Disqus - Latest Comments for Dweomer

Re: I Collect Spores, Molds, & Funguses

Dweomer — Thu, 20 May 2010 13:09:51 -0000

My personal favorite has always been: "Let's split up." "Yeah, we can do more damage that way."

Re: Should Warhammer be Free? What do you Think?

Dweomer — Mon, 03 May 2010 13:57:34 -0000

I think you may have skipped over an option there: pay for the rulebook and hard copies but also have the codices available online for free.

I like the current rulebook model of having a mini-book in the starter set that contains all the core rules. It's very convenient for new and advanced players alike. Most everything you need for a game is there and it's much easier to toss into a gaming case compared to the massive hardback. The full rulebook then has the extra fluff, art, and advanced rules that might not come up in a normal game (such as league play). I approve of that model because it is useful to the community.

That model is also good for GW due to volume. After all, nearly everyone buys some form of new rulebook when editions change. Add in new armies built off the figs from a starter set, renewed interest in the game, and people changing their lists for the new edition... GW sees a nice spike in profits. The core rules COULD be published online, but I'd posit that the actual piracy of that book is pretty slim. After all, how often have you bought or seen someone buy multiple AoBR sets and just give away the mini-book to encourage a new player?

So there's not really a need or use to offering the core rules for free online, except maybe as a location for easy updates and changes. An online FAQ/Errata page handles this decently as most rules questions aren't really about the core rules. The most weirdness occurs when you have the exceptions or modification to the core rules that occur in codices.

So what about codices? I can tell you from in-company experience that the printed books are NOT a lucrative venture for GW. GW owns a plastics company, metal casting facilities, and packaging plants. But they (last I checked) do not own a printing house. This means that all publications have to be purchased from a printer. This drives up the base cost. GW eats quite a bit of the cost in order to offer the books at a price that will sell. The real profit for GW is when that codex impels additional model purchases. A book goes to market with about a 1.5x profit margin. A metal fig is about a 10x and plastics can run even more. Want that in real world application? A single box of Terminators offers about eight times the profit of a single codex.

Next, one of the big dividing lines I see between a competitive and a casual player? A casual player has his own codex, may have read those of his regular opponents, and has probably only thumbed through others at a store or read about them online. A competitive player has a copy of every single codex, has read them at length and taken the time to really understand them. Most store owners (rightfully) will frown on someone spending that much time with a codex and not buying it. So players either cough up cash on a codex for an army they don't play... or they revert to piracy.

Now, would publishing the rules online eliminate the need for printed codices? No, probably not. As mentioned, there's a tactile factor, quality and organization to having a printed book. But I think most players would be happy to pay that little bit extra for a real book. Use the RL book to push all the pretty fluff, expanded descriptions, color pictures and every thing else. Publish the online codex versions with just the rules, updates and any FAQs. If you're running a tournament, just require that everyone be using the most current version. (As is typical anyways.) If you're playing a casual game, run whatever the heck you want. (As is also typical.)

By having all the codices available online, you level the playing field, reduce piracy, give a way to rapidly update and correct errors, and encourage people to try things outside the limits of their own army list. This is a bad thing, how?

Re: Do Chaos Deamons deserve decent deep strike?

Dweomer — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 12:02:49 -0000

On charging through, I'd simplify the sequence. Make it "The Daemon player selects an enemy unit they wish to charge from the warp. Place the unit on the board and roll for Deep Strike as normal. On a roll of a 'HIT', the unit still scatters in the direction indicated by the arrow but discards the highest die for distance. The unit may shoot and assault on the turn it arrives but may only target the selected enemy unit."

Though I think I like Sholto's version a touch better. It has a certain risk/return factor that I like. The Warp Portal? Interesting, but a bit over complex. Maybe have it dissipate at the end of each Daemon turn. Then it can be moved strategically each turn, as long as you have the requisite units. Might add a whole new level of complexity to playing and facing Daemons.

Re: BATREP: 1850 Tau v Chaos Deamons

Dweomer — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:22:18 -0000

Nice battle report and well played. Definitely shows the problems Daemons have with fast mech and an enemy that doesn't want to stand still and play the assault game. Brilliant luck with the Stealthers too.

One item I noticed that I wondered about: "To add insult to injury 12 Kroot make a 26" spotting check and add their S4 shots to the mix." Kroot Rifles have a 24" range, which would seem to make them out of range at 26". Mistake of the battle or the report?

Cheers for a nicely done report. A little heavy on the details but not too bad and greatly assisted by the visuals.

Re: Tyranid Boneswords from Paulson Games

Dweomer — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:09:57 -0000

Mmmm... that looks to convert up nicely. The end result is great. Good tutorial too. Almost makes me wish I played Nids.

Re: Imperial Guard, Tau, Ultramarines & Dark Eldar–what a crazy pair…

Dweomer — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:20:17 -0000

God, I’m old.
I feel ya. Working at a university, it was a shock to the system last year when I realized that most of the freshman class were born the year I started high school...

Good battle report despite (or even because of?) the lack of little details. It made for easy reading and enjoyable pics. Congrats to Jeff for finally pulling a well-earned win.

Re: Wargames Gallery 4-4-10

Dweomer — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:02:19 -0000

CSM vs SMs by a couple very talented painters. The battle report can be seen here.

Re: VASSAL: does anybody still use it.

Dweomer — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 14:53:32 -0000

I use it all the time too. Mostly for battle reports, but occasionally for a game too. Great stuff!

Re: I Want to See You Fail

Dweomer — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:19:51 -0000

I just wanted to say thank you for posting this. Not only do I agree with the sentiment, but I was also wondering what had happened with the experiment.

Re: Rules Check 1...2...1...2...

Dweomer — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:46:09 -0000

SHOLTO-SMASH! Heh. I'm much the same as you that I read and re-read the rules to get them to be second nature. I'll refrain from side-tracking Suneokun's post with replies to your commentary, except to say I disagree. It's all in how you interpret the hierarchy of applicable rules. :-p Nary the less, I don't normally force adherence as that's a ***** thing to do. The rules are unclear and a FAQ is unlikely. Plus, a proper sense of perspective is very important and we're really just playing a complex version of "Army Men".

@Suneokun: Cracking post and admirable to see you admit where you've erred. We all (hopefully) try to play as honestly as we can, but mistakes can and do happen. I don't mind so much when it's my error and it goes against me and/or it happens honestly. I feel like a yutz when I forget something and it goes my way...

Re: Mycetic Spore #2: Ravening Horde...

Dweomer — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:05:49 -0000

I really like how you removed the bottom of the sphere to make it "impacted". It really adds to the realism and dynamism. Though I'd still favor a slightly larger sphere too, the larger base seems a better size and the detailing really brings a little extra to the look.

Re: Holy Hierophant! My Gargantuan Paintjob.

Dweomer — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:11:48 -0000

did they ever make a non-runny vial of Snakebite Leather?

Yeah, it's called "Tausept Ochre". The regular Snakebite is better than the old formula, but the Foundation equivalent is superior pigment-wise.

Re: Can an IC leave and Join the Same Unit?

Dweomer — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:22:14 -0000

"If an independent character moves and joins or leaves a unit that did not move, the character counts as having moved in the ensuing Shooting phase, but the unit does not."

So by leaving the unit and rejoining, it is the IC that moved and not the unit. So as long as no member of the squad also moves, then they (but not the IC) would not count as having moved during the Shooting phase.

Re: Can an IC leave and Join the Same Unit?

Dweomer — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:40:24 -0000

Bad example with the Ork Warboss. "An independent character may not join or leave a unit while either he or the unit is locked in combat or falling back." So you can't join the unit to cause get them to regroup. The other ones are good examples though.

if a unit "moved away" from an IC during the movement phase to leave him behind out of coherency, if he would count as moving himself
Yes. An IC can leave a unit but the unit cannot leave the IC. If the two are joined at the start of the turn, there is no way to unjoin them without causing the IC to count as having moved. It usually doesn't matter, but can be a big deal for IC's packing Heavy or Rapid Fire weapons.

Re: Tyranid Tactica and Conversion: Mycetic Spore

Dweomer — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:51:09 -0000

The problem with enamel paints is the thinner medium used to keep them liquid. It's a type of acetone that will dissolve the styrene. For the spray paint, it is actually the spray accelerant that eats it.

Cracking good spore! I'd probably favor doing them a touch larger to allow a thicker "skin" and maybe some ways to slow re-entry/landing, but I'd have no issue with their size playing against them.

Re: Fuegan, The Burning Lance

Dweomer — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:31:27 -0000

Mmm... my first thought was "his blending is improving". The transitions look good, especially on his Firepike.

The gems... yeah, they need work. I find a dark base, thin paints and a fine brush are the way to go there. Cheers and fine work!

Re: Eldar Harlequin Blues

Dweomer — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:12:47 -0000

Rather than a toothbrush, try a brass wire brush. The kind of thing you're clean a BBQ with works. It won't pit the fig (nor scar plastic), has thinner bristles for those deep recesses, and more tensile strength so you can scrub harder.
Cheers!

Re: Storm Guardian Conversion

Dweomer — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:05:43 -0000

Three bits of advice then...
1. Use your tank aggressively. A timely Tank Shock can compress the enemy formation to maximize your Flamer shots. (Actually, I think I need to make a post about this... it's good stuff.)
2. Pick your targets wisely. Storms are still mainly a shooting unit despite their 2 CCWs and anything tougher than IG should be well softened up before engaging.
3. Force Multipliers are your friend. S3 and a 5+ save are pretty bleh. But throw in Doom and Fortune and you're talking something almost decent. (Of course, the rough part is not needing those powers elsewhere.)

Cheers!

Re: Storm Guardian Conversion

Dweomer — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:46:35 -0000

Storm Guardians are actually pretty fun, but you need to field them in a Wave Serpent to get into position safely. I wouldn't bother with them in a CP game, but have been quite happy with them in 1.5K+ games. Cheers on the nice conversions!

Re: Battle Report: Tyranids vs. Eldar (1500pts)

Dweomer — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:14:52 -0000

Remember what I said about Force Multipliers? That's why my forces always take a Farseer. Runes of Warding and Doom are my two favorite things. My Space Wolves almost feel crippled for not having those abilities. Farseer Runes Mathhammer

Also, Eric has some seriously old-school Wave Serpents there. Those are the old Epicast ones, right? If he ever wants to talk Eldar, send him my addy. I think this game showed why Reapers suffer in 5th.
Oddly, one of the things Eldar typically excel at is wiping away hordes. Termagaunt spam shouldn't really be a problem. I'd be interested to see what else he has in that list.
Oh, and the last thing... why is that Farseer off on his own? I'd either put him on foot and hide him in a tank, or give him a nice sized Jetlock Bodyguard or Poor Man's Council (9 GJBs w Warlock and Conceal). A Farseer running solo like that is going to be lunch way too quickly.

Hah. Here I came to comment on the battle and ended up critiquing the list instead... Shows where my priorities are. :-p

Re: Black lining - Eldar Wave Serpent

Dweomer — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:07:30 -0000

Next time, try using a good marker pen such as a Micron. Makes the process MUCH easier.

Looks great!

Re: 5th Ed. Tyranids: Hive Guard

Dweomer — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:30:01 -0000

Not to be confused with the jive guard, foo. :-p

Re: FTW Top10: Special Guest Star

Dweomer — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:36:43 -0000

Thanks for thinking of me, but the link you chose really was an excellent one. Good stuff!

Re: Skimmer moving fast FTW!

Dweomer — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:19:42 -0000

And here's a cookie. You've reached "that point" with 5th ed Eldar. Not everyone gets there. It's when all the games start playing the same and you realize you're just playing by the numbers rather than actually doing anything strategic.
Mech-Eldar is effective, but boring.
To get past this? Try switching it up a bit. Run Guardian Jetbikes as Troops or other items that most deem "non-optimal". Or, go play Tyranids until there's a change in the game.

Re: Safety First: IP Infringement

Dweomer — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:59:53 -0000

Fair points all and no apologies needed. I've seen the same misconception and should really have been better in my explanation.

Oh, and great catch on the other transformative uses. I'd forgotten they were all classified under the same "fair use" heading. I've been working for a University too long and my focus has only been on that.

Cheers and I second Warhammer39,999's nomination. :-p