It always rains in Nuln

Allow me to take you on a journey into the grim and dark future of endless war, blind zealotry and cynicism - the dystopian world of Warhammer 40,000 awaits. Even though WFRP is my default go-to game, I do play other titles as well... occasionally. One of them, and one that I enjoy a lot, is the Fantasy Flight Games' 1st edition of Dark Heresy. Now it wasn't always that way, as those who read my blog for some time, know already. I used to dislike DH a lot, but that was a long, long time ago. Currently I only have fond memories of this game, and would very much like to run it in the near future. Anyway, my players created quite a few and interesting characters during our times together, when we were discovering the many and varied dangers of the 41st Millenium. I want to tell you about a few of them. 1. Solomon Victus, a ruthless and ambitious arbitrator (played by Martin) Sometimes you just find the perfect artwork for a character. This picture just screams ...

The Imperium recieved a major beating in the "Last Son of Dorn", but it's not out of the game yet. The Imperial Fists have been reformed, and mankind travels to Ullanor for one, final battle with the Orks. Rob Sanders penned the 11th title in "The Beast Arises" series - "Shadow of Ullanor". Looks like this poor planet just can't take a break! There's a lot going on in this book, and it was sometimes hard for me to keep track of all the action. Sanders makes a solid job of tying all the loose plots together, however there is one problem - we've seen this all before. Is it still worth a read, though? Humanity once again reaches Ullanor, the Deathwatch capture more Ork psykers (off-screen, I might add), Thane shows the High Lords their place, as Koorland did before him. Even the final engagement with the Beast(s) is very similar to the previous one. We've all seen this before, and that's why this book doesn't really offe...

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...

Grimvember 2019 came to an end, and I need a small break from the Warhammer Fantasy... at least for a while. Since I'm in a huge Warhammer 40,000 drive lately, I've decided to return to "The Beast Arises" series, and review another one of its many tomes - "The Last Son of Dorn". David Guymer returns to the series, and tells the story of a final (hopefully), desperate attempt by the Imperium to defeat the titular Beast and free the galaxy from its menace. There's a lot, and I do mean A LOT, going on in this book. We have the newly-formed Deathwatch, finally being shown to include members from the latter foundings, taking the fight to the orks. We have Valhallans, one of my favorite Imperial Guard regiments, selling their lives dearly against their arch-foes. The newly returned Sisters of Silence are also active during the war, and there's a palpable sense of tension and desperation, right from the very first page of "The Last Son of Dorn"...

Do you want Deathwatch? Cause that's how we got Deathwatch! In the 9th entry in "The Beast Arises" series, David Annandale explains how the iconic, elite, xeno-fighting force was originally established. At the end of the previous book, "The Beast Must Die", the forces of the Imperium have been devastated. The Orks turned out to be a much bigger threat than originally anticipated, and so Lord Commander Koorland decided to level the odds a bit. He knows that to fight the greenskin menace head on is basically a suicide, so he orders the formation of elite kill-teams. Clad in the black of mourning, these strike squads prove to be very effective against the Orks, but will their expertise be sufficent enough in defeating the xenos once and for all? Slaying xenos never looked this good! That said these iconic shoulderpads are not yet in service, as of this books' timeline. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, "Watchers in Death" finally gives us the orig...

The ploth thickens. The Imperium finally takes the fight to the greenskins, but the Beast has more than one surprise in its armored sleeve. Mankind has enough of Ork's tomfoolery and decided that it's time to strike back. With Vulkan on board, and the High Lords pacified, at least for some time, the brave defenders of the Imperium set out towards Ullanor, the seat of Beast's power, to slay the vile fiend once and for all. These series' covers are some of the best that I've ever seen. Seriously! This is Gav Thorpe's second entry in "The Beast Arises" series, and I gotta say - it's really solid. There's almost zero politics. Instead we get a non-stop action with humanity finally getting tired of the greenskins, and deciding to take the fight to their world, which was once the same planet upon which Horus became the Warmaster. From the very first chapter we see that the main hero of the book will be Vulkan himself. He's not his ...

After almost three years I've decided to finish my review of "The Beast Arises" series. I've finally managed to complete it earlier this years, and I'd love to share my opinions on the whole thing with you lot. After ""Echoes of the Long War" comes "The Hunt for Vulkan" by David Annandale. This book is almost non-stop action, as it concentrates on the last loyal Primarch who's still active in the Imperium. Koorland wants to find him to give the humans a fighting chance against the greenskins. The Lord of Drakes is kicking fungi ass on the planet Caldera, last seen in the "Promethean Sun" by Nick Kyme. Here we see that he's not holding back anymore, slaying hundreds of greenskins by himslef, like they're nothing. Annadale's portrayal of XVIIIth Legion's Primarch is primal and full of righteous fury. Fury at what happened during the Heresy of Horus. Fury at the death of his beloved brothers, and the corruptio...

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...

Whooo boy, what a time to be alive, eh? GW is in full swing, releasing tons of new minis, tie-in games and... children books? Wait, what? I know what you're thinking right now, after reading these first, few lines of intro text. "I bet that you hate them children's books, ya cranky sod!" No, no I do not. I honestly think that the upcoming "Warhammer Adventures" series is one of the best things that Games Workshop ever made. No joke, no irony on my part, I'm 100% serious here. This is simply awesome and a clear sign that the Nottingham company thinks a couple steps forward. Simply put - they are making sure that today's children will, at the coming of age, jump from adorable kids stories to stuff like Gaunt's Ghosts or the Ciaphas Cain series. Sure, Warhammer as a whole is marketed towards children, but let's be honest - some of this stuff is not suitable for youngsters. Daemonculaba? Slaanesh? Hell, even the Imperium with its totalitar...

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...

Here's something for all of the fans of ruthless bounty hunters, killers of witches and Grey Seers - an interview with a man, who writes and understand such character better than anyone, Clint Lee Werner himself. I always loved the anti-hero trope. Not for me were the goody-two-shoes kind of characters, whose only problems revolve around their immaculate, shiny armor and magical swords of slaying goblins +2. I guess that's why I always liked Warhammer Fantasy so much (well, except for a short period of time, as some of you may know). This world is full of heroes who, in most other fantasy settings, could be even described as villains. Hell, even Gotrek and Felix are far from being a crystal clear duo of characters, what with their murder hobo kind of approach to many problems. Of course they are still the good guys and the readers know it. When it comes to Brunner the Bounty Hunter and Witch Finder Mathias Thulmann, however, things are not so simple. Is this a face of a ...