloggers out there that are supportive of each other and our mutual interests.

It's been somewhat depressing to see that it's been well over a year now since I've been able to put up a battle report. I can't promise when the next one will go up, but it certainly isn't my intention to end my reporting now. But doing a report at this point is an ambitious undertaking, so I'll have to take what I can get and post what I can when I can. Until then, thanks for visiting.

Death Company Marine

Here's the first member of my Death Company, Brother Elemiah.

It's hard to tell, but I tried to give him a very angsty, sleepless complexion. The pale skin didn't come out quite as starkly pale as I planned. For his eyes I wanted to make them look bloodshot with dark circles under them, so after I painted most of the face, I gave both eye-sockets a wash of red gore, which I think came out good, but doesn't show up well in the photo.

I still need to flock his base, so that part's not quite done yet.

Generalship

I'm not a competitive player. That is to say, I don't play in tournaments and I don't pore obsessively over my army list and tweak it to get the most killing power out of it.

Whenever a new codex comes out, you hear the same complaints on the forums and some blogs, over and over again. Things like "codex creep", "OP" (over-powered), "nerfs", "buffs", etc. Whine whine whine. It's pathetic.

Some people may thrive on the whining. They live for it. Or perhaps I'm being too cynical and there are people who look at new challenges constructively and as an opportunity for growth. Yeah, right. The whiners are everywhere.

With such a wide diversity of 40k armies and their playstyles, it is a monumental, perhaps impossible task to make 40k into a truly balanced game. The only reason to even try to do this is to promote competitive play. Unbalanced armies/rules are probably the single most complained about facet of the game. This is a staple of the gaming industry in general, especially PC and console games. The most popular form of play (multiplayer or competitive play) is also the most complained about, for being unfair or unbalanced in some way.

Guess what? Life is unfair.

And that includes war.

History is replete with more wars and conflicts than bear mentioning. But one thing you'll never find is a war or a battle in which both sides were evenly matched. Always, always one side or the other will have an advantage in numbers, quality of troops, terrain, etc. But, notably, the side with the initial advantage is by no means the certain victor. In so many battles, a random event like the weather, hard fighting by the common soldier, or perhaps even good generalship can be the deciding factor.

No real world general ever gets to pick the composition of his force. He has to make do with what he has. That is a challenge in generalship. It may sound unfair to take your green army into battle against a better equipped foe twice your size, but then, that's what makes a general a military commander and not a wimpy tabletop gamer.

What gamers see when they look in the mirror.

The games I find more interesting are the ones in which things are deliberately stacked against one player, and seeing how he deals with it. When the going gets tough, a player can either suck it up and stick it out, or whine and complain. The former are the men, the latter are the boys. (or alternatively, the women and the girls)

Also, real world generals never have the whole picture.  Real world generals don't get to peek at the contents of the enemy's army list. They get intelligence reports, and those reports are usually incomplete or even flat out wrong.

Here's a idea for a different way to play the game.

You pick your general, since that's represents you on the battlefield. Your opponent does the same.

Get a GM for your game (The GM doesn't have to be a referee, but rather someone to help you prepare the battle).  Pick someone you and your opponent can agree on, someone with a modicum of intelligence, knowledge of military history, and preferably an imagination.  The GM comes up with a narrative/scenario, and makes the two army lists. There's no restriction on the size or composition of either army--the GM should just pick something that fits the narrative. Force Org charts and points values should be guidelines, not rules.

If you get the "weaker" army, don't complain. The GM is giving you a chance to shine. Instead of whining, you can thank the Blood God for giving you this opportunity to give him more skulls for his throne. Maybe if you win he'll make you a daemon prince. One can always hope.

Depending on the scenario the GM has devised, he may provide you with an intelligence report about the opposing army. The information should be vague, incomplete, and perhaps even wrong in the details.

The GM gives each army an objective, and depending on the scenario devised, this does not necessarily have to be revealed to the opposition.  The objectives need not be mutually exclusive.  (e.g., one side might be attempting to get the secret plans off the table, while the other side merely wants to kill the opposing general)

Let the battle begin!

If you're on the weaker side, blame the impossible odds you have to face.  And if you win, the reason is obviously your generalship so give yourself all the credit.  That's what real generals do!

Brazen Claws Command Group Part 3

The second member of my Brazen Claws Command Group is completed. He is the 4th Company Captain, the Master of the Fleet. His chest eagle and cloak are indicative of his company affiliation. I'm not too sure of his facial expression, however, as I think his eyes and eyebrows give him a look of uncertainty...almost fear. Oh well...