So, I might be somewhat late with the news here, but apparently Games Workshop has decided to stop producing its Specialist Range figures - those old classics like Blood Bowl, Necromunda, and Inquisitor.
While this has been confirmed through several sources (including GW's Customer Support line), GW haven't put it up on their website as of yet, attempting to simply let the figures run out of stock and not replace them. Even Forge World is getting in on the act - they will no longer produce any of their specialist games (like Aeronautica Imperialis).
This is something of a blow to those gamers who enjoy the less "cut and dry" nature of these models - the Specialist Games models had some of the coolest sculpting work done at GW, and had a retro charm that modern models just seem to be missing. For those looking to add a little something different to their armies, or even to play these specialist games, many will be forced to take their custom elsewhere, or to use models from another range that may not fit particularly well.
Well, it's their bed, so they can lie in it. I am sure they don't make that much money from the SG stuff (even when they are stupidly overpriced, even by GW standards), but it's going to lose them a fair amount of business (or at least, a goodly amount of respect amongst certain circles). My advice would be to get yourself over to the Specialist Games Website and download everything you can for free - while you still can.
Showing posts with label Not Awesome. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Not Awesome. Show all posts
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Friday, 29 March 2013
Dear God, MORE DELAYS
Once again, family, illness and work have kept me away from my 4th most important thing - this blog!
Fingers crossed, I should be back up and running in the next few days, and I'll be working on an actual, honest to God buffer, so these delays are less frequent.
As with all my delay posts, here's the plans to garner some excitement:
Fingers crossed, I should be back up and running in the next few days, and I'll be working on an actual, honest to God buffer, so these delays are less frequent.
As with all my delay posts, here's the plans to garner some excitement:
- Finishing my Let's Read of the Book of Erotic Fantasy
- Getting up some playtest stuff for the Generic Fantasy Skirmish Game
- A new setting I've been cooking up, along with some thoughts on what system to run it in (and resources for doing so)
- A few new reviews (of old stuff I own)
- Some new reports from the Glorious Lord Admiral Black, as she scours the 41st Millennium for MORE CASH MONEY
- And some other stuff!
Friday, 15 March 2013
Let's Read: The Book of Erotic Fantasy: Chapter 1, Part 2
So, today, we get on to Sex and Alignment.
I've said before, I don't like the D&D alignment system (and I know that's a feeling shared by many, many gamers). It's one of those legacy mechanics that went from representing a cosmos-level struggle (similar to the Moorcockian Cycles), to becoming the famous 9-point chart that people argue about daily on the Internet...
Now, The Book of Erotic Fantasy starts to provide its take on these issues, with regards sex. If you thought that alignment was a straightjacket to your moral behaviour, just you wait until you see what it does to your bedroom behaviour. And if it involves straightjackets, you're probably Lawful Evil. Just saying.
So, to start - Lawful Good. It's all sex in the missionary position, with the light off, through a hole cut in the sheets, purely for the purpose of procreation, right? Wrong. LG is more about thoughtfulness, looking ahead, and being respectful of your partner and their wishes. It also states that an LG relationship does not mean monogamous - sex outside the pairing is accepted, so long as all of the involved parties are aware what's happening, and are alright with it. If it's the wanton slaking of lust, not so much - there's no thought put into it. But you can be polyamourous and Lawful Good, which is nice.
We get a stat-block to represent such a character - Valeria, a Paladin with the Perform (Sexual Techniques) skill and the Sexual Training feat (more on those later, I assume...). This is also the first mention of the App stat (which I assume to mean Appearance) - how this ties in to skills (like, does it replace Charisma for certain skills? Or maybe there's a synergy bonus to those skills?) hasn't come up yet, but I am interested in finding out. She also has a few new spells and items, but nothing of any great note (although I want to place my bet that the (Potion of) Peacock's Beauty is the version of Owl's Wisdom, Cat's Grace etc. for the Appearance stat).
We also get what I assume to be some artwork for Valeria, which is a photo of a model wearing the most impractical leather armour/corset thing, in a wonderful shade of Scarlet Letter red. For some reason, it has little rings where her nipples would be... which strikes me as impractical, at best. Unless they're related to those Nipple Clamps of Exquisite Torture from the Book of Vile Darkness...
Lawful Neutral - the alignment of tradition, strong taboos, arranged marriages... the sexuality of those who are concerned about doing things "the right way", with a similar great deal of thought as LG characters. Very little room for flexibility, but seems the most likely to get themselves hitched "because it's the right thing to do", rather than out of love (or lust). Fairly meh.
Lawful Evil - Order and Power are our inspirational words here - LE uses sex as a weapon, seducing and dominating those lower in standing, and submitting to those in charge. They are "most definitely evil, but they play by the rules". And yes, the wording is specifically charged with such BDSM-imagery. Our photoart now shows a young, thin man, wearing leather shackles which bind his wrists together, and chains leading from them to his nipples. He's holding a candle in his cupped hands, and is staring at it with the most gormless look I've ever seen.
I find the implications that Lawful Evil = BDSM a little... worrying. I mean, when the game goes out of its way to ensure that BDSM isn't automatically evil, but makes the reverse true, that's either sloppy writing or double-standard up the wazoo. Once again, time will tell.
Notably, the text-blurb for LE is the longest so far, and explains why that picture of the little pigeon-chested fella holding a candle is there. Someone spent a while crafting that little narritive...
Neutral Good - focus on pleasuring their partners, and simply want them "leave their partner happier for being with them". NG's exemplar character is Chevel, a Bard (who I can see getting a lot out of this book). She has Perform (Burlesque), and a few new spells as well (depilatory and grope as cantrips, block the seed and vision of exquisite pleasure at 1st-level, and touch me not and limited telepathy at 2nd-level). While the rest I can vaguely guess about, I am assuming that vision of exquisite pleasure is a first-level save-or-suck (*snicker*) spell, which have historically been one of the problems with 3.5.
True Neutral - as with most edition of D&D, this book seems to struggle when it comes to defining the Neutral Neutral crew. Their description basically states that they do what they want - they might be chaste, celibate, slutty, faithful, cheaters - whatever works for them. Dull, and pretty pointless - much like the True Neutral nearly everywhere else.
Neutral Evil - self-centered schemers, who will do whatever they feel they can get away with. They control, abuse, and prostitute others for their own gain. Their relationships tend to be "emotionally painful, often filled with trickery and deceit".
Chaotic Good - "if it feels right, do it" is the slogan here - CG characters value their individuality, and shrug off the taboos of their society, hoping to convince others to do the same with some righteous dickings. They want to ensure that their partners feel better for having been with them - whether that means freeing them from the constraints of their culture, or just leaving them with more confidence, they're the Robin Hood of bedroom antics.
Chaotic Neutral - it's the DM's least favourite alignment, the good old could-kiss-your-mother, could-punch-your-baby Asshole Random. CN characters care about themselves in relationships, leaving "a trail of emotional wreckage and heartache" behind them. They pride themselves on individuality, breaking taboos for the sake of it, and really playing up that "actions first, think later" mentality.
For bonus points, there is some more photoart here - of some woman with her boobs out. Now, I do love boobs, but that's not why this entertains me - the model featured is the spitting image of the ex of one of my old players/GMs - who was a fucking nutbar. Ah, good times...
Also, there are little blurbs of text which allegedly "demonstrate" behaviour typical of each alignment, but none have been noteworthy... until this little gem:
"Ooh, I have need of your nice, strong sword," she cooed. She used her left hand to draw up her skirts, exposing a bare expanse of thigh. "Come here and explore my deep, dark cave".
Did... did she just compare her vagina to a dungeon crawl? Watch out you don't catch ear-seekers or some shit.
Chaotic Evil -abusers, pure and simple. They seek to destroy, hurt, and torture people at the best of times, and are associated with acts such as "rape, mutilation, bestiality, and the abuse of helpless creatures". The authors also point out that they aren't going to mention anything more about these subjects, bar mentioning them. That's nice.
Join me tomorrow for Sex and The Species, where we learn about randy half-orcs, awkward half-elves, and of course, Gnomish sex toys.
Sigh.
I've said before, I don't like the D&D alignment system (and I know that's a feeling shared by many, many gamers). It's one of those legacy mechanics that went from representing a cosmos-level struggle (similar to the Moorcockian Cycles), to becoming the famous 9-point chart that people argue about daily on the Internet...
 |
| Yeah... it's something like that |
So, to start - Lawful Good. It's all sex in the missionary position, with the light off, through a hole cut in the sheets, purely for the purpose of procreation, right? Wrong. LG is more about thoughtfulness, looking ahead, and being respectful of your partner and their wishes. It also states that an LG relationship does not mean monogamous - sex outside the pairing is accepted, so long as all of the involved parties are aware what's happening, and are alright with it. If it's the wanton slaking of lust, not so much - there's no thought put into it. But you can be polyamourous and Lawful Good, which is nice.
We get a stat-block to represent such a character - Valeria, a Paladin with the Perform (Sexual Techniques) skill and the Sexual Training feat (more on those later, I assume...). This is also the first mention of the App stat (which I assume to mean Appearance) - how this ties in to skills (like, does it replace Charisma for certain skills? Or maybe there's a synergy bonus to those skills?) hasn't come up yet, but I am interested in finding out. She also has a few new spells and items, but nothing of any great note (although I want to place my bet that the (Potion of) Peacock's Beauty is the version of Owl's Wisdom, Cat's Grace etc. for the Appearance stat).
We also get what I assume to be some artwork for Valeria, which is a photo of a model wearing the most impractical leather armour/corset thing, in a wonderful shade of Scarlet Letter red. For some reason, it has little rings where her nipples would be... which strikes me as impractical, at best. Unless they're related to those Nipple Clamps of Exquisite Torture from the Book of Vile Darkness...
Lawful Neutral - the alignment of tradition, strong taboos, arranged marriages... the sexuality of those who are concerned about doing things "the right way", with a similar great deal of thought as LG characters. Very little room for flexibility, but seems the most likely to get themselves hitched "because it's the right thing to do", rather than out of love (or lust). Fairly meh.
Lawful Evil - Order and Power are our inspirational words here - LE uses sex as a weapon, seducing and dominating those lower in standing, and submitting to those in charge. They are "most definitely evil, but they play by the rules". And yes, the wording is specifically charged with such BDSM-imagery. Our photoart now shows a young, thin man, wearing leather shackles which bind his wrists together, and chains leading from them to his nipples. He's holding a candle in his cupped hands, and is staring at it with the most gormless look I've ever seen.
I find the implications that Lawful Evil = BDSM a little... worrying. I mean, when the game goes out of its way to ensure that BDSM isn't automatically evil, but makes the reverse true, that's either sloppy writing or double-standard up the wazoo. Once again, time will tell.
Notably, the text-blurb for LE is the longest so far, and explains why that picture of the little pigeon-chested fella holding a candle is there. Someone spent a while crafting that little narritive...
Neutral Good - focus on pleasuring their partners, and simply want them "leave their partner happier for being with them". NG's exemplar character is Chevel, a Bard (who I can see getting a lot out of this book). She has Perform (Burlesque), and a few new spells as well (depilatory and grope as cantrips, block the seed and vision of exquisite pleasure at 1st-level, and touch me not and limited telepathy at 2nd-level). While the rest I can vaguely guess about, I am assuming that vision of exquisite pleasure is a first-level save-or-suck (*snicker*) spell, which have historically been one of the problems with 3.5.
True Neutral - as with most edition of D&D, this book seems to struggle when it comes to defining the Neutral Neutral crew. Their description basically states that they do what they want - they might be chaste, celibate, slutty, faithful, cheaters - whatever works for them. Dull, and pretty pointless - much like the True Neutral nearly everywhere else.
Neutral Evil - self-centered schemers, who will do whatever they feel they can get away with. They control, abuse, and prostitute others for their own gain. Their relationships tend to be "emotionally painful, often filled with trickery and deceit".
Chaotic Good - "if it feels right, do it" is the slogan here - CG characters value their individuality, and shrug off the taboos of their society, hoping to convince others to do the same with some righteous dickings. They want to ensure that their partners feel better for having been with them - whether that means freeing them from the constraints of their culture, or just leaving them with more confidence, they're the Robin Hood of bedroom antics.
Chaotic Neutral - it's the DM's least favourite alignment, the good old could-kiss-your-mother, could-punch-your-baby Asshole Random. CN characters care about themselves in relationships, leaving "a trail of emotional wreckage and heartache" behind them. They pride themselves on individuality, breaking taboos for the sake of it, and really playing up that "actions first, think later" mentality.
For bonus points, there is some more photoart here - of some woman with her boobs out. Now, I do love boobs, but that's not why this entertains me - the model featured is the spitting image of the ex of one of my old players/GMs - who was a fucking nutbar. Ah, good times...
Also, there are little blurbs of text which allegedly "demonstrate" behaviour typical of each alignment, but none have been noteworthy... until this little gem:
"Ooh, I have need of your nice, strong sword," she cooed. She used her left hand to draw up her skirts, exposing a bare expanse of thigh. "Come here and explore my deep, dark cave".
Did... did she just compare her vagina to a dungeon crawl? Watch out you don't catch ear-seekers or some shit.
Chaotic Evil -abusers, pure and simple. They seek to destroy, hurt, and torture people at the best of times, and are associated with acts such as "rape, mutilation, bestiality, and the abuse of helpless creatures". The authors also point out that they aren't going to mention anything more about these subjects, bar mentioning them. That's nice.
Join me tomorrow for Sex and The Species, where we learn about randy half-orcs, awkward half-elves, and of course, Gnomish sex toys.
Sigh.
Monday, 4 March 2013
Let's Read: The Book of Erotic Fantasy
A little history lesson first - when Wizards of the Coast began using the Open Game Licence for their D&D products, they had a plan - they write the books, other companies write the adventures. This would save them time and effort, which could go into writing more splatbooks, and maximise profit - because, after all, everyone wanted the PHB and their own choice of splatbooks, but only some DMs used pre-written adventure models, and with the cost of artwork, printing maps and other bits, they cost a decent chunk of change to make. Plus, if you update the rules, you'll need to buy the new ones (supposedly), but adventures are fairly simple to convert - thus meaning less cash overall.
What was realised, however, was that these companies could really write anything under the OGL, so long as they gave credit. This led to some really cool settings, some unusual new options for classes and races (like Mongoose's Quintessential series), and awesome variant games (like Iron Heroes and the Conan D20 game) but also more than a few books which pushed the envelope of what D&D was really about. One of these was the Book of Erotic Fantasy, all about sex, sexuality, and seduction in your games.
To give you an idea of the quality of this book, WotC no longer have an OGL for 4e. This book was indirectly stated as one of the reasons why.
... what the fuck am I letting myself in for here?
I'll tackle each chapter as a separate post, to avoid massive walls of text, and I might split some into multiple parts. As I have time off work, and I've been bitten by something of an inspiration bug, I should manage a post every day (maybe every other day).
Wish me luck, people - *snaps rubber glove* I'm going in. Dry.
Continue To Part 1
Monday, 10 December 2012
RIP Sir Patrick Moore
It's been a tough year for astronomers (even amateur ones like myself), with the passing of two great heroes - Neil Armstrong, and now Sir Patrick Moore.
Moore got himself into astronomy at the age of 6 - he chanced upon a book about the solar system, and kick-started a life-long passion.
I used to present shows in the Glasgow Science Centre's Planetarium - and Moore was a massive influence on those shows. His jovial, excited manner about all aspects of the field was infectious - he knew that he wasn't just looking at pretty, twinkling lights, but at primal forces of nature - huge explosions, beyond all human scope, the building blocks of the entire universe (all matter, from the lowliest hydrogen atom to the most complicated elements, was at some point passed through a star; without them, complex life couldn't exist), givers of life and destroyers of worlds.
Fair enough, he was also a xenophobic, un-PC, crotchety old bastard (quoted as saying "the only good Kraut is a dead Kraut" not but a few years ago), but his work in the science of astronomy, and ensuring it was passed on the the masses (The Sky At Night ran for 55 years, and he only missed presenting one show, because he had food poisoning) was worth more than a few poorly-chosen world views.
One again this year, I'm going out to look at the stars. I hope you'll join me.
Moore got himself into astronomy at the age of 6 - he chanced upon a book about the solar system, and kick-started a life-long passion.
I used to present shows in the Glasgow Science Centre's Planetarium - and Moore was a massive influence on those shows. His jovial, excited manner about all aspects of the field was infectious - he knew that he wasn't just looking at pretty, twinkling lights, but at primal forces of nature - huge explosions, beyond all human scope, the building blocks of the entire universe (all matter, from the lowliest hydrogen atom to the most complicated elements, was at some point passed through a star; without them, complex life couldn't exist), givers of life and destroyers of worlds.
Fair enough, he was also a xenophobic, un-PC, crotchety old bastard (quoted as saying "the only good Kraut is a dead Kraut" not but a few years ago), but his work in the science of astronomy, and ensuring it was passed on the the masses (The Sky At Night ran for 55 years, and he only missed presenting one show, because he had food poisoning) was worth more than a few poorly-chosen world views.
One again this year, I'm going out to look at the stars. I hope you'll join me.
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
My Gaming Shelves...
Are surprisingly light due to the fact that I mostly use PDFs and borrow other people's books.
Disappointing, I know, but I will post my girlfriend's shelf this weekend.
You will marvel at it, in awe, and wonder how many books one needs to pretend to be a vampire.
Disappointing, I know, but I will post my girlfriend's shelf this weekend.
You will marvel at it, in awe, and wonder how many books one needs to pretend to be a vampire.
Monday, 12 November 2012
200th Post!
Well, I meant to get this up over the weekend, but due to an awesome time of noisy neighbours, unexpected guests, helping with moving, crippling migranes and the cat taking a massive adventure (hiding in the noisy neighbour's flat for 24 hours), I was a little busy.
So, another milestone achieved. I think I've got quite a bit of useful stuff up here, and I'm hoing to continue that for the next 200 posts.
The Dungeon Generation posts are coming along swimmingly, assuming I can find the time to get them finished up and posted.
The Unnamed Generic Fantasy Skirmish Game is still in the planning stages - I'm reading through both In The Emperor's Name and Mordheim for inspiration. I'm currently draftin rules for the following warbands/factions:
And, once again, thanks to everyone for following me for so long!
So, another milestone achieved. I think I've got quite a bit of useful stuff up here, and I'm hoing to continue that for the next 200 posts.
The Dungeon Generation posts are coming along swimmingly, assuming I can find the time to get them finished up and posted.
The Unnamed Generic Fantasy Skirmish Game is still in the planning stages - I'm reading through both In The Emperor's Name and Mordheim for inspiration. I'm currently draftin rules for the following warbands/factions:
- Dwarves - slow, tough, maybe with a bit of steam-punk machinery and rune magic
- Elves - quick, weak, powerful magic-users and stealth options
- Humans - the perfect average, but needs an extra "incentive"
- Orcs - tough, brutal, but shoddy equipment and not much magic
- Goblins - stealth and numbers are key!
- Hobgoblins - militaristic, coordinated, maybe an "elite" faction (i.e. models are better but more expensive, so fewer total models than average)
- Lizardmen - a mix of stealth and hard-hitting
And, once again, thanks to everyone for following me for so long!
Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Necromunda or Bust...
Well, mainly bust.
We never got around to the Necromunda game this weekend, due to fatigue, illness, and a fateful Saturday morning delivery from LoveFilm:
Skyrim.
I should settle my affairs now, to prevent the shame of dieing in front of the screen with no will ready...
We never got around to the Necromunda game this weekend, due to fatigue, illness, and a fateful Saturday morning delivery from LoveFilm:
Skyrim.
I should settle my affairs now, to prevent the shame of dieing in front of the screen with no will ready...
Thursday, 9 August 2012
Still Tech-Probleming... An Update
++Excerpt from the memoirs of Explorator-Magos "Harry" Plan++
The cogitator seems to be somewhat... off. I have consulted its Machine Spirit, and it reports that it is feeling fine, but its recent erratic behaviour is troubling. There is almost something of malice in its actions... of course, such personification of an un-sentient Machine Spirit is tantamount to tech-heresy, a crime which I must assure you I have no experience of.
Whatsoever.
At all.
My current options are to go through the rituals of the Standard Operation Procedure again, to perform the renowned "Hard Reset", or to cleanse the cogitator by way of the Omnissiah's Purifying Magnets and the Flames of Supreme-Magos Norton. All hard work, but rewarding in their own ways.
Such is the life of a humble servant of the Omnissiah.
Ave Machina.
++Thought For The Day: The difference between heresy and treachery is ignorance++
The cogitator seems to be somewhat... off. I have consulted its Machine Spirit, and it reports that it is feeling fine, but its recent erratic behaviour is troubling. There is almost something of malice in its actions... of course, such personification of an un-sentient Machine Spirit is tantamount to tech-heresy, a crime which I must assure you I have no experience of.
Whatsoever.
At all.
My current options are to go through the rituals of the Standard Operation Procedure again, to perform the renowned "Hard Reset", or to cleanse the cogitator by way of the Omnissiah's Purifying Magnets and the Flames of Supreme-Magos Norton. All hard work, but rewarding in their own ways.
Such is the life of a humble servant of the Omnissiah.
Ave Machina.
++Thought For The Day: The difference between heresy and treachery is ignorance++
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
Another Update: BLOODY TECHNOLOGY
So, the fight versus tech is not going well. Still no net access, aside from at work. My update schedule might be a little erratic over the next week or so, but stay tuned!
Friday, 3 August 2012
Tech Issues - Update
So, we have diagnosed the problem with my Notebook - the Conficker computer virus.
The patient is stable, and has been quarantined to the best of my ability.
In other words, the Internet capability of my Notebook has been shut off.
She's doing great. I'm sure she'll pull through, with a massive dose of antivirals, and the tender ministrations of the lady friend, who I am led to believe is some kind of magical wizard. Or, you know, does Computing an university.
Something like that.
Fingers crossed I should be back up and running by tomorrow.
The patient is stable, and has been quarantined to the best of my ability.
In other words, the Internet capability of my Notebook has been shut off.
She's doing great. I'm sure she'll pull through, with a massive dose of antivirals, and the tender ministrations of the lady friend, who I am led to believe is some kind of magical wizard. Or, you know, does Computing an university.
Something like that.
Fingers crossed I should be back up and running by tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)