It always rains in Nuln

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...

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...

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...

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...

Chris Wraight is one of my all-time favorite Black Library writers. I've enjoyed all of his books so far, and I consider his "Swords of the Emperor" duology to be one of the best stories, set in the grim world of Warhammer Fantasy. Of these, the "Sword of Justice" is the first part. Being a part of the "Warhammer Heroes" line, and centering around the dour and uncompromising Ludwig Schwarzhelm, the Emperor's Champion, it presents a tale of corruption, ambition and misguided pride - all of which can lead to the downfall of even the mightiest of heroes. Even Ludwig Schwarzhelm... Of all Karl Franz's servants, none is more staunchly loyal and steadfast in his duty as Ludwig Schwarzhelm. Born a common man, through the might of his arm, and the strength of his will he became one of the most powerful people in Sigmar's Holy Empire. Supposedly never having smiled once in his life, Schwarzhelm is a perfect representation of the Emperor...

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...

Happy new year! Let's kick off 2019 with a brand, new review of "Reiksguard", a novel about, well... Reiksugard! First things first however. Strike to Stun will soon be out of action which is a damn shame. That said, there's still hope. Not only does the fantastic Rat Catcher's Guild Discord server still going strong, but now we also have a brand new community in the form of Winds of Chaos forums. Hopefully it will gather folks from StS and continue that venerable's site legacy. Sigmar be praised. Now to the review itself. I've finished "Reiksguard" last year and was really impressed with that book. This was my first time with Richard Williams' work and, well, he nailed it. "Reiksguard" is a very, very good book which shines a lot of light at one of the Empire's most interesting knightly orders. This is seriously one of the coolest Warhammer covers ever made (and I know that I'm writing this statement almost e...

I can safely say that 2018 was very for me. Although the full summary will be written soon, I'd just like to say that I'm most happy for the bunch of interviews that I've managed to secure this year. Now it's time to present you to the last one - with David Guymer. Mr. Guymer has written a bunch of fantastic stories. He's the man who has finished the Slayer saga and pushed it into the Age of Sigmar with the "Realmslayer" audiobook, in which Gotrek is voiced by Brian Blessed himself! He's also a real Skaven aficionado and his portrayal of the Iron Warriors in "The Beast Arises" series is simply awesome. On top of all of that, he also penned the "Ferrus Manus: Gorgon of Medusa" book for the "Horus Heresy: Primarchs" series! I was very lucky to have Mr. Guymer answer a couple of my questions and so here they are, for all of you to enjoy. This is one, fine-looking cover! Xathrodox86:  I will start with a rather ob...

What is this? A simple audiobook review while the world celebrates the release of the 4th edition of WFRP? Have I gone mad? Not really. You see, while I'm very happy about the newest iteration of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay to finally see the light of day, I won't review it. At least not yet. The reason is simple and there are actually two of them - first of all, it's not a finished product and second, I can't read PDF files too well on a PC screen. While I will probably have to do so anyway, for now it's making me incredibly uncomfortable to do so, so now 4th edition review from me for now, at least. So, without further ado, let's check out the second Gotrek & Felix audiobook with a very metal title: "Curse of the Everliving". The cover's pretty metal as well! This one has been written by the talented David Guymer and is  from the "newer" line of Gotrek and Felix, i.e. the reader can place it at any time he wants. This ...

Gotrek & Felix - the most infamous, Old World duo. They are the posterboys of Warhammer Fantasy and, soon, the Age of Sigmar. My adventure with the fantasy franchise created by Games Workshop began with these two heroes. Back in 2007 I've bought two omnibuses in a London bookstore and... well here I am, more than a decade later. Still a huge and avid fan of Warhammer Fantasy, albeit a one that also recognizes its many flaws. That said, without the Slayer and his human companion I would probably never have picked up the WFRP books, never installed games such as "Shadow of the Horned Rat" and "Dark Omen" on my PC, not to mention "Vermintide." It is to Gotrek and Felix that I should owe my passion as a RPG enthusiast and gamer. When it comes to their adventures, I've only read the books by William King and Nathan Long. I'm not familiar with any of their later exploits and quests. Thart said, there are two stories, concerning our restles...

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...

Every gamemaster has a personal favorite when it comes to pre-made campaigns and scenarios. Here's mine - the best WFRP campaign ever written. "The Thousand Thrones". I've just finished "The Enemy Within" with my group. It is, without a doubt, one of the best campaigns out there, a true masterpiece of intrigue, action and drama. It pales, however, to the awesomeness that is "The Thousand Thrones". What can I say about it, other than that it is the best campaign that was ever written for the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. In my humble opinion, of course Since the Grimvember has just begun, I thought: "why not start this event with a bang". And so I've decided to make a huge review of this, my favorite of all the pre-made campaigns for WFRP. After all, Grimvember is only once a year, so it should be done in a right manner, am I right? Be advised: this review will contain spoilers. This article is directed mainly to gamemasters...