Inspired by the d6 Generation...
I finished listening to the most recent episode of the d6 Generation podcast yesterday, and it got me all wired up about a couple of things.
First, they had an interview with Ross Watson from Fantasy Flight about the upcoming release of Dark Heresy: Ascension (an RPG supplement). While it didn't really make me want to get into that particular RPG, it did further my interest in the Warhammer 40k universe enough that I went out at lunch and picked up The Inquisition War omnibus. Ascension is all about increasing the power level of the Dark Heresy game to actually being an inquisitor and those on his same basic level, and all the fluff they mentioned about the universe furthered the interest I already had from all their other talk about the miniatures game. I still don't see my self getting into any of the actual games (minis or RPG's) right now, but depending on how much I like the novels, that could change.The other thing they did was to review the new Sea of Blood advanced campaign setting for Descent. All their talking about Descent in general and how the advanced campaigns work really got me fired up about getting this to the table again. I haven't played any Descent in about a year or more, and I still haven't played through any of the Road to Legend campaign (which I own) either. I'm really excited now about doing both. I've mentioned this before, but I'd love to start a bi-weekly or once-a-month Road to Legend campaign where we play for a couple of hours at game night however often we decide.
Anybody else interested???
The Inquisition War omnibus is a good read regarding the Warhammer 40k universe. I would also check out Dan Abnett's books as well.
I'm in for any future campaign gaming the group decides to do.
BTW... First call on BLACK TEMPLARS if we do the minis.
Alton,
We ARE doing minis.
Kenny has the foundation of players for the Hypermind Combat Patrol League. It should start in March/April.
So when are we actually going to see these Black Templars???
In March or April at the start of the Hypermind Combat Patrol League season. What weekends will be playing?
Alton, we're talking about trying to have people play on Thursdays and Saturdays, depending on when people who challenge each other can get their schedules to sync up. But bring your guys this Tuesday night - I'm taking two lists for a demo/teaching game with Mark G., but they're both just glued up now, not painted. If someone could bring a 400-point painted list that would be very cool, it would be a better recruitment tool. For that matter, you could play Mark and I could ref it; that might make it easier for me to walk him through the game!
Ive got a better suggestion for waiting until the nebulous "March or April"...
Bring them on 2/23 for my bday celebration at Hypermind...or bring them on one of the upcoming Saturdays that Ken is organizing.
Why wait two months to let us see those beautiful Templars that you've been telling us about for so long?!?
Chris, if time allows, I am still interested in doing the Descent: Road to Legend.
Right now, Saturdays are my best days. Perhaps once or twice per month. In the summer, my schedule obviously opens up.
Let me know.
I wouldn't be opposed to Road to Legend either.
On that note, Denise has the new water-based expansion for it.
Sea of Blood... that was the main point of the d6 Generation podcast that I referenced. It's another campaign setting, like Road to Legend, though, and I haven't even played the one I have yet. But I am interested in picking up the Tomb of Ice expansion, which had more monsters and heroes, another mechanic or two (including "feat" decks for players), and it expands Road to Legend as well.
The d6G guys recommended Tomb of Ice as the best of the "small" expansions, so if I see some potential for us to play it soon, I may pull the trigger on it as well.
I really want the Tomb of Ice, and I don't have any of the other expansions. Spectre-type monsters are kind of my thing.
Chris, I'd agree with Alton on picking up the Dan Abnett "Eisenhorn" trilogy; it's also about a high-powered Inquisitor doing his high-powered Inquisitorial things (I'll be happy to lend it to you if you want). However, here's the thing - I'm not going to get into some big dissertation on the ever-evolving canonicity of 40k fiction, but you should bear in mind that the first of the collected Ian Watson books in that omnibus you bought was written in 1990, which is like a thousand iterations of the 40k backstory ago. His book reflects that - it's a bit more baroque, more Grand Guignol, than current 40k fiction/backstory tends to be. But I think that makes is stronger, frankly. His books were written back when it was SOP for Imperial Guard regiments that had successfully fought daemonic opponents would be spaced after the battle so they couldn't 'infect' civilians with stories of what they'd had to fight. A lot of the old dark weird stuff that used to go on in 40k has been/is being toned down (remind me to go into my 'Space Marine recruits = modern-day child soldiers' jeremiad sometime); but the Watson Inquisitor books were written before those recent changes, and I think that's a major part of what makes them good. Some people online like to act like Watson is a big hack and Abnett's Daishell Hammet come back to life, but to be honest they're both just dudes writing books about little plastic toy soldiers, and they both turn out a fairly entertaining (if somewhat potboilery) product.
The other good thing about the Watson books is that there's Squats in 'em, which you ain't gonna see in 40k stuff anymore, so yay for that too.
(PS that was the SMALL dissertation on the ever-evolving canonicity of 40k fiction, heaven help us all)
Yeah... maybe I should pull that toe back out of the water before I step in further and drown!
Don't let me run you off - you should know by now how much I love to over-analyze stuff like this. The only really important point in all that word salad above is that Watson's Inquisition stuff is going to feel pretty radically different from Abnett's; that's not a bug, that's a feature.
Of course I'm just kiddin', but with how slowly I read things these days (in the 12.2 minutes average I have to read right before falling unconscious each night), it'll be a couple of years before I get to read it anyway.