"Greatest" Battle Report of 2018 voting

So over on the Oldhammer forum they are having a Greatest Battle Report of 2018 contest.

If I had paid attention I might have put up one of my reports for consideration, but I don't do forums very much anymore.

Anyway, here's a link to the nominees http://forum.oldhammer.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16396&p=95756&hilit=greatest+battle+report#p95756

Or you can go straight to the voting site. https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/JWMDTZS

I voted for The Siege of Graveskul, of course. There are other fine reports on there as well.

I will say that I think the report needs to be the total package. Good visual representation is at least as important as a good story, otherwise we could all just write fiction and save all the time and effort we spend on collecting and painting.

Stop playing with unpainted figures

Hi All,

No terrain this week, I've been too busy with various things and don't have any progress to show.

What I'd like to talk about today is the tendency of people to play with unpainted figures. What with the spate of pictures from Adepticon shown on various places on the internet I noticed a disturbing amount of unpainted figures and even unfinished or place holder terrain.

I'll just come out and say it, this is completely anathema to Oldhammer. Let me repeat. PLAYING OLDHAMMER WITH UNPAINTED FIGURES IS JUST FLAT OUT WRONG!

If you are just having a laugh with your mates, trying out a new rule system, taking a dive into a new genre then you have a little bit of leeway. Showing up to an event with unpainted stuff? Well that's just not cricket, as they say. The other problem with playing with unpainted models is that it is a slippery slope to playing with full on unpainted armies. Eventually you can get in a game without having to put in any effort at all. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but that is not what this hobby is about. I made a promise to myself when I went to my first Oldhammer event, and I have kept it ever since. I will never bring unpainted models to play with. Period.

But some people do, and the more you let them the more they do it. Or so it seems. So I would like to suggest that there be some penalty to plonking down that unpainted model or unit. Perhaps a stat penalty, some modifier penalties, or perhaps both?

To get the ball rolling, how about a simple d6 chart, roll for each unpainted unit, character, vehicle at the start of the game after deployment.

1. Poor Close Combat training -1 WS
2. Poor Firearms/Bow training -1 BS
3. Not enough PT, M is 1/2
4. Not committed to the cause, -1 Ld on rout test
5. Not the sharpest tool, subject to stupidity -1 Cl
6. Anger Issues, Subject to Animosity, -1 to Ld  bonus. If already have Animosity as a trait -2 to Ld bonus.

Agree, disagree? Can the table be better? Just spit balling here. The point is there should be some tangible price to pay if you can't be bothered to put any effort into actually painting your models.

The Ethos of Oldhammer

Hi All,

A discussion over on the Oldhammer in the New World Facebook group got me thinking again about what exactly Oldhammer is and why is there even an argument about it. Obviously there are many flavors of appreciation for the games and figures of the past, but let's revisit some commentary from the past on the subject.

Now the source for most is Zhu's Oldhammer Contract and I think it succinctly gets at what Oldhammer should be about. Let me pull some quotes from this that highlight what I feel Oldhammer is.

Games should have a referee

"In Oldhammer Fantasy Battle there is a person who is in charge of the game. It's their job to check your armies are correct and everyone plays fairly. It's the Referee's job to remind everyone to take a Fear test when appropriate, and make the decisions on rulings where you've probably been used to 'dicing off'. The Referee never take sides, is totally impartial and his decision is final."

"The referee will probably set up the scenario, placing terrain and describing what the objectives of each army are, sometimes in secret. Sometimes it's just to wipe each other out, and sometimes its to capture and hold a specific location, or sometimes more complex - not all sides will have the same objectives," ... "neither knows what each others objective is, but the Referee throws them into this situation and the inevitable chaos that will ensue." ... "non-player forces are controlled by the Referee, often a threat to both sides, and their actions changing the goals of the scenario as the narrative progresses."

So to summarize, it is Oldhammer to have a referee who helps players muddle through the rules and adds friction to the game by introducing hidden objectives and random elements. This can also be achieved by agreeable players who can dice for such things without the assistance of a ref.

Don't be a slave to Army lists or manufacturer

"Go and burn your Army Books, you don't need them any more. We're going back to basics."

He goes on to say that you should use the points as described in the rules book to construct your forces however you like and not be constrained to Warhammer Old World Fluff. I think in the Oldhammer in the New World we have fallen around the convention of using the Warhammer Armies book as a basis, but no one has been overly fussed about it.

"You can use Old School Fantasy Battle to recreate epic battles from fantasy films and novels, from Moorcock to Tolkien, you're not tied to one particular gaming world, and if you want to just grab whatever minis you have and have a bash, that's good too." ... "you're not limited to the miniatures of one manufacturer."

So it's stated right there. YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE FIGURES FROM CITADEL FROM 1986 - 1992! Or whatever the arbitrary "not Oldhammer anymore" designation is. It's not expressly about the figures. Sorry collectors. That being said, just posting random figures of any old description is probably just going to start a flame war. I'm guilty of doing it on occasion, but I try to say how I'm going to use it in a totally Oldhammer way.

Is there a point to points?

Zhu talks about this in sections #3 and #4.

"You do not need a 2000 point army to play the game properly." ... "Stop worrying about game balance" ... "As the Spartans will tell you, warfare has never been about perfectly matched armies squaring off at each other, and fantasy warfare even less so."

In the New World we have also established a convention of 1500pts for your army, but people always bring some cool and crazy stuff, so more often than not we just play with what people bring. Last year Tom Rabbits used 7 Giants in a battle against Airbornegrove's Chaos. It was epic. I am currently working on a Tzeentch force led by a Lord of Change as my general. Because why not? Oldhammer is not about being totally inflexible, it's about doing cool shit with cool models. Period!

And lastly

"Tournaments - Just Say "No"." ... "Oldhammer is not a sport. It's a game."

That being said, if tournaments really float your boat, go for it. You will get push back in an Oldhammer group though.

So I hope that clears it up a little. Oldhammer is pretty subjective, but you can't throw out every single aspect of the aforementioned contract and still call it Oldhammer.

Feel free to disagree. Honestly I'd like to hear how you Oldhammer. Maybe we should have a feature in the Zine along the lines of "Ask an Oldhammerer" of "Dear Oldhammy".

Rant Over.

What's wrong with The Oldhammer Cummunity and Oldhammer Trading Company on Facebook.

One man's opinion.

Hi All,

I've been a member of both of these communities for awhile now and have been increasingly annoyed by how things are handled in addition to an apparent lack of relevance to my hobby needs.

The Oldhammer Community, perhaps because of it's size, has become a major bitchfest. I've done my best to just ignore the posts I find irritating and focus on the aspects I like, but I'm beginning to feel like it's not worth it. Rules seem to be arbitrarily enforced and appear to be targeting U.S. members for harsh penalties for "infractions". If it really is just a club for people who live within driving distance of Nottingham, then just say so. I can get shitty, underexposed, blurry pictures of minis elsewhere on the internet. Also, if moderating the group just gets your knickers in a bunch, stop doing it.

The Oldhammer Trading Company also serves little to no purpose for me. Due to the time difference I miss many of the offers and International shipping being what it is the cost is becoming not worth it, if sellers even will ship overseas. Also people tend to constantly ask for ID's and valuation instead of apparently doing any research. So it has me asking, what value does this group offer me?

That being said, I am a member of several Facebook Oldhammer groups that I really enjoy.

Oldhammer in the New World

Citadel Fans

The Bazaar of Crooked Wonders

The Emporium of Rogue Dreams

Herohammer International

Da Oldhamma' Boyz

All places with no drama, clear and fair enforcement of rules and just zero asshattery.

I unfollowed The Oldhammer Trading Company yesterday, but I'm trying to decide if I should just completely quit both groups. The amount that they annoy me is far outweighing the positives.

I'm sure many will respond "don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out", and perhaps rightfully so. I just had to vent on this issue because it's been bothering me for awhile.

It is sooo on!

I've been working on lots of stuff, but nothing ready to share yet. Except for this.

Yesterday, after I got home from my martial arts stuff, my son told me that he didn't want to play with the neighbor kid across the street anymore.

They've had their ups and downs, but my son seemed to genuinely like the kid and want to play with him in general. So what was the difference? This kid, who is at most a year younger, has been teaming up with a girl who is almost 12 and going around with NERF guns. The pair of them seem to find it hilarious to shoot at my son. He has a NERF gun, that big revolver one, but can't find it right now.

When he told me of this I came up with a plan. I told him I was proud of him for not wanting to put up with jerks, and today I went out and bought him this.

It came with an 18 round magazine and can fire full auto. It's powered by 4 C size 1.5V batteries. I bought him a second clip and we may duct tape them together. The advertising says 75ft range, a youtube video demonstrated about 50ft.


We're going to work on getting comfortable with it and use it only if they want to "play" again. It's on now bitch!

Promoting Edwin's giveaway, with extra real life

I've been meaning to post for several days now but have really been dragging.

Check out the giveaway over at Thoughts of a Depressive Diplomatist here. He's got some quite excellent looking books up as prizes.

I'm still plugging away at my Romans and Egyptians for Talomir, you can read about the latest campaign update here. Because both Javier and I are players, who happen to live in separate countries, someone else will play out our battle. Honestly I think it is stupid for Tereken to goad Altengard like it is, but there are many forces driving us to war. I had hoped that Altengard would remain focused on the larger threat of Treyine, since they are now the largest empire.

I'll have some more progress shots in a day or so as I get caught back up. Of course since I had to dip into my box of Nubians to fill out the Stygustan archers I had to research how to paint African flesh and buy more paint. I'll share with you what I found.

In real life my training and body composition are going fairly well, but I over did it on Sunday with a run, heavy leg training and then two hours of San Soo practice. Today is the first day that my left leg didn't feel like it was going to fall off. I'm now third in the club and 69th company wide, so I'm making positive progress. ***Update on the numbers, 3rd and 69th were last week. After this weeks results I'm 1st in the club and 21st nationally. Yeah me.***

I had a minor incident yesterday on the way to pick my kids up from school. It was a half day and I was biking over there as usual. An SUV with an undetermined number of teens came up behind me and yelled out the window as they passed. Being the sort of gentleman I am I gave them the one finger salute. That prompted the one who had his head out the window to tell me how he was going to violate my mother. Well obviously this is something that demands an immediate response, and I assure you dear readers that I was not found wanting. I said something to the effect of  "Try it you little (rhymes with rock chucker)" and found myself hoping that they would get out of the car so I could beat the living shit out of the entire bunch of them. I assume there were at least three. The crossing guard and one of the mothers heard me, but felt I was justified. I'm glad there weren't any children around but honestly I would not have been able to respond differently even if there were.

Here's a little San Soo to help drive home the image.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsldwsyyfHQ

(youtube is being problematic and won't let me embed this video)

I'm also apparently having an issue saving my facebook photos so sharing those with you is proving problematic. Too bad, as I had a couple of good ones.

And finally I'd like to welcome Ray Hepburn. No blog listed in your profile. Please let me know if you have one.

And here is a quick picture for you:

One of those days

I'm just having one of those days today. For some reason little things are just setting me off.

A trip to the supermarket had me wanting to eviscerate other motorists both coming and going. Pulling all the way through the parking space from one lane over as I'm trying to get to it to park? Seeing me back out and not giving me room to turn in the direction I would like to go? Little annoyances to be sure, but it made me apoplectic.

I thought I'd paint, and may yet still, but I spent most of the day just being a grouch.

Then I decided to read up on my blog roll to help. And you know what? It did. Particularly this post by Justin over at the Royalist Roundhead. When I can snap out of it better I will likewise do a post on blogs that inspire me. I also need to go through and do a post on drumming up some followers for blogs that are great but don't have the followers to match their greatness. Similar to what James at Exiles Wargames Painters and Loki at Loki's Great Hall have done in turning me on to some great bloggers.

Welcome to Grigork of The Megalomniac, a quite nice looking blog with some good battle reports and excellent figures and terrain. And how can you go wrong with a cat on the games table?

Also Ray said he preferred female armor.

I suspected as much. ;)

And finally. I would still be playing D&D today if she was in my gaming group.

New look, but it is irritating me

So, as threatened I've switched to the Flipcard page style. Two things are immediately bugging the crap out of me. Contrary to the template designer giving you the option of having a background and adding your own CSS, blogger doesn't seem to accept my changes and leaves me with this drab gray bullshit. Also my side bar does not show all my gadgets which now includes my pages, which I would like to have in the header bar. Sort of like The Wargaming Site.

I've stared at code, comparing my site to Phil's and I can't see the difference at the moment. I may just have to drop him an email to ask how he did it. I suppose that waking up at 1:45 AM may be imparing my ability to understand what I need to do right now. I've also looked at Bloggers help and it is not really helpful, especially with Dynamic views. The one thing I did learn though is that they claim you page views are more "accurate" with flip card as each post now gets tracked as a page view if it is opened. Before people could scroll down and read all they want as one page view. So I'm not sure if it's more accurate or dirty pool, but I'm committed to trying it out for at least three months.

Any how, I'll post the link to the article for adding a header image to dynamic views here. It seems like it should work but, much like the background image, blogger doesn't seem to remember my changes when it is live.

Battle Cry, Battle Lore and almost 10k hits.

I just pulled the trigger on Battle Cry and Battles of Westeros on Amazon. I don't know if it was specifically a sale or not, but $46.92 for Battle Cry and 29.99 for Battles of Westeros sounds like a good deal.

  Progress in modelling and gaming has taken a back seat to landscaping and bicycle maintenance. It is finally getting cool enough to be outdoors more and my drip irrigation and sprinklers have kindly decided to break on me.

[RANT WARNING, NOT ABOUT GAMING]

My bicycle broke about a month ago and I am now nearing the point in money and frustration where I should have bought a new bike. I just thought that throwing away a whole bike just because the pedal broke was assinine. The crank was some how cross threaded, so no pedal was going to fit in. You can't just buy a crank arm, you have to buy a whole crank set. Then you have to match the bottom bracket. Oh yeah and then you have to order the wrong tool, then the right tool then find out that your old bottom bracket is so seized up you can't get it off. Then you take it to another bike shop, because you're still pissed at the last bike shop and they barely even try to help you before telling you you should just buy a new bike.

GRRRR! And that's the nice way of putting it.

[/RANT]

Anyway Battle Cry should get here by the weekend. Should be fun.

And before I forget, I'm almost at 10K hits and am trying to think of some kind of giveaway. I'd like to give away a copy of All Things Zombie - Final Fade Out (ATZ-FFO) but I'm not sure when the release date is. Of course I could do a map or activation/event cards. We'll see, maybe I'll figure out how to do a poll.

Computer woes

Well I'm having some issues with my computer. While I was surfing the other day I ran into a three way glitch of the Chrome Browser hanging up, while the computer was telling me it needed a restart to install up dates while I was trying to call up the task manager to force something to close, at that point I didn't care what.

So now after several restarts and one system restore it seems to take about 20 minutes to boot up and I don't have the patience to wait for Chrome to get to the start page. Luckily Firefox still works so I can at least use that.

I've been reading blogs on my kindle but cannot post or leave comments from it. I hope to get to Fran and Ray's 20 questions at some point today, but now it is time to be off on shopping etc trips with the family.

I'll let you all know what I get sorted out, although I have a feeling that I may never get to the bottom of this in terms of what specifically went wrong.

Kindle Fire, Review and Rant

Not expressly gaming related but perhaps blogging related.

As an early birthday present I received a Kindle Fire. We are planning a trip to China this summer and my wife thought it would be nice for me to have it on the plane.

I spent some time agonizing about whether to get a Droid tablet or the Fire, but decided that since I do a fair amount of business with Amazon already it was worth it to buy the Kindle.

Things I like:

It's light, and fairly sturdy. I have a case cover for it and have so far dropped it once with no effects. The battery seems to last pretty long, a few hours at a go if watching video, a little longer if reading books or web surfing. Ease of downloading and installing apps, books etc. It is very easy to load things onto the kindle. Most of it is done through Amazon, but you can do it as an external drive. I have loaded all of my Two Hour Wargames titles and now have a way to bookmark where I am in each rule set easily. Watching movies on Netflix. I have taken to watching Netflix in bed with the headphones on. A 7" screen on the belly is about the same as a 42" screen across the room.

Things I don't like:

So far neither of the browsers work with blogger. Some of you may have received notifications of comments from me only to find no comment. It will let me comment on a blog, it shows up on the blog in the browser, but is never seen again. The included browser "Silk" is a little slow and most people seem to hate it. Dolphin HD and Maxthon are two recommended replacements. I've been using Maxthon now and it seems a little better than Silk. Of course when I tried to post this using it blogger said the browser was not supported and I could only type the title and not the body of the post. Which leads me to the last issue which is the App store. Why oh why does amazon limit the apps? The choices for things like browsers is really limited, Maxthon was the only available browser, for instance. I was also hoping to be able to buy Elder Sign: Omens for the Fire. No soap. You can apparently side load from another android device but get a glitch that messes with the clock turn making the game un-winnable.

So I think overall positive, just a few things that are annoying and perhaps would be issues with a Droid tablet as well.

So this leads me to what is the deal with blogger. I know it's free and all but there doesn't seem to be any way to address this browser support issue. If I could load chrome onto the fire I would. Why does google make all this stuff that doesn't integrate? Seems like it should.

Carry on.

Let me be the first to welcome our new Robot Overlords.

In response to rants from Ray of Don't Throw a 1 and Fran of The Angry Lurker I am shutting off the Captcha thing. I have not had as many problems to date, but since my audience definitely skews toward the bifocal crowd it behooves me to make things as easy as possible to interact.

Here is a video of Flight of the Conchords performing "The Humans Are Dead":

And the music video version:

Maybe this will boost my readership in New Zealand.

***Edit:

If you can't figure out how to do it at first, like I couldn't, here is the link. Or just the text of the best answer:

"Unless DarkUFO knows of a way on the new interface, there isn't one. You need to go back to the old interface to turn off word verification. From the new Blogger dashboard page, click the gear symbol under your profile picture and select "Old Blogger interface." On the old dashboard page, click on "Settings" then click on the "Comments" link below the tabs. That will get you to where you can unselect word verification. Click "Save Settings" at the bottom of that page when you are done. there is a link in the upper right hand corner of the old dashboard page so you can get back to the new interface. I hope this helps."


***

No more theoretical gaming!

As the years go by I find myself being more of a theoretician. By that I mean that I copiously read books and the internet, dreaming up campaigns and house rules and then never actually gaming. Part of it is time, part of it is snobbery (must have fully painted figs and terrain), and part of it is fear (there are some amazing figures and terrain out there).

But enough is enough. I need to get to some actual gaming and stop dragging my feet. Life is too short not to spend time "pushing little men around a table" as my wife would say.