The End of the World?

The Greater Demon Myand, kin to Kyros Fateweaver has activated an ancient doomsday reactor. It has been slowly counting down over the millennia. This doomsday reactor has possibility to destroy the entire universe.


The forces of evil want to see the galaxy burn! The forces of good want to burn the galaxy at their own leisure. Which side will you choose?

The local Gamesworkshop is putting on a little game in honor of the end of all things tomorrow. The humor of playing apocalypse on the apocalypse was too much for me to resist.

If we survive I will have Pictures by monday...

P.S. If you happen to be in the vicinity of lake crest village games workshop in sacramento, CA tomorrow swing on in. I'll be the one with the pith helmet!

Rogue Trader: first thoughts

A group of my friends and I started a Rogue Trader campagin this week. Our adventure (following the sample set out in the core rules) saw our traders set out from Port seeking a lost treasure ship and hot on the heels of a rival trader seeking the same prize. After a 3 day passage in the warp the ship came under attack by pirate raiders in a floating debris field and ultimately was rammed by the enemy. Our heros defeated the pirates but lost 7540 souls from amongst the crew.(nearly 30%)

All things said the game went very well, with a notable exception being the ship combat (most likely due to my unfamiliarity with the rules.) The books are full of details about the universe that the regular scope of warhammer 40k just can't handle. (imagine unique wargear on each of your guardsmen) these details really make the world pop and I would suggest taking a gander at some of the sourcebooks in the neverending attempt to write more fluff for our armies.

Stumper Muckstart: Ratling Sharpshooter

I was tinking it would be fun to update good ol' Stumper to better fit with the current edition. so here's a go at it.

Stumper Muckstart: 35pts Elite choice
WS  BS  S   T   W  I  A  Ld  Save
 2     4   2   2   1   5  1   6     5+

Type: Infantry

Wargear: Flak armour, Sniper rifle, close combat weapon
Special rules: Inflitrate, Stealth, Trick Shot, Killer shot, Sharpshooter.

Sharpshooter: Stumper may choose his targets in the same manner as a vindicare assassin.

Trick Shot: Stumper may fire d3 shots this turn. In addition each of these shots may be at a different target. Targets must be declared before rolling to hit.

Killer Shot: Instead of multiple shots, Stumper may instead fire a single shot with incredible accuracy. He may re-roll both to hit and to wound and his shot will Rend on a 5-6.

As always feedback is appreciated!

An Unexpected Journey

It's time to pull the hobbits off the shelf! Not the Tolkien variety, no I am talking about my favorite abhumans. Ratlings have been part of the guard since the first army book. (anyone remember stumper muckstarter?) since their inception these lil guys have been laying down the sniper fire. Their statline in the current codex doesn't seem impressive, (a fair number of characteristics being 2.) my thinking is that Ratlings are more than the sum of their parts and furthermore with the advent of secondary objectives the rats may have just found a niche.

That said here are few reasons that you should run Ratlings in your army.

Ratlings are point for point the cheapest sniper rifle on the board. Better shots than scouts and double the number of models of pathfinders for fewer points. You can take as few as three or as many as ten to an elite slot and with their sniper rifles you can pick out a unit champion or more importantly enemy characters. This can have a psychological effect on your enemy as they will be doubtlessly less than enthusiastic about their warlord or librarian drawing so much heat. This goes the same for monstrous creatures or emplaced guns. Wounding on a 4+ means these lil rats laugh at your high toughness.

A favorite tactic of mine is to run a three man (is halfling or hobbit more appropriate?) squad as line breakers. For thirty points I get a victory point with an easy to hide model and a fantastic cover save.

Unless I missed something shrouded and stealth stack meaning that long rang rats at night have 4+ cover in the open. Put em down in a building or a bastion tower and you have 2+ - 3+ cover. This should mitigate their lowered toughness to some degree.

The final note I have is character. Ratlings ooze character. Are they the company cooks? Happy go lucky snipers? Maybe the regiments amulets are running an after hour card game or operating a black market racket. Te options are many and varied. Ratlings have been present at some of the most important battles don't you think it's time to try out a few yourself.

One year down.

One year ago I posted my first post here. A simple bit of fluff and a silent attempt to motivate myself to finally paint my Praetorian army.  Sometimes the world has other plans and while I haven't painted as much as I'd have liked to, the year has been interesting all the same.

So as I set out on my secound year I just wanted to Thank those of you who have taken the time to read my posts. This hobby more than many others requires a community and for those of you who make up mine I am thankful.

Gloria Praetoria! Gloria Imperium!