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...

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...

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...

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...

There's a lot going on in the fandom right now. Awesome fan-made materials, official releases and news of upcoming projects - there's something for everyone, so let's go and take a look, shall we? 1. The Northmen Rules v2.0 by Jackdays from Kalevala Hammer Let the quality content flow! Always awesome Jackdays from the legendary Kalevala Hammer , returns once again with a content of topmost quality. His Northmen sourcebooks for WFRP are some of the best fan-made materials out there, and for a good reason. Being fascinating, extensive reads on the topic of the fearsome northern tribes of the Warhammer Fantasy world, they're a true boon to Gamemasters and players alike. A few weeks ago Jack has released a new version of this great add-on for WFRP 1, 2 and 3, and I can't stress enough how good they are. You can check them out yourselves, by visiting his website and downloading them from his rich repository of goodies. They're worth your time, trust me on...

We return to our regularly scheduled reviewing, this time with "A Secret Inheritance" by Steve Cumiskey. This one's a real treat and no mistake. I've GM'ed this adventure last year for my Roll20 group. The boys were on a trip from Talabecland to Nuln and, along the way, I wanted to spice things up a bit for their little gang. "A Secret Inheritance" turned out to be exactly what I needed! Plus it's full of Merchants! Who dosen't like economy themes in his adventures? The premise is pretty simple. The adventurers need to find a shelter from a storm, in a small town of Eisental and become embroiled in a local guild affair. The town itself, originally located in Ostermark (altough you could place it anywhere. In my case it was in Talabecland) is a quiet community, which recently lost its two priests. Not only that but the merchant guild's building got burned to the ground as well, two weeks before the PC's arrival. Our heroes are h...

"The Empire Army" series is quickly becoming one of my favourite set of books from the Black Library, and "Iron Company" by Chris Wraight is a perfect reason why it is so. Chris Wraight is a terrific writer, in my humble opinion. Although I mostly know him from the 40K and "Horus Heresy" series, he also did quite a lot of stuff for the venerable Warhammer Fantasy. Tales about Kurt Helborg and Ludwig Schwarzhelm, the arcane "Masters of Magic", and epic tales of Luthor Huss, are just some of his contributions to the Old World. Among them is the "Iron Company", book two in the "Empire Army" series, and one that I can't recommend enough, as it is that good. "Three things make The Empire great - faith, steel and gunpowder!" - Magnus the Pious Magnus Ironblood is an ex-engineer, who now finds solace at the bottom of a bottle. Living in the shadow of his legendary father, who was one of the most respected eng...

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...