It always rains in Nuln

Yeah, I know that I was supposed to review "Ironclad", but stuff happened and y'all get something else. Almost five years ago I've managed to finish the first "Warhammer Quest" on the PC, and now I'll tell you all that you need to know about its sequel! Let's not beat around the bush here - this title takes place during the End Times, the final death troes of the venerable Warhammer Fantasy. Now, as most people I consider the finale of WFB to be some of the worst written fiction of all time. Fun fact, I haven't read a single positive comment about it! Really, not even one. There were a few people who liked the army lists they've prepared in the ET books, but I haven't met a single person who said: "Yes, the End Times were fantastically written. Can I have some more, please?" That said there were a few good things about them, mainly the "Vermintide" games. "Vermintide" 1 & 2 are seriously some of the coole...

Last week Cubicle 7 dropped a bunch of info about their future WFRP releases. It's quite impressive, and it actually made me rethink a lot of things about the current edition of the game. Yeah, no scenario review this week, sorry. You see, on the 30th of April we've been given a long and impressive list of upcoming 4th edition titles from the developers at C7. You can find it here . Among these we have a bestiary of sorts, a book about magic, both human, elvish and dwarf (in the form of runes, naturally), more parts of the "Enemy Within" remaster and a bunch of other sourcebooks. All in all, that's pretty impressive. Is it finally time for the 4th edition to pick up the pace a bit? Yeah, I'm not even kidding. That is genuienly impressive stuff. Mind you, I don't believe that we'll see any of these titles this year, but kudos to the C7 team for giving us a long and easy to read list of books which we might see... someday. Perhaps. You see...

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...

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...

It's finally here. Light your pyres and crack open a casket of finest ale, because I've finally watched "Black Death", a incredibly dark and gritty medieval horror movie. Was it worth the wait? In short: yes, yes it was. I was captivated by "Black Death" from start to finish, especially since it just oozes the grim and perilous atmosphere, which I hold especially dear to my heart. This is a movie which perfectly shows the difference between the American and European approach to medieval cinema. Throughout the whole experience the audience can almost taste the dirt, muck and shit which are omnipresent in "Black Death". They can almost smell the stench of grime and feces, of unwashed bodies and death hanging in the air. I love American cinema, but Europe simply does movies like this better. Who is the mysterious lady in red? Do note that it's an ugly movie. It has ugly people in it (even the normally super hot Eddie Redmayne is shown a...

Wow, what a day! I've just read that Jackdays, who's running the fantastic Warhammer Fantasy website Kalevala Hammer, has published my three unofficial sourcebooks for this venerable game! I've created these three addons with the help of Hectorius  (thank you so much!), who was very active on the, now sadly gone, Strike to Stun forums. Without him, proofreading my work and giving me lots odf great ideas, I'd never send them to Jack (who also worked on my, not so perfect English, as well as offering me lots of awesome advice. Thank you!). This is one of the best sites ont the whole interwebs! There are three of them. The first one, "Blood and Silver" , is a campaign template, which takes place in the lawless kingdoms of the Border Princes. This is a strictly military campaign, although there are ideas here for more clandestine, and sinister, plot hooks... "Secrets of the Path: Disciples of the Serene King" is a sourcebook about an anci...

Everyone loves Nic Cage. The man's an absolute legend and he automatically makes every film in which he stars 100 times better. He single-handedly saved the "Wicker Man" remake! When I saw the poster for "Season of the Witch", directed by Dominic Sena, I knew that I'm in for a ride. Nicolas Cage fighting witches, while having a budding romance with Ron Perlman? Count me in! The poster says it all. It has hellish flames, fantastic font and Nic Cage with long, greasy hair, holding a longsword. Seriously, you can't go wrong with stuff like that! And the names... Just look at them! Behmen von Bleibruck, Felson, Kay von Wollenbarth and Johann Eckhardt. These are some of the most 'Hammer names of all time. Oh yeah, "Season of the Witch" is one of my quintessential Warhammer movies, right there with "Solomon Kane" and "Black Death"! Just look at that poster. I must have it! Anyway, the movie is about two blokes - Behme...

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...

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...

Just a quick notice from yours truly. I've had an honor to participate in an episode of the "Mud & Blood" podcast, hosted by two excellent gentlemen - 9littlebees and Boganova. Together with the legendary Graeme Davis himself we were talking about the changes to Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay through the ages, various campaign ideas, inspirations and other things. It was a fantastic experience! Needless to say that this was a experience of a lifetime. I've had tons of fun, and being able to chat with one of the creators of my favorite role-playing system was beyond awesome. I wanted to thank Mr. Davies and our fantastic hosts for this opportunity and a chance to share my opinions and knowledge about WFRP. Thank you. Here's the episode itself, if you fancy listening to it (Apologies for not embedding it here. Seems my Google-fu is not that strong). "Mud & Blood" Episode 25: Warhammer Through The Ages On a related note, the fanta...

Welcome to the final part of my review of the 4th edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Today we'll take a look at the final core mechanics of the game. That picture is so fucking metal First there's Corruption which can make even the noblest of warriors fall to the whim of the Dark Gods. It's a bit different to the 2nd edition's mutation mechanics. Simply put if you'll stare long enough into the abyss, it will give you a lot of shit, as well as some tasty Corruption points. Witness a Greater Daemon in all its malefic glory, chug a warpstone brew or stand in a place suffused with Dhar and its Endurance rolling time. Fail that and gain a shiny, new mutation. If you'll get too many of these then your character becomes one of the lost and the damned and you'll need to create a new hero. Nasty, climactic and very grim. What can I say? I love this system! Did I mentioned that you can take Corruption points to re-roll a failed test? Talk about making d...

Let's take a look at WFRP 4th edition's core game mechanics and see how well they work. Is the current iteration of this venerable game better than the previous ones, especially the much loved 2nd edition? First of all we have Success Levels now. What are they? They're similar to succcesses from the 2nd edition, but more important, if that makes sense. Every full "10" that goes above your character's stat is a success. The more of them, the better, and they're especially important during combat. During the fights each opponent counts the levels of successes in a counter test, and then, based on the ammount each of the combatants had gathered, SOMETHING happens. You see, there's no more "I hit you, you hit me back" type of combat, present in this edition. Now even if both of the opponents miss, some damage will be dealt. It's a great way of making the encounters more cinematic and intense, albeit with a lot more tracking and keeping sco...

Now we're getting to it. It's time to take a look at the core rules concerning skills, talents and characteristics, as well as their advancements. On a first glance the 4th edition looks very similar to the venerable 2nd. But wait! There are a few changes. Agility has been divided into three, separate parts, which are Agility, Dexterity and Inititative. It's a very cool concept, as each of these is used for different tests. Dexterity is utilised for complex manual work, while Agility and Initiative will be used more often than not during combat. In my opinion this is a very welcome change and adds quite a lot to the game itself, as it really distinguishes a martial character from, let's say, an artisan of any kind. Nice job C7. Now the party can be really varied and full of unique characters! Attributes and their developement has also been changed. In essence it now costs a lot more points to level your characters, as you always go from level 0, no matter how...