Chaos Space Marines versus Space Marines and Orks / 40K Battle Report / 1500 points

On Sunday, Krüger, Jörg and I had a game of 40K. It took four hours. After two hours we had a break to eat a marble cake and to talk about coffee machines. Krüger drinks seven cups of coffee a day. As the result of our discussion Krüger now wants to buy a second coffee machine.

Jörg started with 40K not so long ago. He brought the Chaos Space Marines from the Dark Vengeance box, painted in an eerie Genestealer purple and Rakarth Flesh. I played with Jörg in a team and added about 1000 points: a Chaos Lord, 2 units of Plague Marines, a Rhino and 3 Obliterators. Krüger brought all the Orks and Space Marines he has.

We are in the process of balancing our lists. Jörg’s part of the chaos army is a bit fragile. He has two small units of cultists, a small unit of Chosen CSMs, a Dreadnought and a Chaos Lord, whereas Krüger’s list is quite effective, the result of many years of gaming against me.

We still use the rules of the 5th edition because nobody could convince me yet that there is a better edition. The scenario was seize ground and spearhead with four objectives.

I took pictures with my dad’s old 35 mm camera and notes on a piece of paper. I don’t think it’s easy to write an entertaining battle report. Here are some inspiring blogs:

Ancient Battles

Andy's Wargaming Blog

The Stronghold Rebuilt

1000 Foot General

So what happened on our table? In turn 1 Jörg’s Chaos Dreadnought (Hellbrute) destroyed Krüger’s Dreadnought. (I know. It’s just dice and probabilities, but the thing has a long history of bad luck. It doesn’t work. It’s malfunctioning. Instead of buying more coffee machines, Krüger should get a new Dreadnought.) 

In turn 2 Jörg lost a unit of Cultists and the Chosen Chaos Space Marines, but we were able to shoot down a Deffkopta.

In turn 3 Jörg’s Chaos Lord and one of my Plague Marine units destroyed a unit of Space Marines. Krüger attacked my obliterators with a large horde of Orks and destroyed them. I countered his attack with two units of Plague Marines, won the fight, and the two models that survived, a Warboss and a Nob, flew.

In turn 4, Krüger’s Kommandos appeared and we lost the Chaos Dreadnought. Another unit  of Cultists that was supposed to secure an objective on our side dropped like flies.

In turn 5, Krüger held one objective on his side while the objective on our side was contested by two Killa Kans. I tried to fight them off with two units of Plague Marines.

I think we made some mistakes figuring out the dice scores needed to damage the Killa Kans, but I’m not sure if the result would have been different. I wasn’t able to destroy one Killa Kan and Krüger won the game. All in all, it was fun. Krüger’s list is almost a Dreadnought / Killa Kan spam list. Jörg and I need something to counter that. And Jörg’s CSMs need more punch.

Last Trip to the DUZI

I had a website about my wargaming activities called the "Wambeler Zinnfigurenmuseum". I had written its HTML code using a simple text editor which was a lot of work. The website was in German. I'm sure nobody read it. Not even the friends I game with, although it was supposed to be our club website. When I realized that, I closed the "Wambeler Zinnfigurenmuseum" and started this blog.

The link list you can find under the label "Herr Zinnlings Links" on the right side is the only part of the old website that I'm still using.

My cousin and I used to go to a wargaming convention in October called DUZI. They had a big Warhammer tournament which looked like fun and many vendors selling miniatures, terrain, books and sculpting supplies. One year they even had people dressed up as Romans.

In 2013 the convention was cancelled. This year it wasn't even announced. Who knows, maybe it's gone forever. Last time I was there with my cousin was in 2011.

I looked through the archives of the "Wambeler Zinnfigurenmuseum" today and found a text about our last trip to the DUZI. What irritates me is that I mentioned I was about to start an ancient imagi-nation project with my cousin, a project which is slowly taking shape now, three years later. I haven't changed much since, I guess. I'm the same quirky, childish, silly, slow person I was back then, trying to convince my friends to start new wargaming projects once in a while, which usually takes forever.

Here is the original text for you to read: 

Auf diesen beiden Bildern ist Herr Karl auf der Empore der Niederrheinhalle in Wesel zu sehen, wie er ein Miniaturledersofa und zwei kleine Kistenstapel aus Gips in Papiertaschentücher einwickelt - alles kurz zuvor am Stand von Didier Fünfrock-Dymowski auf der DUZI erworben.

Herr Karl ist zwanghafter Sammler von Zinnminiaturen und Geländeteilen. So gut er kann, versucht er zu vermeiden, daß seine Sammlung zu Schaden kommt. Abgeblätterte Farbe oder Klebe, die nicht mehr hält, kann ihm mehrere Tage lang die Stimmung vermiesen.

Die Fotografien wurden von Herrn Sven mit seiner neuen digitalen Schnappschußkamera aufgenommen.

Herr Sven und Herr Karl waren in den letzten Jahren oft auf der Duisburger Zinnfigurenbörse.

Während der Aufnahme der Fotos befanden sich auf der Empore der Niederrheinhalle neben den beiden Herren noch ein paar junge Menschen, die dort die deutsche Fearless Meisterschaft austrugen - irgendwie ein trauriger Anblick, wie abgeschoben, ausgestoßen wirkten sie. Und das trotz der unglaublichen Preisgelder von insgesamt 600 €, die es dort zu gewinnen gab.

Das große Warhammer Turnier fand in diesem Jahr zum ersten Mal im Parkettsaal statt, nicht mehr auf der Empore.

Alles in allem war es ein sehr entspannter Messebesuch. Herr Sven kaufte sich mehrere Boxen mit Zauberern des Imperiums von Games Workshop und einen wunderschönen Turm. Herr Karl zwei Schachteln Waldelfen Bogenschützen, einen Blutbrunnen und die anfangs erwähnten Geländeteile.

Lust bekamen die beiden erneut, an dem Warhammer Turnier der DUZI teilzunehmen, das in diesem Jahr mit stattlichen 3400 Punkten ausgetragen wurde.

Ihre Gespräche kreisten hauptsächlich um ihr neues Projekt, in zwei Blogs antike Imagi-Nationen zu erfinden und Kämpfe zwischen diesen mit Miniaturen auszutragen. Daher standen sie lange an den Tischen der Anbieter von historischen 28 mm Miniaturen aus Plastik herum und begutachteten Gußrahmen von Kelten, Griechen und Numidern.

Oldhammer & Rogue Trader

Here are four Oldhammer and Rogue Trader blogs I discovered recently. Amazing stuff. Check it out!

Realm of Chaos 80s

Warhammer for Adults

Deathworld Adventures

Roebeast's Magical House of Sunshine

The Statue

Heracleides and two of his officers discuss a statue they discovered on the beach of Thassikos Chorios. (Or Waltrop how the natives call it.)

Heracleides: "There are three forms of art: 1. Art that depicts things that are real, like plants and animals. 2. Ornaments which please the eye and 3. everything which has its source in human imagination. The first form of art is the best, the last the worst."

Officer 1: "Let's hope the creature depicted here does not exist, Heracleides!"

Officer 2: "And doesn't live on this island!"

(The miniatures on the picture were painted by Simon Bradley and Steve Dean as a commission.)

The Imaginary Island Waltrop

When the king of Kalimera sent an expedition to the island Chourmi to found another colony, the island Waltrop was discovered. It looks like a big fish. In fact, Waltrop, or Thassikos Chorios how the Greek call it, is a Karubi island that had somehow drifted 9400 km eastwards to the Mediterranean Sea not long ago. The Greek explorers under the command of brave Heracleides decided to land their ships on the beaches in the northeast of the island and to set up their camp there.

The Real Waltrop

Krüger and I are planning a campaign for HotT and Warhammer. It's going to take place on an island. The armies involved will probably be Hoplites and Orcs, maybe wild men wearing scary tribal masks instead of Orcs. (Hey Jörg, you can still join us! A pity you don't like Greek hoplites.) The island will be called Waltrop.

There is a place called Waltrop near Dortmund, the city Krüger and I are from. The real Waltrop is a little city in North Rhein-Westphalia. Our friend Jörg with whom we play 40K is from Waltrop.

To get some inspiration for our imaginary island Waltrop, a month ago Krüger and I visited the real Waltrop. We found out that they have panda bears, coffee, bananas, giant sea horses and an abandoned disco called "Pam Pam".

I just noticed I got kicked out of the blog network Tale of Painters, which is understandable because I haven't posted too much about GW products lately. Understandable, but it still hurts.

I hope I wont loose any of my 16 followers because of this blog post. Bear with me. Please.

Maleficent

I have watched "Maleficent" twice with my daughter and wouldn't mind watching it again. It's entertaining, sad and a bit scary, a horror movie for children. I like the basic idea, to tell the story of "Sleeping Beauty" from the perspective of the other side, the side of the witch that curses the newborn princess Aurora. It's "Sleeping Beauty" after 50 years on Freud's couch, who says: the evil witch isn't evil, she has good reasons for behaving the way she does. For a fantasy movie produced by Disney, you get a complex, rich narration. The original movie serves as an undercurrent which the spectator constantly relates to the remake. In this version of the story Maleficent is the queen of winged fairy creatures living in an enchanted forest. She falls in love with a human, is betrayed, hurt, but doesn't turn cold and egoistic like the human beings she gets into conflict with. Angelina Jolie plays her well. (I didn't even know Angelina Jolie could act at all. I guess I have to watch "Tomb Raider" again.)

The special effects are fun. Robert Stromberg, the director of "Maleficent", worked on visual effects for movies like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Pan's Labyrinth". The cinematography reminded me of old Czech movies in a good way. The only thing that bothered me was the orchestral soundtrack which played non-stop. Why do the Disney studios think this is a good idea? I like the slow, eerie cover version of "Once Upon A Dream" by Lana del Rey though, which plays through the end titles.

Ok. I know. This is a wargaming blog. I stop trying to sound like a film reviewer now. If you play Wood Elves in Warhammer or any other tabletop game, like I do, you might especially enjoy a combat sequence in the first third of the movie. The old human king leads his little army of knights and foot soldiers against Maleficent's tree creatures and is defeated. Here are two lists for Hordes of the Things, representing the armies:

Maleficent's Fairies (Defender): Aerial Hero General (Maleficent), 1 Behemoth (large treeman), 7 Beasts (fairy creatures)

King Henry's army (Attacker): Knight General (King Henry), 3 Knights, 4 Blades, 4 Spears

Anybody know a manufacturer who produces a 28 mm miniature resembling Maleficent?

Fuerteventura

Giant Olive on Legs / Gurps Stats

ST: 12   DX: 7   IQ: 2   HT: 10

HP: 12   Will: 10   Per: 7   FP: 10

Speed: 4.25   Move: 4

Dodge: 7   DR: 0

SM: 0

Traits: Blindness; Cannot Speak; Doesn't Breathe; Doesn't Eat or Drink; Immunity to Metabolic Hazards; Injury Tolerance (No Brain, No  Eyes, No Neck, No Vitals); No Fine Manipulators; Slippery; Unhealing (Total); Vibration Sense.

Armour & Possessions: Chucks (DR 1, $50, 2 lbs.)

Joaquín Wearing a Giraffe Mask Upside Down

Wargaming Weekend

Two weeks ago my cousin Sven came over to Berlin for my birthday. I'm 44 now which means I have been into tabletop and role-playing games for 30 years.

My original plan was to organise a HOTT mini-campaign for the weekend, but we played one game of Warhammer, 40K and HOTT instead.

The first game was Warhammer Fantasy on Friday night. Krüger came over and teamed up with Sven against me for a 1500 point battle. They played orcs & goblins, I played wood elves.

My list still is a bit fragile because I started to collect wood elves not so long ago. Their list included a giant, 4 trolls, a large unit of orcs, a unit of orc boar boys, 2 units of night goblins with fanatics and some goblins on spiders. A nice looking army.

The game felt a bit like the horrible German boardgame "Mensch ärger dich nicht". The dice and our lists determined what happened, strategic thinking didn't matter much. The worst moment was when I managed to cast "The call of the hunt" on my eternal guard, an augment spell, giving each model an extra attack, and still lost the unit in close combat that turn. The game played itself. It was a waste of time.

I'm not saying that this was anybody's fault. Actually balanced, exciting games are difficult to organise if one player brings a fragile list and the other players have a lot more models to choose from. The game was over after turn 3. (I guess I have to put some effort into making my list less fragile.)

Saturday afternoon, my cousin and I played 40K. We played the 5th edition, including some rules from the 6th edition like overwatch and rolling the charge range. Because of peer pressure half a year ago I thought I had to switch to the 6th edition, although I like the 5th edition much better. (It's a pity that Alessio Cavatore left Games Workshop.) After endless discussions my friends and I compromised on using the 5th edition as our main ruleset and including our favourite rules from other editions as house rules. This way everybody has to think what rules he really likes and why. Games are much more fun this way, I think.

So on Saturday we played a 1000 point battle. The scenario was capture + control and spearhead. Sven had brought his Tau from Munich, I played Plague Marines. Sven's Tau are one of the coolest armies I have played against. They are really well painted, with lots of stuff on the field. The game was quite exciting. It lasted for 7 turns and ended in a tie.

On Sunday morning, which was my birthday, I played HOTT against my cousin. I think HOTT is my favourite game at the moment.

I played wood elves: hero (general), 4 spears, 3 shooters, 1 behemoth, 1 flyer.

Sven played goblins: warband (general), 3 warbands, 2 riders, 2 beasts, 1 behemoth, 1 hero.

I was the defender. I put a temple in the centre which led to both of us dividing our armies into two parts. The 4 warbands on Sven's right side, including his general, stayed in the woods and didn't make it into close combat.

At the start of the game, his hero killed my flyer.Then my hero general killed one of his beasts.

His hero killed two of my shooters.

My remaining shooter killed his hero. (Wow!)

Two of my spears killed his other beast.

My hero general killed his behemoth.

I won the game and we went to a Greek restaurant in Kreuzberg to get drunk. Thanks to everybody involved this was a great gaming weekend.

Playing GURPS with my Kids for the First Time

Ok. This was cool. Saturday morning I played GURPS with Lina (5) and Hendrik (3) for the first time. I had prepared a dungeon for them which you can find here. They played princess Blume and prince Marmelade who went into the cellar beneath the royal kitchen to fetch some giant olives for the cook.

There they encountered two dire mice. One got away with a keychain. The other attacked with a broom. Prince Marmelade got hit on the head, but defended himself super-hero style, shooting electric rays out of his hands. Princess Blume narcotized the mouse with "sleep", a mind control spell. Well done.

Prince Marmelade then opened a locked door to a 3m x 3m room using his lockpicking skill. There they found a little box filled with cookies in the form of islands. (I had baked the props Friday night.)

They went around the dungeon and explored the other rooms with the help of a talking cat, picked up a flute and found a room filled with giant olives on legs wearing sneakers. Prince Marmelade opened the door to that room with a wire. The giant olives got out and escaped, but the prince and princess were able to catch one of them and bring it to the cook who probably made a Greek salad out of it.

The game took about an hour and was lots of fun for all three of us. Level 2 will be about prince Marmelade and princess Blume trying to find the cook's missing keychain and Alex, the kitchen boy. I hope I find time to prepare it soon.

What I'm Working on

5 green creatures.

6 pieces of area terrain.