#140: Tale of Four Gamers - 1000 Point Mark

Well, it's been another frantic month of painting for myself and my three adversaries, with some stunning results! After last month's "First 500", two of the participants have changed armies completely, but not wasted any time in making up for the lost time. So without too much more waffling on, here are the four armies at the end of month two!

Gabriel:

I'll get mine out of the way first.

Now, the first thing you're probably noticing is that my army is not quite 1000 points yet... Far from it, in fact. I only managed to hit 700 points fully painted this month, with another twenty Ard Boys on the painting desk to fill out the unit to thirty. I did, however, add a Warchanter and three Gore-Gruntas to the army!

I actually really enjoyed painting the Gruntas. They're probably my favourite models from the range so far, mostly because they offer a little variety in textures and colours that the armour-clad infantry just don't have. They also have nice big armour panels to allow me to practice more freehand and get those tags and strips down to a fine art. The two "rank and file" piggies are also awaiting their shoulder pads, complete with weathering and freehand, but... well... it was a slow month on the Ironjawz front. What this means is, I've got a LOT to paint next month to keep the pace! 

Liam:

Having started the challenge optimistically with Brayherd, Liam quickly realised that a horde army may not have been the wisest choice considering the time constraints. And so he made the bold move to go back to the drawing board, and start a brand new army from scratch. 

While it's undeniably character-heavy at this stage, considering the timeframe, I don't think anyone is holding that against him! Packing in two units of Blight Kings, this mortal Nurgle force is playing no games. A Rotbringer Sorcerer, Lord of Plagues and Gutrot Spume make a formidable bodyguard for Kazyk the Befouled...

...and some muscle was added to the list with this trio of Plague Ogres! Leaning heavily into some of the less common elements of Nurgle, I can't wait to see what Liam comes up with next month! It's sure to be suitably revolting.

Alistair:

Having also jumped ship for calmer seas, Al left Stormcast in his wake to work on a hyper-aggressive Idoneth army. With the intricate model range matching Al's impressive skills with the brush, it's no wonder that these have turned out incredibly. There are more eels than you can poke a harpoon at, and the shipwrecks have come up a treat. 

But without question, the Eidolon of Mathlaan is the centrepiece of his entire army. 

He's absolutely done the model justice, and it's going to look amazing leading the charge from the depths to pillage and raid the land of the dry. 

Blake:

Leading the challenge without question, Blake has added yet another amazing conversion to his Death army in the form of a towering Scarab Beetle, adorned with skulls and burdened with a Casket of Souls. 

In game, he's using it as a Mortis Engine, and no one is complaining. The model itself is both morbid and majestic, and fits the style of his army perfectly. He's also added two Dreadblade Harrows, heavily converted to fit the aesthetic, as well as another ten skeletons to give him his minimum requirements for battleline. 

The army of Death is growing at an alarming rate, and now that the armies are getting to the size where they can take to the battlefield, I dare say more than a few skulls will be claimed for Nagash yet.

I hope you enjoyed a peek at the armies as they prepare for war. Which is your favourite, and what two forces do you want to see face off first? 

Thanks for reading,

Gabriel

#93: How to be a legend for the ages, and conquer your foes...

Amid the absolute hysteria of 40k, something happened. On the bottom shelf of the new release section of the local store, tucked in beside boxes upon boxes of Easy to Build Plague Marines, sat a brand spanking new book, simply titled "Path to Glory".

Path to Glory is not a new concept. We've recognised it as a loose (and if we're honest, more than a little unbalanced between different battle tomes and races) way to play a story-driven campaign that follows two or more Heroes of the realms as they rally a mighty host to their banner and clash in titanic duals with other generals. It's been floating on the fringes of the Age of Sigmar for some time, with different resources and books adding more elements, but we finally have a wholistic, well-rounded format contained in one book.

Now, the first thing that leaps out to me while reading this is that it is most definitely not for everyone. I think it takes a certain kind of player to fully embrace the narrative, and put themselves in the shoes of their chosen Hero. Don't get me wrong, theres definitely still that competitive aspect; no one enjoys their rise to glory by getting their teeth kicked down their throats. Needless to say, that does not inspire confidence in the masses. But I couldn't quite put my finger on where this book lay in the landscape of tabletop wargaming. It wasn't a game type that encouraged matches that leave you with internal bleeding from the beating you received, but at the same time, it wasn't totally about telling a story at the expense of a gameplay.

Then it dawned on me, in a moment of clarity and perception. This is the playbook for Tale of Four Gamers! The more I thought about it, the more it made perfect sense what this book is designed for and what its purpose is. It's a resource to be used by a handful of mates to grow their armies, play through scenarios and work toward a final goal in a very flexible and diverse campaign system.

Let's talk about the campaign system first. Its beauty is in its simplicity; every win you receive, you gain Glory points, while every loss earns you only one Glory point. You also get to add a Follower (essentially just a new unit) to your army. You can spend more Glory points to recruit more powerful Followers to your army. And how do you win? Well, the aim is to recruit a certain number of Followers or to accrue a certain number of Glory points, then bag yourself a final victory to claim ultimate ascension to the throne! What this allows you to do is not directly compete with your opponents over the same goal. If you can't seem to get a win and you're getting absolutely clobbered by your mates, you can choose to pour all of your resources into growing your fledgeling force into a war host, hit that elusive threshold and go in hot for a single win to pip your opponents at the post.

Alternatively, if you're the type to trample your opponents into the dirt, you can bank all of your Glory points in an attempt to be the most infamous conquerer in the realms!

So, now we know how to win the campaign. Next question is… How do we get there.

Well, as is familiar to us now, the Path to Glory is built upon charts. To start your war band, you pick your general; each character has an estimated power that is reflected in how many starting Follower rolls you get. A Skaven Warlord, for example, gets 4 Follower rolls, while a Lord-Celestant on a Stardrake (yes, that is a legitimate option) starts with absolutely no friends. You then choose where to spend your Follower rolls, whether on Retinues (run-of-the-mill units commonly seen in the army), Elite Retinues (much more powerful units that cost either two Follower rolls or a Follower roll and a Glory Point… decisions must be made!) as well as Heroes and depending on race, things like Behemoths and Skyvessels.

Flicking across each race's charts, it all seems on an even keel. Coming from a Matched Play perspective, it took me a while to get out of the points mindset, as that only led to me noticing disparities in power. But I think that's where I was missing the point of the whole book. It's got nothing to do with points. It's great to see that different charts require different costs to roll upon. Three Gryph-Hounds is not seen as equal to two Fulminators, and rightly so. This book is not perfectly balanced, but it is governed by the Rule of Cool, and there is something refreshing and exhilarating about that.

Every Start Collecting box also has rules as a pre made starting war band. Now, I know what you're thinking…

"But Gabe, Start Collecting boxes are all great value, but they sure aren't equals on the table!"

And in that, you are completely correct, my dear reader. To compensate for this, weaker SC boxes gain a free "Reward" (essentially an Artefact, special rule or stat buff that can be applied to a unit or hero for the rest of the campaign to represent their experience, renown or martial prowess) to give them the edge; it should be said that some of the Rewards are exceedingly powerful. Don't believe me? Have a little peak at "Adepts of the Hidden Path".

On the other side of the coin, more powerful Start Collecting boxes (such as Beastclaw Raiders, those frosty brutes!) have had the goal posts moved, needing two more Glory points than other war bands would usually need before they can make a dash for the finish line.

All in all, this is pretty much Tale of Four Gamers in a single book. I think it works ideally with four to six players, with the time frame being entirely up to the participants.

It should also be noted that this book contains seven Battle Plans, that all focus on some really great situations. Beast's Lair is a particularly cool scenario, that basically throws a spanner in the works, as war bands not only need to combat each other, but also survive the onslaught from a roaming Monster that rampages across the table at will!

It's a good resource all in all. It may not be for everyone, but it definitely scratches that Narrative itch, and gives you some fantastic new ways to play and battle plans to navigate. The price point is a wee nudge above that of the General's Handbook, but I don't regret my purchase at all.

Have you picked up the book? If so, what did you think? It's so good to be getting some Age of Sigmar love amongst the 40k fever!

Thanks for reading, as always
Gabe