Gotrek and Felix 3rd omnibus (Giantslayer, Orcslayer, Manslayer)

The 3rd Gotrek and Felix omnibus include the transition from the original author William King to the new author Nathan Long. Willaim King is probably my favourite Black Library author, and the Gotrek saga was a big mantel for Nathan to take over from. In all honesty, and especially in light of recent attempts by authors such as Josh Reynolds, Nathan does a pretty good job of taking on the mantel. Gotrek still feels like Gotrek and Felix the same, though obviously subtle differences may sometimes occur. The biggest change (and one which retrospectively makes sense) is that Nathan jumps 20 odd years into the future, which on the one hand leaves the ending of Giantslayer a little frustration, it does however all start to balance out as the series continues.

Giantslayer is the last Gotrek and Felix book by Willaim King, and follows on directly after the events of Vampireslayer. Inside Gotrek and Felix are magically transported to the fabled island of Albion, a island normally wreathed in mist to prevent outsiders from landing on mass, the island itself was the setting of those summer campaigns Games Workshop used to run (sadly it has been a while since they've done one, and they used to be something particularly to look forward to. Here's hoping that recent changes in company policy will eventually lead to their return). For clarification for those without any knowledge of the island, it's pretty much Scotland, with magic and giants. Gotrek and Felix are brought to the island, and seek to undo the scheming plot of two twin sorcerers of Tzeentch introduced back in Beastslayer (or Dragonslayer in reference). Along the way they meet a companion which Gotrek struggles not to put and axe through almost as much as the forces of Chaos. I'm talking about none other then the High-Mage Teclis himself who is a very interesting companion for the duo to travel alongside.

Giantslayer: 8/10 (Simply for the bit where Gotrek chops through a whole tree, otherwise a 7)

Orcslayer sees Gotrek and Felix return to the Old world, specifically the Dwarf port/Fortress of Barak Varr, and later the dwarf hold of Karak Hirn. Full of dwarf characters galore, and a substantial orc army, Orcslayer has a lot of what I personally enjoy in a Gotrek and Felix novel. It also investigates a lots of Gotrek past, and presents a very unique insight into his past before becoming a slayer. In many ways this book is just a enjoyable and captivating to read as previous novels such a Beastslayer and Vampireslayer, and it's hard to put my finger on many bad things in the novel to separate it from earlier works. There is plenty of dwarfy-ness, often a sure fire way for me to enjoy a book, but if i put it next to Dragonslayer or Skavenslayer I just feel that maybe the switch over to Long from King takes a few books to really get into.

Orcslayer 7/10

Manslayer see's Gotrek and Felix return to Nuln, the ill-fated city from the previous novel Skavenslayer. Manslayer has a lot in common with Beastslayer, in that the adventure's find themselves involved in plots and intrigue meant to case harm to the Empire and undermine it's efforts in the war against chaos in the ongoing invasion by Archaon. It has sees the re-appearance of a previous cast members, further deepening the plot (and giving room for a spin-off series "hint hint-nudge nudge"). I think Manslayer (for me atleast) see's Nathan getting to grip with the Gotrek and Felix series, and whilst it's not the best one i've ever read, I do feel it's a good stepping stone in his telling of the saga.

Manslayer 7/10

Gotrek and Felix 2nd omnibus (Dragonslayer, Beastslayer, Vampireslayer)

The 2nd Gotrek and Felix omnibus follows on with another 3 books from William King, taking the story forward from the events at the end of Daemonslayer. Further involvement from their nemesis Thanquol, and the introduction of a new character in Ulrika are key inclusions. Questions like what is Gotrek's shame, what was his past life like, and what is the back story regarding Felix's blade are all delved into. A great selection of enemies in their myriad forms are included, and cover areas ranging from Kislev, and the World's Edge Mountains to Sylvania. Also I failed to mention in the earlier review the addition of Snorri Nosebitter (how i could forget is a great shame, in fact I may shave my head and dye it orange). Snorri often fills comic relief in the book, as well as showing another of the slayer cult in a different light. The companions go through their adventures together about the Old Word as the slayers seek their dooms.

Dragonslayer is possibly my second favourite book of the Gotrek Saga. Filled with lots of Dwarfs and their engineering innovations (I'm an engineer by trade, and have a preference for dwarfs if it wasn't obvious, which probably explains my personal bias to some of the novels). Heading back to the Old world after the events of Daemonslayer, the companions return to Karak Kadrin with Malakai Makaisson (another dwarf introduced in Daemonslayer I should have introduced). Unsurprisingly the events involve a dragon, and begin to show a plot line that is woven into the following 3-4 books in the series. The inclusion of a variety of slayers start to delve into dwarven culture a little more, and how various members of that grim society may become slayers. Also present are a nice handful of orcs and bandits for your pleasure. This story along with Skavenslayer probably rank joint second, as it really depends on whether your more in the mood for some comic skaven warfare or a little more dangerous foe for Gotrek and Felix (and Co.) to face.

Dragonslayer: 9/10

Beastslayer brings out group back to the chaos wastes, looking to help save the Empire from a huge Chaos Invasion (not an Archaon one for those who keep track of those things). Going to the citadel/fortress city of Pragg, the first bastion against against the chaos hordes, they seek to help the defenders in repelling the invaders. But Pragg is a bastion which would take months to wear down and, unsurprisingly, the chaos horde is fractious, only held together by its warmaster and leader Arek Daemonclaw, a follower of Tzeentch. So when events seem to undermine the city of Praag's ability to holdout against the invading force, treachery is assumed. What follows is a story that further delves in Gotrek's past, and continues the build suspicion about the grand fate which waits for the Slayer. Beastslayer almost has the feel of a murder/cop drama, with investigate and intrigue rife. Tzeentch is the Weaver of Fate and the Great conspirator, and unsurprisingly the story involves a great deal of intertwining plots. The score for Beastslayer is only 8 due to my (somewhat personal) bias towards Skavenslayer and Dragonslayer, but it is still a great William King novel.

Beastslayer: 8/10

Vampireslayer rounds up the 3rd book in the second omnibus, and like the name implies involves the undead of the warhammer world. Warhammer Fantasy vampires have a certain appeal to them, not only do they come in a variety of forms (Necrarch, Von Carstein, Blood Dragon, Lahmian and Strigoi to name the main few), but represent a force of evil in the warhammer world which isn't a follower of chaos (unlike skaven and dark elves, which in many ways are tools of/or twisted by the dark powers, vampires supposedly are a anathema to the powers of chaos, and both forces reject each other). Thus they often seek to dominate the worlds of men, rather than annihilate them. Often beings of immense age and magical powers, they present a very intriguing character for Gotrek and Felix to face. Unlike Daemons and Dragons, a vampire is or was a man(woman) at some point or another, and often has character features or flaws which are entirely human. This story presents a more Von Carstein vampire (for those that don't know, think standard Dracula style, with a bit of necromancy).Vampireslayer is probably a little bitter-sweet by Gotrek and Felix standards, and whilst gripping, doesn't leave me with that same feeling to grab my axe and go to the pub. For that i give it an 8.

Vampireslayer: 8/10

P.S.  I found this whilst double checking i wasn't making any mistakes, someone has gone to the trouble of creating as accurate a timeline for the Gotrek and Felix saga. It's an impressive piece of work, so I thought I'd'd post it here and give full kudos to kalevalahammer, the site it is hosted on, great work :) http://kalevalahammer.webs.com/timelinegotrekfelix.htm

Gotrek and Felix 1st omnibus (Trollslayer, Skavenslayer, Daemonslayer)

Gotrek and Felix are probably the most famous duo from the warhammer fantasy universe. Gotrek is a slayer, a dwarf who has earned some great shame, and seeks atonement through death. So great do dwarves feel the weight of shame that the only resolution is to seek an honourable death. But for a dwarf not to seek to win in combat would be dishonourable, thus do they seek victory even whilst they seek death. Some dwarves are so skilled (unlucky) that they keep staying alive, but the longer they stay alive the more unhappy and disagreeable they become (for a race already holding a slight disposition towards grumbling). This helps set the foundation for Gotrek. Felix on the other-hand is a man of the Empire, who was an aspiring poet before a mishap in a duel with a fellow college student resulted in his death. Thus expelled from his position, in a fit of drinking he agrees to chronicle the story of Gotrek's demise. But not until the morning does the full depth of what that commitment means sink in, nor is he aware of just how capable a combat Gotrek truly is. Thus most stories for the Gotrek and Felix series involve the battling and (normally) destruction of some quite powerful/dangerous opponent(s). All the while generally learning a little bit more about Gotrek and Felix.

Trollslayer is actually a series of short stories written by William King about the adventures of Gotrek and Felix. Generally based in the lands of the Empire, it has a few very key moments in the overall story that stay with them throughout their adventures. Whilst a collection of short stories, William King (the creator of Gotrek and Felix) brings to life the nature of both adventurers, he lays the foundation which has given birth to over 15 books and a number of short stories/audiobooks. If you want to read Gotrek and Felix, I would almost demand that it be read in order, despite regularly making reference back to previous books (with the exception of the most recent few), there is often critical/important information which would otherwise lessen ones enjoyment if you went back to read them.

Trollslayer: 8/10

Skavenslayer is the second book in the series, and involves unsurprisingly the skaven. Besides them being an appropriate enemy for a dwarf, the skaven antagonist provides an element of humour and introduces Gotreks (often unbeknownst) nemesis, Thanquol. The events of Skavenslayer take place in Nuln (i believe) in the Empire, and introduces the infinitely fickle and varied ways in which the skaven operate. A classic in the Gotrek and Felix series. 

Skavenslayer: 9/10

Daemonslayer is the 3rd book in the 1st omnibus, and personally I'd say it's my favourite. It involves so many elements of dwarf nature that it's hard not to love. The stoicism, the determination, the engineering, the axes, the beards, the value of material wealth over their very lives, and the notion of fighting a battle to the very bitter end for their families and honour. Introduce some daemons (not much of a spoiler their), and more background into Gotrek's history and you have everything you could want in a Gotrek and Felix book. Introduction of a few more important characters for the next few books and you have my personal favourite from the 15+ books available.

Daemonslayer: 10/10

Horus Rising- Horus Heresy book 1

Dan Abnett, a regular author for the warhammer 40k genre, brings us the first novel in the now 20+ long series, The Horus Heresy. The Horus heresy is arguably the most singularly defining moment in the warhammer (40k) universe. If you don't know the story, go read about that first, because to be honest you probably don't know very much about warhammer 40k in the first place. Assuming you've done that, then I can go on and explain how this book sets the foundation for Horus Lupercal to become Horus the betrayer.

Horus Lupercal, along with 8 other Primarchs, turned against the emperor, and joined forces with chaos. But how did they fall? How were they seduced? Why weren't they wary of chaos in the first place? Why didn't any external forces intervene? And who were those loyalists troops that ultimately meet their end on Isstvan III? How did the other brothers respond to their treachery? and what twisted their aims and goals so much that they were willing to give up on everything they had fought for up to that point in the Great Crusade?

The first three novels of the Horus Heresy series are, whilst written by different authors, part of a trilogy following the events leading to Horus' fall and the eventual betrayal of loyalists from Sons of Horus, Death guard, Emperor's Children and World Eaters on Isstvan III. Horus Rising details Horus relatively soon after his ascension to Warmaster and the Emperors return back to Terra. It explores the entirely human side of Horus, and introduces a number of previously unknown characters including but not limited to: Garviel Loken, Tarik Torgaddon, Horus Aximand, Saul tarvitz, and Lord-Commander Eidolon. Abaddon and Lucius (the eternal) are present in their pre-heresy form, and the Primarchs Sanguinius and Rogal Dorn have some cameo appearances. Also present in the series are Remembrancers. In typical Dan Abnett fashion, the inclusion of non-astrates personal were vital for the effect story-telling of the heresy, and so the unheard of (ok from my reading) inclusion of poets, historians, dramatists, painters, photographers etc are present aboard Horus battleships, and many other of his brother Primarchs (but not all it is noted). Some of these civilians play important roles in the character development of the Astrates as well as the plot line in the story.

The first book plots the core character, Garviel Loken, in his journey as captain of the 10th company to a member of the Mournival, a not-so-secretive group of four individuals who act as Horus' advisers. It covers the legions exploits on 3 alien worlds/civilisations, and highlights the burden and human nature of Horus and his legion. Without simply going through the whole story, Abnett in his classic fashion pulls you into the different personalities, and tells a wonderful initial tale for the characters. Ultimately Horus Rising is just that, the ever continual rise of Horus Lupercal, First among brothers and Warmaster to the entire Great Crusade. But with the fairly well know end to the story, it's all the more upsetting to see the great and magnificent being he is presented as, knowing his eventual path into darkness will follow.

If you want to read any books in the Horus heresy, read this one, especially if you don't have a massive allegiance to any other (chaos) space marine chapters, and even if you do, this book (and the following 2) are telling the story of the betrayal from the core antagonist (Horus), and thus worth a read for better clarity with the other books worth reading.

Score: 8/10

Vampire counts

The necromantic dark arts were brought into the fantasy realm through the dark lord Nagash,  Manipulating the evil magic of captured druchii sorcerers, he developed the methods to prolong and eventually sustain eternal life. From tomes of his vile work, the first vampires were eventually born, the original bloodlines. Most of the vampires eventually moved out of Nehekhara, and into the lands from the badlands/border princes to the Empire. Naturally once they found ample feedstock to enjoy most vampires stayed within those regions, each sticking to their own prefer domains whether that be the wilds alone such as for the Necrarch, or those who desire society and upper class refinement such as the Lahmians/Von Carsteins.

But what happened if a vampire wasn't content with the Empire or Brettonnia, what if the lands of men lead him to despise them, even in undeath? Not in the way of the Strigoi though, where they lose all vestiges of their humanity, but still retaining their sanity, only a dark core a hatred for humans ho don't even deserve the undeath which the vampire lord can bring them. South isn't possible in the old world, as that land is the realm of either the dead or lizardmen (skinks). The cold north of the old world might be the only option (assuming he doesn't fancy venturing past the legions of greenskins, ogres and chaos dwarfs before reaches lands once again filled with men). The Norse are tough, rugged, and very often barbarous. But they are dangerous, each man earns his place through combat, feat of strength and arms. They don't live for politics, or taxation. They take what they desire and keep it through being strong.

But living vessels are still just cattle, only in death can these men become servants, and only in serving do they have value. The ice and snow of the north are a natural defences against men of the south, but they can be treacherous to those that reside there. Whole villages and towns have disappeared in avalanches and snowstorms. In lands where the dead are more commonly burned, where else can you find a army to start a war with.

That's the theme for my Vampire Counts army. Frozen solid zombies, Long dead skeletons warriors from under the earth, a terrorgheist lost in the mountain ranges drawn to the necromantic powers of the vampire lord. Half dead wolves from the north, drawn to the carrion. Grave guard and Black knights drawn from those warriors who pre date the coming of Sigmar. The vampire horde will be lead by a lord, most likely on foot but perhaps accompanied by a contingent of Viking-turned-vampires (in the form of blood knights) and mounted. His primary role is one of support and unit generation, and I am somewhere between a Vlad von Carstien character (in terms of stats) or more of a Necrarch character (being more magic heavy). Modelling purposes I images more of a blood knight appearance with ice and frosted armour. Support will come in the form of a necromancer, possibly mounted on a corpse cart for bolstering core troops. Previous attempts with combining marauders spares with the new skeleton kits were less than successful, as the helmet from the marauders barely fits over the skeleton heads (once hollowed out) and the weapons have much thicker shafts then the swords used by the skeletons, hopefully a nice tie in with the WoC army will be possible in terms of appearance though.

Warriors of chaos warband

In the frozen tundra of the north, marauders, raiders, and the devoted of chaos reside. Images of wolf pelt clad warriors with massive axes and fur boots, snow up to there knees and beards of all colours. Monstrous wolves, mutated and grown large through the warping affects of chaos. In the north, they don't see their gods as evil, but rewarding those who they deem worthy. If your culture raises you from birth to see value in certain actions, and encourages you to strive for those goals, then most likely you will idolise those beliefs. Most tribes of the north take a facet of the chaos gods or the Pantheon as a whole, and focuses that as it's goal.

Aeslings, Baersonlings, Sarls, Skaelings, Bjornlings etc Norse tribes ready to plunder the empire for it's riches and reap the rewards the chaos gods bestow upon them. Residing in Ice and snow in huge log cabins and villages. Personally I've always had a bias towards blue in my armies, so when it came to deciding upon allegiance in my WoC army, Tzeentch came up trumps. Changer of Ways, Master of Fortune, Architect of Fate and The Great Conspirator. Intrigue, plots, scheming, and destiny. As warrior of chaos what better way to achieve advancement than through the god which can control the future, and guide you to ever greater glory. Capricious by nature, those followers of Tzeentch must push themselves to their limit in the hope of receiving his blessing, in whatever form that may take.

Unlike most followers of Tzeentch, this warband does not actively seek mutation for it's benefits, rather accepting it if it is bestowed upon them by their patron, but each seeking to bring about change and greater density through each individuals actions.

I question I often asked myself starting this army was who governs this warband, who leads it into battle. I like to imagine that each unit has a captain, who likely leads that group around their region, whether that be norsca or the chaos wastes. So the Marauders have their chieftain, who leads the marauders on foot and horseback. The Chaos warriors are lead by the most brutal and cunning of their lot, who may be leader of the whole warband (see Chaos lord or Chaos Sorcerer Lord)

Or it may just be a deamon prince, capable of the utter destruction of a lord with the magic powers of a sorcerer, and worth the cost of both combined in terms of points.http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?9130-Tzeentch-Daemon-Prince

(the deamon prince below has been completed by a member of BellofLotsSouls called Isotope99, and it's a pretty magnificent looking model)

Naturally in certain engagements a member of one of those units would take command, and for the purposes of gaming that is the view point I plan to take. Hope my army will consist of Sorcerers, lords and deamon princes, each likely to be up-spurred by the later as new and more powerful members joined/took control of the warband.

I hope to load up some more detailed images of my warband, maybe even a few in progress updates for those unpainted models. In the meantime I leave you with a very poor quality image of part of the warband as it stands (I apologise about the quality, I was in a room with a very poor light and night-time)

Black Library Novels

I plan to write a review on those black library novels i get around to reading, or have previously read. A list of those books ive read so far include:

Warhammer Fantasy:
Gotrek and Felix omnibus 1 (Trollslayer, Skavenslayer, Daemonslayer)

Gotrek and Felix omnbius 2 (Dragonslayer, Beastslayer, Vampireslayer)

Gotrek and Felix omnibus 3 (Giantslayer, Orcslayer, Manslayer)

Gotrek and Felix omnibus 4 (Elfslayer, Shamanslayer, Zombieslayer)
Gotrek and Felix Anthology
Gotrek and Felix Road of Skulls
The Vampire Genevieve (Drachenfels, Genevieve Undead, Beasts in Velvet, Silver Nails)

Warhammer 40k:

Ragnar Blackmane saga omnibus 1-2

(Space Wolf, Ragnar's Claw, Grey Hunter, Wolf Blade, Sons of Fenris and Wolf's Honour)
Ravenor and Eisenhorn Trilogies (Ravenor, Ravenor Returned, Ravenor Rouge and Xenos, Malleus and Heretic as well as a number of short stories)
Ice Warrior

Horus heresy:

Horus Rising
False gods
Galaxy in Flames
Flight of the Einstein
Fulgrim
Legion

Time of legend:

Nagash trilogy (Nagash the Sorcerer, Nagash the unbroken, Nagash immortal)

Sigmar  Trilogy (Heldenhammer, Empire, God King)

The Great Betrayal. 

I've included Audio Books in this list because I plan to cover them as well. More like short stories, there are times where the atmosphere they create can be very enjoyable useful when your hands are busy painting.

Legion of One
Helion Rain
Lightning Tower
Thunder from Fenris
Dark King
Raven's Flight
Gotrek and Felix: Curse of the Everliving

Craftworld Eldar

Eldar were my first army. Before Space wolves, before Dwarves, before any other I bought Eldar. Back then Autarchs didn't exist, wave serpents hand to be modified from a falcon and wraithlords were a very heavy, awkward looking metal figurine.

I'm fairly certain my first model was a box of guardians.  Now seen as a great troop choice with improved statlines and better shuriken performance, their original quality left something to desire, and as troop choices they were mandatory. I remember reading a white dwarf with Phil Kelly's Ulthwé against chaos space marines.  Small guardian squads with starcannons can be the bane of marines, and so I followed the example with my troops.

Around the same time the expansion for craftsworld eldar came out. I think I love all 5 craftsworld in their own way, Alatoic ranger army has such an appeal, both visually and the idea of pinning whole sections of your opponents army due to the vast number of snipers. Iyanden, with the new models could be amazing, but back then I didn't want an army of the dead made exclusively out of heavy metal figurines. Saim-hann could be fantastic, but until they update the jetbike model a little I can't see me every going down that path.  Ulthwé. Army of psychers and guardians. Nowadays it has huge appeal, but I always worried about the glass cannon nature of a heavy psychic force with guardians who at the time where pretty poor to average. So Biel-Tan was left. I could care less for white and green armour. But an army of specialist aspect warriors, able to be fielded as troop choices. (Which you could do back then).

Since then it has changed a little, and I'm no longer able to field them as troops (though the potential Biel -Tan craftworlds  supplement may amend this). instead a balanced army featuring as many aspect warriors as I can, supported by some guardians, falcons and a small farseer+warlock combi/avatar for HQ support represents the bulk of my forces.

The vast majority of my army needs repainting, or at the vary least some touching up. As the blog goes along I'll hopefully post up updated photos of my squads or models.

Space wolves theme- Krakendoom, Ragnar or Logan

Trying to decide on which company to base my space wolves around has jumped a little over the ages. Orignally, back in 2nd edition, it was all about krakendoom. Back then very little detail about any of the leaders, let alone the great companies was available. All that defined krakendoom was his insignia of a sea-fairing wolf of sorts. So i attempted to establish his insigina on all my troops. I'll go on record now and say I don't have the most coordination with my painting, and even less when I was younger, and whilst I could just about manage waves, that was all I could manage.

With the relase of the 5th edition codex a significant amount of information was release for all the great companies. Hurray! only this is. The more they talked about the different companies, the more i found my personal unit preference leading to a different type of leader. After having read the 6 Ragnar series novels by Willaim King and Lee Lightner, I'd always had a soft spot for this leader, and only the lack of a suitably amazing model left me from diving headlong.

Logan Grimnar, probably the most respected and loved warrior in the whole galaxy. Not a bad lay to claim. Also doesn't take shit from Imperial authority or Chaos. He also strides quite menacingly with a giant axe and a suit a terminator armour. Sometimes it's nice for your leader to be some monstrous power cannon able to storm through anything. Normally that requires your leader to be biked/jetpacked/crisis suited up maximize it's impact. Personally I tend to like my leaders on their feet, or a best with a jump pack (aesthetically speaking at least, I don't undervalue the jetbike/bike etc). So then your leader should be able to help bolster your units. Well I like troops. Mechanised lists have massive appeal obviously, but for me often times the best armies are ones with interesting/entertaining/powerful troop choices. Space wolves (especially those lead by Grimnar), have that in spades. Grimnar can upgrade his unit with role specific skills, and also give every friendly unit within 18'' a +1 A once per game......with an army full of troops who like combat it can be a pretty impressive skill. But obviously he is pretty expensive.

Ultimately I've decided on Logan for the time being. I may still purchase a Ragnar model if they release a new one with the new space wolves codex whispered  for release mid 2014. But for me, for now, my company is that of the great wolf himself.

Grombrindal-The White Dwarf

White dwarf have just released the new white dwarf model, a bram stocker van helsing-esque model with a comical vampire goblin and coffin. To honour the true white dwarf this post is focusing on a particular favourite dwarf of mine. In fact, the only two other dwarfs who I think are as impressive are all represented in a fantastic model diorama.

The white dwarf, or Grombrindal as he is properly known, is a dwarf ancestor.  For a race which values and respects age as a significant indicator of personal worth, ancestors are vaunted above all others. By. Grombrindal isn't simply old. He singularly personifies dwarf-ness,  he is the mountain. Hard and unforgiving as stone, and immovable as the rock which they come from. Born from the greatest betrayal to befall the dwarf race, from the greatest of their kind, Snorri Whitebeard died and was reborn as Grombrindal at the betrayal of Malkeith.

He is never ending. He will be with his race until the very end, fighting those who have betrayed his race. Strong, tough and almost invincible, he resides in you unit only to reveal  himself when your unit is most in need.

Full rules for the model can be found here http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?categoryId=&pIndex=4&aId=4600005a&multiPageMode=true&start=5 , Personally he is pretty pricey at 500pts, but for an unbreakable, str 6, ws 7 re-roll to hit, wound and forces your appointment to re-roll their armour save (which would be at best a 4+ due to his str), 1+ and 4++ with MR(3)  he can single-handedly sit on an location and be immovable.

Malleus, xenos, hereticus oh my

I dont plan on doing news updates regularly on this blog. Naftka, belloflostsouls and a host of other sites do this more rigoursly and effectively than i ever will. But when something to exciting comes along i have to say a few (or not so few) words. So blacklibrary have released more information on the upcoming inquisitor codex. Now I think the previous codex grey knights is pretty cool, and the inquisitorial additions is one of the strongest drawing forcing to starting one up. But sometimes you just want the inquisitor without the grey knights.

All the information is up on the blacklibrary website http://www.blacklibrary.com/Blog/Nobody-expected-Codex-Inquisition.html. Naftka's site also has a good post about it. http://natfka.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/codex-inquisition-information-pages.html What stood out was "Most customisable".  That word is quite a big one for me. Partially because it brings back memories of the old 54mm scale inquisitor game, which was by definition infinitely customisable. The other is simply the range of modelling and customisable characters it could lead to.

Back when they released  the inquisitor game over a decade ago I had only been involved in the game for a few years. The hours spent pouring over character sheets, making individual and warband members, rolling an unusual d10 (Well for warhammer anyways) dice all in the name of customisation. Ultimately after a year or two it started to drift off the radar. Now specialist games are pretty much long gone, though a very nice 28mm scale inquisitor community exists, and recent articles in white dwarf by John Blanche are pretty inspiring.

So what does it all mean? Well it means I can start making an inquisitor warband close to what I had desired from my 54mm scale miniatures for my games of 40k. So I get to go back to my notepad and pencil. Minus the d10.

Armies of the Karak

Normally one of the first questions you ask someone who plays Warhammer Fantasy or 40k is what armies do they collect. Often times it can tell you some interesting aspects of a persons character. So what do I collect.

Well the temptation is to say everything, but it is a little less. Space wolves, Eldar, Dwarves, Warriors of Chaos (WoC), Chaos Space Marines (CSM), Vampire Counts, Orcs & Goblins, Skaven, Tau and Necrons at present.

The latter four armies especially are still very much in their beginnings, whilst the initial four are much more established armies. Getting around to painting everything is it's own separate task. I have some models desperately in need of touch ups since my youth, and others which i'm desperate to paint for the first time, but I tend to try and set my standard high (in terms of my own skills) so I find 1 unit can take a good few evenings of my time.

Hopefully as time goes on I will be posting up pictures of my armies, of certain units or models and talking about lists or just themes of armies. I'm also hoping to start working on a nice bunch of terrain some time soon, as i've got an ever expanding selection of scrap material I plan to use.

Having a crack

So i've seen so many great blogs out there, and finding what to write about shouldn't be a chore for me, so i've decided to follow suit and talk about what I know and enjoy. At this point in my life Warhammer fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 are pretty big, though the realms of online (and offline) gaming are an ever present pull in one direction or another. It does help some of those are Warhammer or similarly tactical games.

I'm sure as I start this is going to have the feel of someone new to writing blogs (unsurprisingly), so hopefully you can all have some patience if it reads poorly or has odd gaps or seemingly in-congruent points made.

Anyways I hope this becomes something to enjoy and look forward to for your Warhammer (or other category) fix every so often. Please see the links to some sites I enjoy visiting, some are blogs whilst others are simply fan projects worth reading. I'll add to them as time goes on.