First battle coming...help me build my list!

*Squeek*

"Your paint-fu is improving Grasshopper.

Now...prepare to go to WAR!"

Well, if everything goes according to plan I may actually get my very first game of WFB in this weekend here in Tokyo. In preparation for that I would love to get some help from anyone reading this about what models I should take from my army (probably ALL of them as it isn't very big at the moment...)

You can see the current state of my army on my Warlord Clan Page

So, what kind of army do I think I need? Well, at the moment I can't tell you as I don't know my opponents army. What I DO know is that if possible I should bring a minimum of 2,000 pts, and if possible 2,500. I know that not knowing the opponent's forces may make it difficult to get help from you all, but I hope you may be able to help me with a well rounded list.

I do know I could do with more strength in several areas of my existing army:

- Screaming Bell.

- More Rat Ogres.

- More Slaves.

- Gutter Runners.

etc.

and although I do actually have all those models, let's assume I won't be able to get any more minis painted up by Sunday. As we will be playing at a GW store in Tokyo, I believe you are not allowed to field unpainted  (or just undercoated) forces so literally, what you see on my army page is what we have to play around with.

Any and all help would be appreciated, especially when it comes to equipment for characters etc. I'm perfectly happy to run a "Vanilla" list (what choice do I have?) as this will help me get to grips with the core units in a Skaven army. If it is any help, I'm playing against a friend of mine who knows this is my first game, so it will be low-key and I wouldn't expect him to bring anything really hard-core (and he will expect the same from me.)

So, if you have a moment please pile in with your advice (or evil laughter at my impending doom if you wish) in the comments below. When the fog of war (and paralysis caused by Warpstone fumes) clears after the weekend I hope to post my first battle report...

...and so, to WAR!

Cheers!

*Squeek*

EDIT: My opponent, true gentleman that he is, has let me know what he intends to bring to the party. Orcs and Gobbo's... a 2,000 point general list with a little bit of everything.

O&G List - 2000 points

Lords (Max 25%) - 298

Orc Warboss: Wyvern, Enchanted Shield, Biting Blade, Light Armor (LA), Luckstone   298

Heroes (max 25%) - 212

Orc Shaman: Level 2, Hand Weapon, Dispel Scroll    125

Orc Big Boss BSB: BSB (Battle Standard Bearer), Hand Weapon, LA, Shield, Ironcurse Icon 87

Core (Min 25%) - 630

Orc Arrer Boys x 20: Bows, hand weapon, LA  140

Orc Boys x 30: Full Command, Hand Weapon, LA, Shield 245

Night Goblins x 20: Short Bows, 2 Fanatics   110

Wolf Riders x 5: Spears, Shield, LA, Short Bows, Hand Weapon 65

Spider RIders x 5: Spears, Shield, Short Bows 70

Special (Max 50%) - 575

Black Orcs x 20: Pile O'weapons, Heavy Armor, Shields, Full Command    295

Orc Boar Chariot : Scythed wheels 85

Snotlings x 3: Exploding Spores   90

Trolls x 3: Fear, Regen, Stupid, Vomit    105

Rare (Max 25%) - 285

Giant      200

Rock Lobber 85

 

Any advice from you Skaven warlords out there?

Stunty - Tastes Like Chicken.

*Squeek*

So, gaming is many, many things to many, many people, but one of the things that I guess people don't think about a great deal is the visuals that contribute to creating the atmosphere of the game, a great brand or gaming experience. It is there, you see it, it contributes subconsciously to the overall impression, but you don't think about it. At least, this is something that I didn't think about very much until I happened to be looking at some of the Warhammer Online images and downloads that are on the Warhammer Online website (as I was in my last post).

I hadn't noticed the "Propaganda Posters" that were on the downloads section before (even though apparently they have been around for at least a couple of years!). If you are a WFB player, you may like these, even if you don't play WAR...

Dwarves:

http://www.warhammeronline.com/art/index.php

Orcs:

 High Elves:

http://www.warhammeronline.com/art/index.php

http://www.warhammeronline.com/art/index.php

Dark Elves:

http://www.warhammeronline.com/art/index.php

http://www.warhammeronline.com/art/index.php

Empire:

 Chaos:

http://www.warhammeronline.com/art/index.php

(Got to say, the "Stunty tastes like Chicken" poster is my favorite - no apologies to you stunty players out there of course!)

You beady-eyed Skaven devils will have noticed of course that there are no propaganda posters above for the much maligned (yet beloved to many) Skaven race! There are some desktop backgrounds for Skaven. I have to say though that they aren't as good as the posters above (IMHO), but might still interest you - check them out below:

http://www.warhammeronline.com/wallpaper/index.php

http://www.warhammeronline.com/wallpaper/index.php

http://www.warhammeronline.com/wallpaper/index.php

http://www.warhammeronline.com/wallpaper/index.php

So having been inspired by these images, I decided to have a trawl through the WFB 8th edition rulebook again for the art and design. Yeah, gorgeous! Many pleasurable hours spent going through the rules, and many more to come revisiting the art and design. Hats off to the designers and artists - all of them - who have contributed to the franchise, models, boxes, rulebooks and army books since the inception of the game.

If you have some time, go back to the rulebook and take a look at the art and design again! Pretty impressive stuff.

What are your favourite images, posters, pieces of art or artists from the WFB world or materials? Are there any images that particularly stick in your mind for Skaven? (or any race that you play?)

*Squeek*

The Verminous Horde Invades...

"Squeek"

Sooo, Warhammer Online. I haven't played for a while and now it really shows, as I didn't even know until today that there had been a new patch in October of November last year and that the Skaven are now integrated into Realm V. Realm warfare.

Patch 1.4.0 added "The Verminous Horde" free content for all subscribers that includes the following 4 "Playable" Skaven Classes

Warlock Engineer, Rat Ogre, Pack Master, Gutter Runner

Copyright Mythic Entertainment: Warhammer Online

The new content also included a new dungeon, "Thanquol's Incursion, that promised new loot etc. You can find details of what the update included here.

You can also find a full list of the capabilities of each class here. Although I haven't played any of this content or these guys, I enjoyed reading through this as the abilities lined up somewhat with the content you would expect from the different Skaven classes:
- Warlock Engineer: Doom Rocket (which as well as knocking down the enemy, knocks the WE off his feet too!), Warp-Energy condenser, Death Globe, Warp-fire thrower, etc.
- Gutter Runner: Spy, Gutter Run stealth mode, Sabotage enemy war-machines etc.
- Rat Ogre: Frenzy, Savage Assault, Charge, Roar, Bash etc.
- Pack Master: Supports the Rat Ogre and Increases his effectiveness. "Thwap! Thwap!! Thwap!!!" attack, "Overconfidence", "Scurry Away" (for "when the going gets tough") and "Rats of War" (rats burst from the ground and attack the enemy. Each injury becomes a "Festering Wound")

As you can see, these would seem to try to capture the spirit of the Skaven very nicely, and include some of the dark humour that Skaven players should appreciate. To get a sense of the actual characters in motion, check out the player-made video below:

Now, it is important to note that the Skaven are not a "Playable Race" in the traditional sense of the word. What I mean is that don't you enter the game, choose to be a Skaven and then and level up from 1 all the way through to the highest levels in the game, adding equipment and abilities as you go (the basic gameplay mechanic of most MMORPGs). Instead, I understand that the expanded content for the Skaven is available at the highest level, and in RVR only (realm v. realm).

...what a shame!

Despite some of the really cool ideas that sound like fun (see the vid below where the Rat Ogre's "Hurl" skill is put to - endless - good use) the introduction of the Skaven seems to have satisfied no-one:
From what I hear...
- They aren't a fully playable race.
- They are accessible as mercenaries to both sides, which includes the "Order" faction. (WHAT!!??)
- People playing Skaven routinely get owned by other players as you don't keep your own skills when you become a Skaven player. (Which seems logical to me but...)

Have you played the expansion? Taken charge of the Skaven? Played as one of the classes above? If so let me know in the comments below - I'd like to know more about how the experience was!
In the meantime, here are some pics of some characters you might find familiar, brought to (digital) life in Warhammer Online - The Verminous Horde. (Regardless of how the game plays, I think these look great!)

"Squeek"

The Chattering Horde...needs you!

*Squeek*

"Fellow Warlords, exulted Grey Seers (and great-beyond-words Vermin Lords, should you be listening!) The Chattering Horde needs your strength and verminous energy.


Gather round, you heralds of Clan Mors, Clan Skryre, Clan Eshin,  (if you are here...I can't see you) and Clan Moulder and listen to my plea...(NOT YOU, Plague Priests and emissaries of Clan Pestilens, you stay at the back where you can't cause any trouble, or...retching!)"

As you know The Chattering Horde doesn't (and won't) have advertising. Today, I'm making an exception for a good cause. If you aren't interested because this is a Skaven painting related post, no worries - I don't want to waste your time! For everyone else, please read on.

As most of you probably know, March 11th saw a great tragedy unfold in Japan. A huge earthquake of almost unprecedented strength (it has now been upgraded to a 9.0) was followed by a huge tsunami that literally swept away whole towns and sadly, sometimes many thousands of the people who lived there.

The death toll has now (at the time of writing) risen to over 6,000 and may well rise to 10,000 or more. Following this, the tsunami and earthquake proved directly responsible for causing problems at 4 nuclear reactor plants.

Today, the alert level for the reactor disaster has been raised to a level 5. (To find out what this means go here.)

I'm a gamer living in Japan, working in Tokyo. I've been here 15 years. My family and I are safe. Life in Tokyo is now inconvenient (rolling power blackouts, some queuing for food and essentials) but is as nothing to the hardships those in the worst affected areas (see above) are going through. I have no intention of leaving Japan personally - Japan has been good to me...

...so I can't just stand to one side and not find some way to help those in the worst affected parts of Japan. I can't do anything about the reactor problem, but I can do something about the looming humanitarian disaster following the earthquake and tsunami. Many people have lost their homes, livelihoods and families. It is cold up there (it snowed recently) and they are running out of food, petrol and water.

That is why I have made a donation to the Japan Red Cross. How did I do that? Easy. I spent some warpstone tokens on this stunning charity t-shirt:

A considerable % from the sale of every t-shirt will be donated to the Red Cross. For price information and details Click here to learn more.

Let me say that these t-shirts are being advertised on http://www.japan-zone.com/ . Although I know the webmaster of that website (and trust him implicitly) I have no financial interest in the sale of this item. I won't profit by even one green warpstone token myself from this. Furthermore I don't believe this to be a scam. The t-shirts are designed and printed in Nagoya, Japan but you do NOT have to be in Japan to order or receive one.

Thanks for reading so far! To finish up, just let me say this. There seem to be some people out on the web who are saying things like:
"This is karma/ payback for World War II/ Pearl Harbour/ eating whale meat..."
"Japan is a rich country, why donate anything?"
etc.
You be the judge of whether these are well-reasoned arguments or not (fortunately they are vastly outnumbered by people expressing sympathy). To me, the perceived wealth of a country, or the behavior of past generations, is absolutely NO reason not to support a good cause - anywhere in the world!

Thanks a lot for reading this. If anyone is annoyed that I should post this on a blog dedicated to painting Skaven, please accept my apologies (but it is my blog!)
;-)

++Normal service now resumes++

"SQUEEK"

p.s. Happy to report that after I emailed G.W. to ask after the safety of their staff in Japan I received the following reply...

"Hi,

Thanks for the email, it’s nice to hear the level of care and consideration you show. We are glad to report our all of our staff in Japan are all ok, we received an email from the Head of Japanese retail confirming this by email on Monday.

We hope you are safe and well after this disaster.

Thank you for the concern and all the very best.

Kyle Workman

Games Workshop Customer Services"