quote:
Tarquinn obviously shouldn't have said:
1st and 2nd edition, n00b.
Hey, this "n00b" has been playing for 5 years
quote:
T. E. Bloodsage stopped beating up furries long enough to write:
Um. . .Is there any back-story or plot at all to the battles? Or does everyone just load up their trunk o' miniatures, place them on the battlefield, and start killing?
What intrigued me after reading a couple of the stories was the interesting universe--how much is that reflected in the gaming? So far, all I've gathered is that people spend insane amounts of time by themselves painting and customizing their armies, which holds little (actually, no) interesting for me.
But if there was a robust plot or story when actually playing, it might be fun.
This is something that has always been very good about the Warhammer games, Games Workshop has always had a revolving storyline that follows the game. Each year they publish new material that progresses the story just a little, but it is sometimes hard to follow especialy if you don't subscribe to White Dwarf. If you just want to play at a local gaming store then it is not likely that you will get much into the backstory when playing. Even though some stores will follow minor plot lines when executing leagues, it probably wouldn't be enough to keep someone interested in just the story behind it all. If you really want to get into storyline you would have to go to some big tournys or to one of the championship matches. These big games combine all elements of the 40k universe to make one massive campaign. For example, I've been to tournys where the story was built up around an ancient doomsday machine that has been discovered on a planet near the Eye of Terror. All the armys had to get to the planet, deploy, and through a series of games eventually reach the artifact and fight over it. It involved a series of Battlefleet Gothic battles which determined who fought who on the ground. The outcomes of those games even removing some armys from the fray before they even fought as their transports were destroyed in orbit.
That being said, I'm more into Warhamer Fantasy. I enjoy the setting more and it has fewer, I hate to say it, kids playing. The biggest problem there is that Games Workshop works at a glacial pace in releasing new Army Books, with Bretonnians (Army I play), Wood Elves, Lizardmen, and Dogs of War still waiting. In 40k I play Sisters of Battle, which are great against armies like Orcs and Tyranids, but awful against the very popular Tau and Necron armies.
No matter which army or game you wish to play, wargamming is a great hobby in general. It's like building model ships in a bottle, it may seem tedious and huge at times, but nothing beats the feeling when you finish assembling and painting your first army.
--Satan, quoted by John Milton
quote:
Alt-F4 enlisted the help of an infinite number of monkeys to write:
Hey, this "n00b" has been playing for 5 years
... but who obviously knows squat about the 1st and the 2nd edition. =Þ
Bloodsage:
Think of WH40K as on overly expensive game of chess with a vast background story.
If you want a storyline for your games you have two choices, come up with it yourself or get one of the few campaign guides published by Games Workshop.
For example after a 5 year long break, I've played a mini campaign against a friend which consisted of three battles and had a simple background story.
The planetary governor of Telkrat had turned to chaos (not general chaos, but one of the main WH40K factions), become rebelious and offered shelter to a chaos space marine chapter.
The Dark Angels Space Marines were sent to establish a beach head and secure the area for Imperial army to reconquer the planet.
Due to the inherent arrogance of the Dark Angels or faulty intelligence the initial assault failled horribly. The Space Marines were driven back by the planetary guard (Imperial Guard, lots of simple infantry and battle tanks). To make things worse the Supreme Grand Master of the Dark Angels led the attack personally. Commander Azrael was lost behind enemy lines.
Only a few scattered troops survived and had to flee, er... make a tactical withdrawal.
(That was the first battle, a simple army vs. army fight.)
The surivivors realized that they couldn't win, the resistance was too strong.
So they retreated to an old monastry which they captured first because it was the home of the planet's astronomicon (a cabal of humans with psychic talents which are used for glaxy wide communication. Among other things). There, the chapter's tech marine, the highest loyal imperial commanding officer left on the planet called for help, because their situation was, well ... not so good.
To make things worse the heretic forces of chaos arrived on the scene only minutes after the remaining Dark Angels had secured the monastry. So while the tech marine tried to communcicate with terra, a battle for the control of this important location ensued. With the help of some frateris militia (more or less armed civilians) the loyal forces managed to repel the attack. Barely.
(The second battle: A few dug in Space Marines, including the survivors from the first battle, had to defend the monastry from a full fledged armored assault. Thanks to the 'old one', the space marine dreadnought Malleus Mechanicus they suceeded. Even the demons the heretic forces had summoned couldn't save the day and were gunned down.)
The tech marine had suceeded and explained the situation to the Adeptus Ministorium, back on terra. Alas they didn't want to lose any more troops and instead the Inquisiotion ordered an exterimatus of the chaos invested planet. (Exterminatus: Planetary bombardement, no survivors) The Dark Angels had to withdraw in shame.
Just as were about to leave the sensors of the Space Marine Battle Barge, high in the orbit of Telkrat picked up a distress call from Commander Azrael.
All members of the 1st company immediately volunteered ann beamed down to the location the distress signal came from. (In fact ALL marines volounteered, but the 1st company was the first to arrive on the scene, being the elite of the elite and stuff)
Arriving on the scene it became clear the distress signal really came from their supreme commander. Alas, they weren't the only ones that had picked it up...
So a race began, who could reach the wounded hero first?
(This was the last battle of our mini campaign: A take and hold mission. Both sides had to reach the the unconscious space marine. Driven by righteous fury my space marines steamrolled the enemy and rescued the leader of their chapter. 20+ Terminators, backed up by Dreadnoughts and Land Raiders isn't something you want to see coming at you. 
)
So you see, the game as much story as you want to have it.
We could've played three simple battles with no background story at all, but it was much more fun this way.
*The games were played with 2nd edition rules*
That's the one big turn-off right now: I have neither the time nor the desire to paint miniatures. 
--Satan, quoted by John Milton
quote:
From the book of Tarquinn, chapter 3, verse 16:
I mostly play with unpainted figures.
Because I'm lazy and untalented.
A man after my own heart! 
--Satan, quoted by John Milton
1st edition had a complex, intertwined, background for all the races. The artwork in the books was also vastly.. VASTLY.. superior to anything they've produced since then.
I miss it.
PS - Reading up, THEY REMOVED MOVEMENT?! How utterly cheesy. I'm glad I stopped playing.
quote:
T. E. Bloodsage thought this was the Ricky Martin Fan Club Forum and wrote:
Like chess. . .is it possible to get the figures pre-painted?That's the one big turn-off right now: I have neither the time nor the desire to paint miniatures.
Nope, no pre-painting. Personally, that was the part I most enjoyed, though I was pretty bad at it 
Most people don't mind unpainted models at all. Hell, I know people who used big graphing calculators as proxies for Land Raiders.
[EDIT] And as long as I'm talking about 40K, I don't quite get the jist of this "removed movement" thing. Do units have to travel either 6 or 12 inches now? [ 04-18-2003: Message edited by: Sentow, Maybe ]
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Sentow, Maybe had this to say about Robocop:
Nope, no pre-painting. Personally, that was the part I most enjoyed, though I was pretty bad at itMost people don't mind unpainted models at all. Hell, I know people who used big graphing calculators as proxies for Land Raiders.
Really.
95% of my army is unpainted, and about 20 guys are missing some kind of limb >_<
The game itself is a lot of fun and plays fairly quicky (1 hour for a small game, pretty good for tabletop), and involves lots of thinking.
You will have to take the time to build your mini's, but excessive modelling/conversion (like i do) isn't important. PAinting, you never HAVE to paint, and if you do, you can just throw colors on theme and say it's a scheme. Most people don't care about painting. (I spend roughly 4 hours per model though, sincei love painting).
I'm glad you like the 40k novella, BS. The atmosphere, I feel is refereshingly unique and different from all the sci-fi standards. Though even I have likened it to "Catholics.. IN SPACE!"
On the point of reason for battle, yes, there is. GW has a campaign going on constantly. Right now, it is the 3rd battle for armageddon. They'll release a codex and mini's for each campaign, along with an extensive backstory and website. While you don't have to tie your battle into it, a lot of the time it's just best to label it as part of the campaign.
Though the 3rd battle is almost over.. than the eye of terror starts! [ 04-18-2003: Message edited by: DS ]
quote:
Tarquinn's fortune cookie read:
I mostly play with unpainted figures.
Because I'm lazy and untalented.
Thank god Im not the only one. I have a nice space marine army assembled but unpainted.
I also have an army of Chaos from like 1st edition or something (They were given to me by a friend) which includes some heavy arse metal thing with loads of spikes. I hate that figure because it pokes me every time i touch it.
As for fantasy, I'm starting to get into it. I have a small dark elf army I'm working on (and wil be working on more when I find somewhere around here to play fantasy.) [ 04-18-2003: Message edited by: Falaanla Marr ]
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Falaanla Marr had this to say about dark elf butts:
I hate that figure because it pokes me every time i touch it.
And that is why no one steps on Dark Eldar twice.
As for EoT, it will be...eenteresting.
I hear that there will be to SM Codices, a new Eldar Strike Force, new IG stuff, and some new Chaos units.
Also, I hear the fate of The Dark City hangs in the balance. Hope it remains there!
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Bloodsage had this to say about Cuba:
Like chess. . .is it possible to get the figures pre-painted?That's the one big turn-off right now: I have neither the time nor the desire to paint miniatures.
I think it is possible for you to get painted models off of the online store, but they cost more(quite a bit)
It's going to be pretty cool.. but imagine how embarassing it will be if abaddon fucks up his 13th crusade! I mean, come on!
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DS had this to say about Reading Rainbow:
The eye of terror is going to be the Ulthwe Strike Force (pretty obvious), Cadians, Wulfen (Space wolf lost company), and The Lost and the Damnded (Chaos space marines meet imperial guard.)It's going to be pretty cool.. but imagine how embarassing it will be if abaddon fucks up his 13th crusade! I mean, come on!
It's going to be a little bit bigger...
quote:
Harbingers: 8 Companies
Iron Hands: 10 Clans
Space Wolves:12 Great Companies
Subjucators: 3 Companies*
Relictors:10 Companies*
Iron Knights: 1st Company
Angels of Absolution:10 Companies
Angels of Vigilence:5 Companies
Angels Sanguine:7 Companies
Dark Angels: 10 Companies (obviously out to avenge Piscina)
Death Spectres:6 Companies
Doom Eagles: 5 Companies
Exorcists: 10 Companies (DBs favorite chapter!)
Excoriators: 8 Companies*
Iron Snakes: 5 Companies
Marines Exemplar: 9 Companies*
Night Watch: 11 Companies*
Brazen Claws: 10 Companies
Novamarines: 6 Companies
Howling Griffons: 8 Companies
Storm Warriors: 10 Companies
Ultramarines: 1 Honour Company
White Consuls: 10 Companies *The ones with an * are possibly part of a specific founding of 20 marine chapters known as the "Astartes Praeses" founded to guard the Eye of Terror, however, the identity and status of all the chapters is not currently known.
As usual the Inquisition presence is classified, but includes, an unknown number of Grey Knights, Inquisitorial Task Forces and 38 Inquis-Trooper companies, plus a classifed number operating within the Eye of Terror itself.
Departmento Munitorum
18 engineer Corps
Seige Auxilia Corps: 28 Counter Siege BatteriesOfficio Assasinorum: Guess what ? Classified
Templars Psykologis
37 Disruption Teams
6 Augur TeamsAdeptus Mechanicus
Legio Astorum: Legio
Legio Ignatum: Legio
Legio Metalica: Demi-Legio
House Krast: Two Households
Centurio Ordinatus 4 Ordinatus
Ordo Reductor: Demi-Legio
Skitarii: 87 Regiments
Divisio Telepathica Psi-Titans: Classified
Imperial Fleet.Battle Fleet Cadia
12 Battleships
12 Cruiser Squadrons
21 Escort SquadronsBattlefleet Corona
7 Battleships
13 Cruiser Squadrons
17 Escort Squadrons
Battlefleet Scarus
5 Battleships
9 Cruiser Squadrons
13 Escort squadronsTotal current fleet assets in the EOT area
21 Front line Battlegroups
36 Rear Echelon battlegroups
4 Independant strike groups
21+ Space Marine Battle Barges
150+ Strike Cruisers
200+ Space Marine escort squadrons.followed by a "contined in file zippidit doadad" bit
For Comparison, heres the Chaos Fleets.
Estimated Traitor Fleets
Est 38 Battle fleets
est 19 "wolf pack" squadrons2 Blackstone Fortresses
Planet KillerBattlefleets of note.
The Grandfleet of the Despoiler
7 Battleships
13 Heavy Cruisers
est 23 Cruiser squadrons
30 Escort SquadronsFleet of Kosolax the foresworn
1 Battleship
3 Cruiser squadrons
8 Escort SquadronsThe Plague Fleet of Typhus
Terminus Est
2 Battleships
3 Heavy Cruisers
5 Cruiser Squadrons
12 Escort Squadrons
Not that I really care.
quote:
Tarquinn said this about your mom:
[QB]
*SNIP*[QB]
Holy mother of god. That is... That.. Umm.
Mommy!
That is 175 Front line Marine Companies. Many of which are from the first founding chapters.
You realize that in background even sending a squad of marines into war is a big deal and almost never taken lightly. And here they are going to have 175 COMPANIES!. Abbadon had better bring every last guy he has. Because he will need them.
Clcik the map for more info. [ 04-21-2003: Message edited by: Tarquinn ]
The originals that is.. it just gives a great sense of vast armies, mysticism, religion etc. *shrugs*
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Tarquinn obviously shouldn't have said:
Well, given the size of the Eye of Terror its not that much...Clcik the map for more info.
Umm You showed a map of the whole 40K universe. The eye of Terror is a fairly small area of space around Cadia.
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Azizza Model 2000 was programmed to say:
Umm You showed a map of the whole 40K universe. The eye of Terror is a fairly small area of space around Cadia.
Umm... you know that the WH40K galaxy is just as big as our galaxy?
Do you even know how big that fairly small area is?
quote:
Tarquinn's fortune cookie read:
Umm... you know that the WH40K galaxy is just as big as our galaxy?Do you even know how big that fairly small area is?
Well by GW fiction it is small enough to be guarded by a single System. I would guess the physical manifistation of the area is not that much larger than a couple of Star systems thrown together.
Oh and the 40K Galaxy is as large as ours because it IS ours 
quote:
Azizza got all f'ed up on Angel Dust and wrote:
Oh and the 40K Galaxy is as large as ours because it IS ours
Yeah, it's true. I've got me some sneaky eldar living in my basement.
They keep stealing my socks
quote:
Tegadil probably says this to all the girls:
Yeah, it's true. I've got me some sneaky eldar living in my basement.They keep stealing my socks
ROFL.
I used to play about 3 or 4 games a week. I decided I needed to cut back when I started having dreams about being a SPace Marine.
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Azizza had this to say about Pirotess:
Well by GW fiction it is small enough to be guarded by a single System. I would guess the physical manifistation of the area is not that much larger than a couple of Star systems thrown together.
Or look at it this way.
175 Space Marine companies = 175,000 Space Marines.
How many soldiers were stationed in Iraq?
IIRC about 250,000.
And that was for a small country and not for quite a few populated star systems.
quote:
Tarquinn was listening to Cher while typing:
How many soldiers were stationed in Iraq?
IIRC about 250,000.
And that was for a small country and not for quite a few populated star systems.[/qb]
A large group of Imperial Guard soldiers are moving down a road when they hear a voice call from behind a sand dune. "One Space Marine is better than ten Imperial Guardsmen!"
The Imperial Guard commander quickly sends 10 of his best soldiers over the dune, where upon a gun battle breaks and continues for a few minutes, then silence.
The voice then calls out "One Space Marine is better than one hundred Imperial Guardmen!"
Furious, the Imperial Guard commander sends his next best 100 troops over the dune and instantly a huge firefight commences. After 10 minutes of battle, again silence.
The American voice calls out again "One Space Marine is better than one thousand Imperial Guardmen!"
The enraged Imperial Guard Commander musters one thousand fighters and sends them across the dune. Cannons, rockets and machine guns ring out as a huge battle is fought. Then silence. Eventually one wounded Imperial Guard fighter crawls
back over the dune and with his dying words tells his commander, "Don`t send anymore men, it`s a trap. There`s two of them!"
Kind of adapted
[ 04-21-2003: Message edited by: Tegadil ]
quote:
Tarquinn enlisted the help of an infinite number of monkeys to write:
[QUOTE]Azizza had this to say about Pirotess:
[qb]Well by GW fiction it is small enough to be guarded by a single System. I would guess the physical manifistation of the area is not that much larger than a couple of Star systems thrown together.
Or look at it this way.
175 Space Marine companies = 175,000 Space Marines.
How many soldiers were stationed in Iraq?
IIRC about 250,000.
And that was for a small country and not for quite a few populated star systems.[/QB][/QUOTE]
You are ignorning the fact of course that a 100 Space marines are more than enough to wipe out a conventional force of almost any size. In game terms they have been scaled back from Novel and background levels. In the fiction it is not unusual for a Space Marine to kill 50-100 enemy and come out alive.
We once played a game with Space marines at about the level they are in the books. A single squad of Space Marines nearly wiped out a 2500 Point Orc army at a loss of 4 marines.
[ 04-21-2003: Message edited by: Azizza ]
quote:
Verily, Azizza doth proclaim:
You are ignorning the fact of course that a 100 Space marines are more than enough to wipe out a conventional force of almost any size. In game terms they have been scaled back from Novel and background levels. In the fiction it is not unusual for a Space Marine to kill 50-100 enemy and come out alive.We once played a game with Space marines at about the level they are in the books. A single squad of Space Marines nearly wiped out a 2500 Point Orc army at a loss of 4 marines.
You're ignoring the fact what they're going to face.
Demons and Chaos Space Marines.
quote:
Tarquinn enlisted the help of an infinite number of monkeys to write:
You're ignoring the fact what they're going to face.Demons and Chaos Space Marines.
I know this
However there will also be Millions of IG there along with Inqisition troops and god knows what else.
The ammount of space we are talking about is small on a Galactic scale. The number of troops is staggering. The sheer terror on everyones face when the Tyranids show up would be priceless
And personally, i'm more interested to see the fleet monitoring the tau.. I wonder how many worlds they will nab with the big boys are away?
quote:
DS's unholy Backstreet Boys obsession manifested in:
Just to note, I was simply making clear what army lists they were releasing.And personally, i'm more interested to see the fleet monitoring the tau.. I wonder how many worlds they will nab with the big boys are away?
Quite a few considering that most Imperials will defect given half a chance. The Tau are probably the only "good" race in the 40K universe.
quote:
Tarquinn thought about the meaning of life:
20k light years is small, huh?
Or look at it this way.
175 Space Marine companies = 175,000 Space Marines.
How many soldiers were stationed in Iraq?
IIRC about 250,000.
And that was for a small country and not for quite a few populated star systems.[/QB]
don't forget, there are over 1000 SM chapters.
I found this quote in the rulebook"There is less than one space marine for every single human enhabited planet, but they get the job done"
