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...

A small upadte from me, as I'm getting ready for my flight to Armenia. In a few days from now I'll be starting a new chapter of my life. In less than a week I'm getting married. Not gonna lie, I am stressed a bit, but also insanely happy. This will be a whole new experience, and I'm very, very glad to share it with the woman of my life. Life's good sometimes! Given the importance of this event I wanted to also take stock of my hobby endeavors, and to thank a couple of people, without whom I would not be where I am today. Artwork by Baron Von Klatz, whom I also wanted to thank for being a fantastic sport! First of all I want to thank my beloved fiancee, Lia. You're the best that ever happened to me baby, never forget about that. I love you forever and a day. I wanted to thank Marcin and Krzysiek for sticking with me for the last decade. Without you guys I would probably not remained in this fantastic hobby, and it's great to have you as my ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

A lot is happening right now in the RPG/wargaming world, so I've decided to share a few thoughts about various stuff, that's going on right now. What a time to be alive! I love that so much is going on, especially with relation to Warhammer and Games Workshop in general. First of all, we have "Total War: Warhammer 2" is just around the corner, and it looks just as good as the first game. I'm pretty sure that it will be as good too! I simply love that they've included not only Ulthuan and Naggaroth but Lustria as well, since Lizardmen are one of my all time favourite Warhammer races. I can already see the awesome DLC's as well - the undead pirates of the Vampire Coast, the Amazons and maybe even the fantastic Tichi-Huichi's Raiders. The possibilities are many, and these are just for Lustria. Imagine what Creative Assembly will be able to do with the eternal war between the two elven races. Hooooly shiiit!!! "TW: Warhammer 2" is not...

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...

It's no big secret that I don't exactly enjoy the current iteration of WH40K. The rules are overbloated, needlessly convoluted and are favoring certain factions to the point of absurdity. Fortunately Games Workshop has announced that the 8th edition will soon hit the stores. Not only that, but a huge ammount of info has been released to the general public, including new rules and the contents of starter box. I must commend GW on their social media skills, they've really made a huge improvement in their online marketing department. Warhammer Community, answering people's questions on Facebook, Duncan's painting tips - all of these and more, are good indicators that our favorite plastic (and resin) crack dealer finally made a leap in the right direction. You magnificent bastard! Anyway, the 8th is coming and I'm super hyped for the complete rules overhaul, that it'll bring to the table. Not only they'll be easier to use, but from what we've...