It always rains in Nuln

2019 came and went, but it was one of the most intense, hobby-filled years of my life. First of all - I got married! It was, to this very day, the happiest moment of my life. What can I say? Being married rocks! Here;s to my wife, Lia - I love you baby, more than anything else on this world. Hobby-wise, 2019 was intense as hell. I've continued to explore Delta Green, the modern, para-military system, centred around the dreaded Lovecraftian Mythos. I can safely say that this is one of my favorite RPGs of all time, and that in 2020 I intend to play it a lot. A few months back I've started to regularly (once a month, usually) enjoy it via Roll20, with a couple of very nice people from Sweden. Johanna, Jim and Martin - here's to you. Fhtagn! Just keep those SAN points high! When it comes to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, it definitely regained a place in my heart, as my all-time favorite roleplaying game of all time. A few years back I couldn't look at the ruleb...

After reviewing the dreadful "Mordheim: Warband Skirmish" mobile game, I've decided to go for something that actually brings me joy. Something which I hold in high esteem. Something written by one of Black Library's best authors. First of all - welcome to the new "It always rains in Nuln". At least to the new layout, as it is still the same, old blog, run by the same, old geezer. I hope that you'll find this new look better and easier on the eyes (something that quite a lot of people complained about, when it came to the old layout). As for this post's main topic: "Templar" by John French is one of the best Horus Heresy stories ever written. I've listened to it at least half a dozen times (I'm a huge audiobook enthusiast and the Heresy saga really gains a lot in audio format), and it was always a pure pleasure. What's the secret behind this title? A kickass cover, for starters! Sigismund, First Captain of the Impe...

Oh look, there was supposed to be a movie review here. About "Black Death". With Sean Bean. What happened? Well, since my unfortunate abduction by the strange, green-armored warriors, I was forced to write everything there is about the enigmatic XXth Legion Astartes. I already knew most of this stuff (I play them, for Throne's sake!), but there are always new things to discover, when it comes to the Sons of the Hydra. My second listen to the excellent "The Seventh Serpent" by Graham McNeill, is a great example of that. WHAT IN THE THRONE'S NAME IS HAPPENING HERE AND WHY DOES IT LOOK SO AWESOME! After the massacre at Istvaan V, the "Shattered Legions" continue their fight against the arch-traitor Horus, harassing his supply lines and causing havoc. When Cadmus Tyro, commander of the Strike Cruiser "Sisypheum", discovers a piece of intel which could potentialy lead to the downfall of one of the traitor primarchs, he decides to ac...

This post was supposed to be about the awesome "Black Death" movie with Sean Bean, but a small band of sea green-armored space marines has kidnapped me, and forced me to write a book review! Well, not a book per se. It's actually a novella, and one of my favorite Horus Heresy novellas at that! It's one of the reason why I currently have a 6000 points Alpha Legion army for Warhammer 30K, and why I love the XXth Legion so much. Without further ado, here's the review of "The Serpent Beneath" by Rob Sanders. A simple, unassuming cover. Just as planned... The story has apparently a pretty simple premise - the top secret Tenebrae 9-50 installation has been compromised and it's up to the Alpha Legion to save the day! Omegon (the lesser known Hydra twin) assembles a crack team of operatives, both from the Legion and the vast network of operatives, which the XXth cultivates for its own, nefarious use. Both the Legionaires and normal humans are a bu...

Another year, another mark. 2018 was very a hobby-heavy period for me, but I'm not complaining. In fact I can't wait for the 2019, as it promises a lot more action for me! First of all - I'm getting married next year. That fact alone is making me smile like a madman and I can't stress enough how happy I am about that fact. My fiancee is a wonderful human being and I'm extremely lucky to have a second half like her. This will be a completely new chapter in my life, one that I'm very keen to explore. As for the 2018 and my hobby related stuff... it was a blast. I've finished GM'ing "The Thousand Thrones" in one group (the first of my IRL groups) and "Terror in Talabheim" in the other (Roll20), together with a bunch of one-shot scenarios. Both campaigns are for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd edition, and both of them are long-time favorites of mine. I've also ran a demi-campaign set in Khuresh, in the far east of the Warhammer...

A new year is upon us and with new opprotunities and challenges. Let's kick it off with a review of a short, but very enjoyable tale, set in the Age of Darkness, during the Horus Heresy. I'm a huge Heresy buff. While the classic 40K holds less and less interest for me, at least lore wise, the Horus Heresy is a prime example of a fascinating setting, done right. Or at least mostly right, since they've could really ended this series by now. When something takes too long, it can become tiresome and loose track of what it originally was. Still, Games Workshop puts so many resources into 30K, that even with occasional slip or two, it's still vastly superior to its older brother, both rules and lore-wise. Naturally that is only my opinion, but there you have it. Heresy rocks. It's time to initiate... The Harrowing! Even tough I originally decided not to spend too much of a time on 30K/40K in 2018, I've played a couple of HH games last weekend, all with a bu...

Right before the end of December, I look back on the whole year and sum up my entire hobby endeavors. It was a crazy year. Some personal stuff aside, I can easily call it a success, when it comes to hobby related stuff. Let's take a closer look on some of the more important points of 2017. 1. Starting a new RPG group. Time to step back into that familiar tavern... One year ago I've returned to running WFRP live. Until then, for a year I only GM'ed it on Roll20 (and I still do!), but I wanted to return to "real life" experience. Needless to say, it went well. I've gathered a fantastic group of fellow hobby enthusiasts and we're playing once a week for a year now. There were a few changes in the group's composition at the very beginning, but right now it's all stable. During that single year we've managed to complete two classic 1st edition campaigns - "Lichemaster" and the entire "The Enemy Within"! Not only th...

It's no big secret that I'm a huge audiobook fan. They've helped me escape the boredom of a long bus drive and the tedium of long house chores. However I would gladly take a year of non-stop toilet cleaning, than listen to "The Thirteenth Wolf" one more time. This is it ladies and gentlemen - the absolute worst audiobook, ever produced by the Black Library. The cover's pretty nice, tough I'm not even kidding, this thing fucking sucks. There is not a single, redeeming thing about this book, not one! You may think that I'm biased, because of who the author is but I can assure you that I'm not. Sure, Gav Thorpe single handedly made me quit collecting the Raven Guard with "Deliverance Lost", but I honestly don't think that he's a bad author. Even tough his first Raven Guard book was medicore at best, the latter titles, especially "Weregeld", were really enjoyable and he does Dark Angels exceptionally well. So I wa...

This post was supposed to be about "End Times" Thanquol" but I'm not in the mood to write about the fourth installment in WFB's world-shattering event just yet. "Khaine" kinda seeped me of my strength with its incredible ammounts of shittiness. Instead here's a review of Graham McNeill's "Kryptos", one of my favorite Horus Heresy short stories. In case some of you don't know it yet, Graham McNeill will soon be moving to California to work for Riot Games on their League of Legends franchise. One of Black Library's most popular writers won't be contributing to the Heresy series as much as he used to, but, according to the man himself, he'll still write from time to time. Mainly short stories, but still... That's something I guess. His "Crimson King" is supposedly half finished, which begs the question whether it'll be released in 2015 or at the beginning of 2016. Now I personally can't wait for ...