Better Loot Than Never...

Hello again.

Doesn't time fly when you get back into your work schedule and, as the annual peak period of the year builds, lose all track of time?

It has been almost two weeks since the Chillcon show in Derby, back on 22nd September. I was in two minds whether or not to go. I checked out the traders and, to be honest, whilst there were some gems, there were others I had not heard of or, on the face of things, was unlikely to be particularly interested in. Oathsworn would be there and there stuff is great, but I did have that feeling that I had probably done enough Burrows & Badgers stuff for now. Colonel Bill would be there too and there second hand options are always worth a look to find those hidden gems. Laser Cut Architect could tempt me with some more "Necromunda"-esque MDF terrain, but I have not painted a gang or built the stuff I have already yet. Crooked Dice were there and I had seen mention of a "Grandville" line of figures in honour of the graphic novels by Bryan Talbot, so I fancied a look at that. They might even convince me to add more to my B&B stuff. But there did not appear to be any real draw for me.

Of course, I did venture along to Derby and, in addition to what I had seen advertised, was pleasantly surprised to find Warlord there with a very full range and others too. And, as always, there was plenty to tempt me. Why would I doubt there would be? I think because, not having played anything for months and with my work/ life balance all out of kilter for a while now, I am struggling to get into anything. Quite simply, however, games or no games, time or no time, I realised again just what this hobby does for me, the release painting even a couple of miniatures provides.

So, where did I spend my hard-earned money?

Read on...

I did see this advertised and it appealed on a number of levels. To top it off, I got this for £31!!! It retails for £40!!! It ticks a number of boxes - limited figure requirement, an interesting period of history, expandable to other armies and not just Romans and Celts, simple rules. Only around a sixth of the rulebook is rules, the rest being scenarios, background, etc. I look forward to trying this rules set out and painting a few Celts. I would like to do some Roman Civil War stuff I think - Celts, Spanish, Numidians, Germans and Romans all freely mixed across the two "Roman" armies.
Thanks to "Mighty Lancer" game for this bargain!!!

I also had my eye on "A Dark And Bloody Ground", buying this from Warlord so I could get the "free" figure - a Woodland Indian peering over a large rock. This period is one for which I have some forces and was the subject of the last game I took out on the road at the Barrage show last year. I am still part way through painting the 35th Foot! The "Age Of Caesar" book I bought for some further background for "SPQR" really and the "free" figure is a Roman officer, so usable for that too.

I saw this on Nephew Nick's "Sleeping Dragon Hobby Shop" stand and immediately saw some potential for old mine works in my "Burrows & Badgers" games.

From "Laser Cut Architect" I acquired these sets to add some buildings to either my "Strontium Dog" set up or for "Necromunda"

Nephew Nick supplied this kit for two Biohazard tanks and, with two in the pack, it will be one each for "Strontium Dog" and "Necromunda". The other kit is a two tier medical block which will have to feature in one or the other game.

Pretensions towards using my Ancient Indians as a Great Kingdom in "SAGA: Age of Magic" saw me buy this figure from "Crooked Dice". Not cheap but, I am sure you will agree, very suitable for a fantasy Indian army!

These two "Crooked Dice" figures I had seen advertised and fancied as a crime-fighting duo for Scarsburgh, my fictional Burrows & Badgers town. "LeBrock" is a badger, but is rather smaller than the Oathsworn versions, so he will be painted as some other type of animal. "Ratzi" will do nicely as a rat, however! So, I give you Hemlock Holmes and Dr. John Ratson.

 A little, light, flavoursome reading from Oathsworn Miniatures is this small collection of newspaper-style articles and titbits. Having done a campaign newsletter or two in the past, I really appreciate this sort of thing.

Finally, I could not resist adding a few extras to my Burrows & Badgers collection. The main set will happily form part of my "Molegrew Haulage" company from the dockside area of Scarsburgh and you can never have too many wagons. The two ladies to the right I see as proprietrixes for a high-class/ lowlife nightclub in downtown Scarsburgh, with the odd talon or claw in the criminal underbelly of the town. The archer and fox figures will fit pretty much anywhere in my existing stuff.

So, a rewarding, if mildly expensive, visit and a most enjoyable one. How dare I think going to a show was not worth it!

G

New Loot

Hello again.

I had pondered for some time whether I was going to get the second edition of SAGA, having enjoyed the first one so much. I read reviews in magazines of what changes had occurred within the rules, but nothing really stood out. I saw the promises of various world books to come, with particular interest in the Age of Samurai option, as I felt that was a way to get some oriental stuff under my belt, but left it at that.

But then came "Age of Magic".

What was this? Did I want to spend £30 on another book, knowing I would also need the new rulebook to go with it? Did I want yet more faction dice, not to mention the magic dice to go with it?

Well, it turns out, yes I did!

The rules, the "Age of Magic" supplement and some Magic dice. I certainly hope they are "magic" when I come to roll them!

A set of each of the two faction dice, the magic dice again and some spell cards for those like me whose memory is not what it once was...

So, why did I succumb? Well, I blame Wargames Illustrated magazine. They ran a piece on this game a couple of months back and I was hooked.

• Being the owner of many fantasy figures, many of which are ready to go on the table any time soon, being painted and all, I quickly realised the outlay on this game would be limited to the rule books and dice if I wanted it to be.
• It was SAGA, right, so I was very likely to enjoy my games, just like I used to when thrashing Vikings and the like.
• It was easily and quickly expandable.
• It certainly looked the part from what I had read and seen in the aforementioned article.
• Within the six archetypal fantasy forces outlined in the book, there was massive flexibility to be able to create what you wanted to create, but sensibly bound by certain faction rules and constraints.

All good reasons, I think.

But, me being me, my thoughts turned to not just what I had, but what else I wanted.

I have a load of stuff I do not use, painted and unpainted. Hmm.

Those Ancient Indians would make a great "Great Kingdoms" force, especially with a multi-armed statue for some monstrous clout and perhaps a shape-shifting Rakhshasa or two. For "Great Kingdoms", think High Elves/ Empire/ Gondor.

Those Ancient Chinese would also make a suitable "Great Kingdoms" choice, especially with the addition of a Chinese dragon in the Monster category. The book's specialist option of "The Theocracy of Qwan T'ang" also fits well, but from the "Otherworld" faction, equipped with demon weapons and armour. Or perhaps I can have a terracotta warriors vibe with my monsters and creatures.

The "Undead Legions" specialist option of "The Royal Dynasty of Nephren-Ka" is a dead ringer (pardon the pun) for my once beloved Tomb Kings.

My Orcs fit neatly into "The Horde".

My Chaos forces can be split quite simply, with daemons going "Otherworld" and Chaos-worshipping humans going either Great Kingdoms, Horde if I make them hairy barbarian types or Otherworld too.

And that is before I drag the dwarves out of storage, the Skaven likewise, or think about anything else...

Highly recommended if you want some quick and easy fantasy games. The variety provided by the usual SAGA battle board system, together with the addition of a magic system allowing for the complexity of different spells cast at different power levels and you have a wealth of options. And who would not want to make some weird terrain to go with your imaginative use of old and tired forces?

Go for it!

G