Godzilla Online Rollcall!

In April 2008, when I started this blog, I started with a post in hopes to find old friends in an online game long gone. In September 2009 someone finally discovered that post and replied, OmeneX_DR the leader of Death Row. Here is the originial post

Omen was the first of a few Godzilla players that posted to my call to Godzilla Online brothers! Today my old friend, and the one to get me into the Shadow Wolves AND Godzilla Online, JuGGaLo_SW posted a comment to the blog. I can't explain how awesome it is to be reunited with so many old players who loved Godzilla Online.

Today I am renewing my effort to find more of the old players and my effort to try to obtain a player run server of the game. With some luck I believe it will be accomplished. Below is the list of players. I am happy that so many found this! We will get this game back up and we will get one big ass Egg game going!!!! Maybe even some Chrissy/Sub drama! haha!

Again I am so glad for all of you guys that found this posting! This has me so excited, and right before the Holidays!! All of you have a Merry Christmas!



OmeneX_DR
RancidSick_DR
OneRep
Nookie_DR
DynamO_SW
Bandido_SW
Smart_SW
Newster_SW
JuGGaLo_SW!!!!


Just so you know Jugg, I never listened to ICP and had no idea what JuGGaLo meant, haha! So I never think of that band when I see your callsign. Are any of you other guys on XBL? Here is a pic I found online to get everyones blood pumping more! Catch you all around!

The First Drops of Blood Fall

The Brigand War Campaign kicked off Saturday evening into Sunday Morning! Several armies converged on Blood Grove, their goals were their own, their intentions … to spill the blood of their enemies!

Some came to apprehend the Brigand King, Lord Hannibal of the Outcasts of Athel Loren, the others seeking to destroy hated enemies or claim glory for their people or clan. A few of the group managed to complete two battles, some put one under their belt. We had three seasoned players and four new players. It was a good time for all to learn a new game system and get some much needed battle experience!

A brief battle report is posted here at Rysm Tower http://loreseeker.blogspot.com/2009/11/brigand-war-1st-round.html
Below are the battle results

(Army - Massacre/Solid Victory/Marginal Victory/Draw/Loss)

Wood Elves Brigand King-0/1/1/0/0

High Elves-1/0/0/0/1
Ogre Kingdoms 0/1/0/0/1

Lizardmen-0/0/0/0/1

Dwarves-0/0/0/0/1

Bretonnians-1/0/0/0/1

Dark Elves-0/0/1/0/1

Here is a breakdown of the points achieved by each army based on performance in the battles.

Wood Elves
First Battle - Lizardmen (1000pts)
MV – 15, Heros – 2 = total 17pts

Second Battle - Dwarves – (1500pts)
SV – 20, Heros – 2, BSB – 5, = 27pts

Total Score – 44pts

Bretonnians
First Battle - Dark Elves (2000pts)
Loss – 0, General - 3

Second Battle Allied Battle (Dark Elves and Ogres)
Results were a massacre but since Allied battle is shared and confusing for scoring, both High Elves and Brets get a Marginal Victory for pts and all heroes killed.
MV – 15, General x2 – 6, Heroes – 2, = 23

Total Score – 26pts

High Elves
First Battle – Ogre Kingdoms (1500pts)
Loss

Second Battle – Allied Battle (Dark Elves and Ogres)
Results were a massacre but since Allied battle is shared and confusing for scoring, both High Elves and Brets get a Marginal Victory for pts and all heroes killed.
MV – 15, General x2 – 6, Heroes – 2, = 23

Total Score - 23pts

Dark Elves
First Battle – Bretonnians (1500pts)
MV – 15, General – 3, = 18pts

Second Battle – Allied Battle (High Elves and Bretonnians)
Loss – 0, General – 3, Character – 1 = 4pts

Total Score = 22pts

Ogre Kingdoms
First Battle – High Elves (1000pts)
SV – 20, General – 3, Hero -1 = 24

Second Battle – Allied Battle (High Elves and Bretonnians)
Loss – 0, General – 3, heroe – 1 = 4

Total Score = 28pts

Dwarves
First Battle – Wood Elves (1500pts)
Loss – 0, General – 3 = 3pts

Total Score = 3pts

Lizardmen
First Battle – Wood Elves (1000pts)
Loss – 0

Total Score – 0pts

Brigand War Warhammer Campaign

In less than three weeks a bunch of my friends and cousins will meet for a day of Warhammer Fantasy battles. This will be a large kick off for a small campaign we are running. Below is a list of my Wood Elf units with names to spice up the flavor. If the army does well we will collect points and I will be able to assign small upgrades to particular units. This is a nice upside, but has an equal downside. The unit gives extra points if they are destroyed, and the unit loses its ability if it is destroyed. The bonuses might be short lived!

The Outcasts of Athel Loren
Main Army Battle Roster

Leader – Lord Hannibal, the Renegade
Spellsinger Sulina Whiteleaf
Spellweaver Yuriel Whiteleaf
Branchwraith – Trindal the Black Rose
Noble - Princess Ilyara the Windtouched

Glade Guard 1 – Ariel’s Host
GG 2 – Loren Marksmen
Wardancers – Swift Blades
Dryads 1 – Black Briars
Dryads 2 – Blood Grove (lvl 2 trait "Feared") Now cause Terror
Treekin – Gnarled Jaws
Wild Riders – Twilight Ghosts
Glade Riders – Silver Spears
Warhawk Riders – Screeching Death
Waywatchers – The Faded Leaves
Treeman – Old Rosebud

This is most of the units at my disposal. I thought about taking an Eternal Guard unit, but I'm not sure they will really suit me well. Maybe in the future I will add them to a larger game, but for this one I think the introduction of treekin is enough for now.

Dragon Age - Tomorrow!

Dragon Age: Origins is upon us. Tomorrow, hopefully before work, I will be able to snag my reserved copy from Gamestop! I am unsure what type of character and path I am going to try. It will be a male character, and most likely I will go for something magical or melee oriented. We will see! I'll hopefully be able to post more after playing! Poor Dead Space is still not beaten yet. I am close but still need to finish off the last chapter or two! I guess it might have to wait a few weeks!

The Outcast Army

Figures slinking through the brush were masked by the darkening sky and cloaks camouflaged with browns and green. The clothing they wore hardly resembled shirts or pants, but seemed to be extensions of the woods themselves. Light did not show the bright fair skin of their elven heritage, it was dimished by mud and concoctions devised specifically to conceal flesh from the eye. They stole from shadow to shadow, unseen to any that were unaware of their presence, even other wood elves, creeping to the bodies of the fallen sylvankind. These fallen wood elves were part of Lord Hannibal’s host. The scouts hoped to find some of the missing men and women alive.

A man stood silent, further back from the scouts, his waywatchers. Black armor of leather sheathed his entire body, a black cloak billowing behind him in the cold sea wind. His dark brown eyes surveyed the scene before him with placidness, the ire that roiled behind them reserved for someone else. Several companies of the forests best archers scattered or fell today, the result of a brilliant charge by a smaller unit of errant knights. The rest of his forces failed to commit or were harried by battlefield confusion. This impart to the misdirection of one Highborn elf. The elf arrived early in the morning, just before the battle and caused havoc among the ranks with regards to the battle plan. Sent by arrogant lords and nobles of Athel Loren to right what they believe Hannibal was wronging. With his crazed machinations for the battle the original plans were shattered as the fighting reered its ugly head. This caused the day to be fought to a draw with Lord Rincewind’s forces, and the death of the Highborn himself.

“I never liked him much anyway,” commented Hannibal as he looked down at the lifeless body of the elf. To the elf lord's credit, he fought and slew a great number of knights, before another contingent ran him down. Hannibal’s black charger pawed the ground beside him, snorting her dissatisfaction. The man’s hand patted the hard flank of the horse. “Easy, this was not our mess, but I am afraid it is now.”

“That is right.” A voice came from behind him. The lighthearted voice of Princess Ilyara felt diminished, burdened with grief, “There is more bad news.”

“To achieve victory the “lords of Athel Loren” needed a much greater victory.” Disgust lined the words as the man spoke. “With such a loss of force we will not hold all of the ground we took, and I am willing to wager the item our illustrious nobles wanted so badly, is not what it appeared to be.”

“Right, right, and right again.” The elven maiden nodded slowly, with still more to come. The man said nothing, letting her speak instead of talking for her as he usually did. The news she needed to tell him next affected everyone that was left in his army and it was hers to bear to him. She took a step closer, her smaller frame dwarfed behind him. ”We are being blamed for this failure. We are outcasts now, unable to return to Athel Loren on pain of death, even hunted by some of our bretheren.” Her voice started to crack, the pain she must feel from all ties being severed from her home and family was something Hannibal was unable to share. He was still a man, and she an elf princess, but he knew she might be lacking in that title for remaining loyal to his army. She said we, Hannibal knew full well it was his burden to bear and rightfully he should let it fall upon him. A smile crossed his lips that she did not see, but he would not let her loyalty go unnoticed.

“Much of our rear forces are intact. They maintain a heavy presence along the forest that is growing. The range of the chaos relic we found did not manage to taint it and our casters concealed the vile magic as best they could. I sent runners to everyone loyal to you to rally there.”

“Princess.” The man interrupted her. She stopped immediately, lowering her head as if to receive more punishing words.

“I am not a Princess anymore,” she said so softly the wind almost carried her words away before Hannibal could hear them.

“Princess Ilyara,” he started again his voice much softer than before. “Are you hurt?” His head turned and he adjusted his body to look back at her. She stared up at him, her silvery eyes shining happily at his effort to show her the respect he knows she deserves.

“I am fine, perfectly fine, my Lord.”

“That makes me very happy,” he said. “I was worried.” With a motion of his hand he indicated the blood of men and elves splattered across the field, and the fallen lord at his feet. His face looked much harder now, his mind set to the mission of survival. He lifted his slightly, and let a smile creep back to his lips. She moved closer and let him embrace her tightly. With a hand he wrapped the cloak around her and started to walk away from the lonely field. It was warm inside the heavy material and she took comfort there, knowing that harder times lie ahead.

November and Battling for Time

November is two days away, which means after those two days Dragon Age: Origins is 3 days further! My writing skill is insufficient to begin to tell you how well Bioware made Mass Effect. It is probably my preferences that make it such an awesome game to me, but no one can refute the list of awards it received either. A Sci-fi epic RPG game, character customization, interaction with companions, a variety of skills-weapons-armor, tons of background and lore, an interesting story with a vast world to traverse, should I go on? What can we expect from Dragon Age: Origins? I believe we can expect everything that made Mass Effect successful, in a Fantasy setting, and more. I dig a nice side romance story in all my RPGs, when a game throws one in that is done well, I am a very happy gamer.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is due out the 11th. I am not the die hard COD player that so many people out there are, I recently jumped into COD4 for the Xbox 360 when it was first released. I played COD3 for computer, so this was the first leap back onto the console. What attracted me most was the adaptation from WW2 and previous wars to the Modern Day. The weapons are familiar, the game was done well, and I actually succeed (to a point) in the online multiplayer game! Many of my friends play it and are eager to jump onto Xbox live and hook some people up!

November 21st, a day that will rock the Warhammer world as several armies converge on an area sandwiched between Bretonnia, Athel Loren and the Eastern Mountains. Several forces are arrayed and will possibly be present to wage war, High Elves, Wood Elves, Brettonians, Ogre Kingdoms and Dwarves. We might see an appearance by Dark elves, and maybe even lizardmen if my brother shows.

There was already a minor skirmish of Wood Elf and Dwarf forces. The Wood Elves closed the flanks swiftly and routed two warmachines, but just as they turned to smash the Dwarven center, a beautiful but foreboding elven horn sounded from the forest. The general of the army looked to his Wild Riders and sounded the retreat, the elves vanished into the forest, lacking a few Dryads and wardancers from the encounter. This game was to help the commander of the Dwarf forces to cut his teeth on the warhammer rules. It is one thing to see them on paper and another to experience them on the game table!


I read Rosario+Vampire Four and started on book five. The manga is great! Tsekune, a human, gets involved with different types of monsters at his new school. Moka - a vampire-the most powerful monster, Kurumu-hot succubus-my favorite!, Ginei(aka Gin) a werewolf and hot shot, and Yukari-11yr old witch who has the hots for Moka. Awesome cast of characters, GREAT drawings, a good fun story with great encounters. It is a really good Manga and I would recommend it to anyone interested in chasing down a new book!

The Brigand War - Campaign Traits

Warhammer Campaign - Starting post http://loreseeker.blogspot.com/2009/10/chaos-prince-war-campaign.html

Below are details for the upcoming Warhammer campaign. This post details traits that can be applied to warhammer units based on points scored during the campaign. Below is a tentative list of players in the campaign.

Myself as Lord Hannibal - Wood Elves
http://loreseeker.blogspot.com Rysm - Bretonnians
http://finklestale.blogspot.com Finkle – Dwarves
Thiridhren, Warden of the White Tower - High Elves
Castion (possible Warriors of Chaos player)
Borgoth - Dark Elves (possible)
Sir David – Ogre Kingdom Player (possible)


Warhammer Campaign Traits/Upgrades
-Points are earned for every +20 points gained through battles.
-When a unit gains a level 1 trait it must wait until three other units are upgraded before upgrading to a level 2 trait.
-Each upgrade costs 1 point.
-You cannot stack level 1 traits with other level 1 traits. Once a unit has a level 1 trait it stays with it until the end of the campaign or it is destroyed.
-A level 2 upgrade costs 1 points at the time of purchase.
-Any unit with this bonus that is destroyed, fleeing at the end of the game or flees off the table loses the trait/traits.
-A unit that is destroyed in the previous manners gives 1 victory point for each trait it has to the opposing general.

Level 1 Traits

Lucky – be it protection of a diety or just plain luck, these guys can credit a piece of their survival to it. Once per battle reroll successful to hit rolls in the shooting phase and reroll scatter dice for templates that hit the unit.

Fated- This unit is destined for greatness making them tougher to kill. Once per game this unit may reroll failed armor saves.

Steady – This unit has weathered encounters with fierce units and thus may reroll panic tests. If this unit rerolls panic test it must reroll at its own leadership, not that of a general or other modifiers.

Bloodthirsty – This unit craves battle and doubles its effort to cover the battlefield with their enemies blood. This unit may reroll failed rolls “to wound” during the first round of combat.

Dirty Fighting – This unit knows how to cheat to win and is not shy about tossing dirt in their enemies face, going for the knees or biting. In the first round of combat one enemy engaged against this unit is -1 to hit

Nimble Blades – This unit has customized their weapons to be lighter or they are just naturally faster with weapons. This unit gets +1 to their initiative.

Unit Fighting Style – This unit has learned several tricks throughout their campaign and improved their methods of dispatching foes. This unit receives +1 to WS.

Marksmen – this unit does not suffer the first -1 penalty incurred when shooting. If the unit is shooting over half range, it does not suffer -1, If the unit is shooting at skirmishers, under half range it does not suffer -1, but if the unit is shooting at skirmishers over half range it suffers a -1, instead of a -2 total.

Level 2 Traits

Hardened – This unit is tough as nails and will stand to the last man. This unit can reroll all break tests.

Feared – This unit has made a name for itself among its foes for being ruthless in combat and relentless in its treatment of enemies. This unit causes Fear. If the unit already causes fear it then causes Terror.

Protected – This unit has scavenged the battlefields and improved their armor in vulnerable places enemies like to strike. The unit is protected by a +6 ward save.

Deadly Ammo – sharpened arrowheads, heavier shot, regardless of the type of ammunition used, this unit specializes in dealing death from a distance. All armor saves caused by this unit are taken at an additional -1.

Divine Intervention – These fellows carry religious or divine trinkets with them to battle. They know in the time of their greatest need they will be protected. Once per game the unit takes armor saves normally, but is also allowed a +5 ward save.

Dire Charge/Expeditious retreat – this unit throws caution to the wind to get into the fight and adds +1 inch to their charging range, in contrast they also know how to break contact, gain altitude and return to base, receiving +1 inch to their total flee distance.

Expert Flankers – This unit is adept at maneuvering around the battlefield unseen and taking their foes by surprise. Do not deploy this unit normally, instead it is placed in reserves until it is called upon. Starting in the movement phase of turn 2, during compulsory movement sequence, rolled a D6. On the roll of a 4+ the unit enters on the table edge of a flank. Determine the side of the table based on a D6. A roll of 1-3 represents the owning players left side, 4-6 is the right side. If the unit fails to enter on turn to, continuing rolling, turn 3 roll on a 3+, turn 4 a 3+, turn 5 a 2+ and turn 6 an 2+. If the unit fails to enter by turn 6 it is considered destroyed for scoring purposes, obviously they lost their way, were hindered by enemy movements, or went to the local tavern for drinks. The unit enters during compulsory movement phase, thus can not declare charges. The unit may move in the remaining moves phase, but only at regular speed. The unit cannot march due to the cautious nature of its arrival due to surrounding enemies. No characters can be included with the unit, the unit may still shoot or cast magic if it is allowed. The unit counts as moving even if it does not move in the remaining moves phase, for the purpose of calculating shooting.


Players of the campaign feel free to comment publicly on thoughts, changes, questions and concerns in the comment section here, and please follow up with an email to the entire group of players.

~Rafe of Wolf's Rest

Wednesday's Social Event

This Wednesday's gaming event will be held at my abode. I, Don Raphael - Inwood Ranger and scoundral extrodinaire and my wife The Duchess of Kentuckiberry, will play host to a miriade of avid game players.

Now cutting to the chase, a bunch of my friends will be coming over the 14th to get in on some gaming action. We are taking a small break from Rysm's Dungeons and Dragons game to play some warhammer. I will be playing Rysm in the final scenario of our five battle campaign. This will start around 4pm so we can be well into the game as the other players arrive.

For a fluffy version of the battle, see the previous post; for a general run down, keep reading. The battle takes place in Mousillon, well inside the borders. The elves mission to seek out a powerful slumbering relic and claim more territory for the forest seems almost complete. The defenders valiantly continue to bring the elves to battle in an effort to send them packing from their realm and claim it once again. The score sits at 85-10 pts, Wood Elves (me) with 85 and the Bretonnians at 10. The 100 point mark needs to be reached for the campaign to be successful for one side. If the Wood Elves march to victory, they should reach 100 points.

That being said, the elves relic is of questionable background. It is quite possible the relic may be of chaos origin. In light of this news, some wood elven units may be unhappy with the path the elves are taking and join against the effort on the side of the Bretonnians.

In another light, many knights have lost their lives bravely at the numerous battles against the wood elves. Some defeats stung much deeper and left many knights dead or severely wounded. A few knights have offered their flag to the wood elves, on the stipulation that Lord Rincewind be brought to justice for his flagrant waste of the Lady's knights.

Now back to the rest of the gaming night. Several of our friends, who we play D&D with, are coming over. Two of them will be learning Warhammer Fantasy on the Battle for Skull Pass. Rysm and I will be assisting, once our game is over, in their knowlegde of the game mechanics and rules. We also may try to get a small game in if there is time.

After the Warhammer Fantasy we will be moving onto a separate Pathfinder RPG game hosted by our friend, Finkle. This game takes place in the world of Pathfinder and may take parts of the adventures built by the creators of Pathfinder. I will be playing a dwarven fighter for this game. A dwarf is a step out of my usual comfort zone of playable races. I usually play a character I think I would like to play, dwarves usually do not fit into that category, but I think I've found a character I may enjoy using. I guess we will see after I come back and post how it went playing him.

That is about all on the list that is on the docket. There will be some Xbox 360 action and who knows what else might pop up into existance. I'll recount the story after the event.

A Battle Approaches

This part of the forest was deathly quiet. The hour was late, the moon and stars masked by heavy clouds and the earth pitched into a deep darkness. Through the thick undergrowth and misshapen trees shone the only light. A few torches and small fires surrounded a small clearing. The flicker of the fire cast unsettling shadows from the twisted and bare trees.

Several sentries, undetectable without the keenest eye, kept vigil hidden from view of anyone unlucky enough to stumble upon this place. Their elven hoods were thrown up and bodies camouflaged with pieces of the forest. In the midst of the clearing stood two individuals, one much larger and broad than the first. Beside the tall man stood a heavy black charger, pawing the soft earth anxiously. The smaller woman, an elf, beside him watched the hole carefully.

"I don't like it." the man said at last. "Nothing about the forest feels right, are you sure about this relic?"
"The Spellweaver and lords of the forest seem sure enough. That is good enough for me to come to this place." she replied. "Why, do a few gnarled trees and shadows put you on edge, Lord Hannibal?"
The man clenched his jaw, considering the area around him a moment before replying, "No, they do not, Princess. What might come out of this ground does." He finished speaking and hefted himself up into the saddle of the charger. The princess looked over at him, unwillingly to express unwillingness to remain in this part of the forest alone. It was Mousillon, as the humans called it, and who knows what they might find. It was suppose to be a lost artifact to return to Athel Loren, but she felt, skeptical.
"Going so soon?" she started to say and tried to devise a method to keep him here.
"Yes, any moment your scouts will be coming to tell you Lord Rincewind is preparing for battle." Lord Hannibal indicated with a hand at a figure slipping through trees towards their position.
"Again? These humans are most frustrating, they must breed like orcs!" The princess turned to intercept the elven runner.
"Yes, but if they were orcs they would have killed Lord Rincewind by now, and elected a stronger leader." Hannibal added pointedly. "Unless Lord Rincewind is strong enough to behead them first, and thus remain in power."
Princess Ilyara frowned and was glad they did not have any other such armies to contend with. The scout rushed up to her and knelt.
"My lady, I bring word of an approaching host of Bretonnian knights." the elf finished between breaths.
"Rise my brother and send another to carry the word, we assemble for battle." The princess moved beside Hannibal and shifted into a wolf. The man looked down at her and smirked, "Not staying to watch the dig?" The wolf snarled and rushed off into the forest, followed closely by the black charger.

Kiira Delving

Below is a small bit of writing based on our previous Dungeons and Dragons game. My wizard received a kiira, a gem used to store spells, enchance with magical properties and be used for other good tasks! It is an awesome find and I wanted to write about it, so I finally accomplished that task. I am sorry for any grammatical errors, I rushed when reading it over so I could publish it before leaving work. Enjoy!



The ocean waves crashed angrily against the hull, only thick planks of wood separated Talindra's small compartment from the frigid depths. She looked around the room, filled with stores and crates of goods. The ship was very swift, a modest vessel built for carrying cargo, not passengers. The crew bunked entirely together in overlapping hammocks, while an officer or two might have a room to his or herself. The captain might have offered his quarters to her or the other women of the company, but Talindra did not give him the chance. There were five extra souls aboard, who had seen far worse in the last few days than she and her friends. They deserved what comfort that could be spared, Talindra simply needed a place where she could manage to avoid interruptions. Come to think of it, she might need to reiterate to Borgoth the need to be undisturbed while resting. It was a tedious and often grueling process to commit spells to memory, leaving only a fraction of the spell left upon the time of casting. It was difficult to concentrate without proper rest, in a few minutes she would try to trance, but right now, the small clear gem in her hand intrigued her.

Around the ship outside the gold elf could hear sailors recounting the scenes from the battle that took place earlier. They were less hurried now, the repairs they toiled tirelessly on would hopefully last until the ship could reach port. Some spoke in high, swift voice in awe of the fireball that struck the Zhent ship and wounded her sails, others shouted a saying "wizard see, wizard do" in reference to the return fireball that struck their own ship and set fire to its sails. It took Talindra by surprise the immediate return volley, but it was what she probably would have done. She cursed herself for not anticipating that move before launching her own spell, maybe she could have prevented the damage. It was said once if the sun elves felt something was worth doing, they'd take fifty years to decide how to do it.

It was true that her gold elven kin were the most slow to act, or methodical in their thought process. With hundreds of years to live, why rush head first into disaster, when there is plenty of time to think the problem through. Some of the other elven races were more quick to act, but more of the rest of the elven race occupied Faerun and lived among human realms. Evermeet was where almost the entirety of gold elves abide. There they would stay stationary while the world rushed past them. Perhaps in Retreating is where the elven race had failed, the rest that stayed on Faerun were too small in number to fend entirely against very real and terrible threats. Talindra found herself wondering if her exposure to the human lands had affected her, making her judgement hasty. Then again, when you were running and time was a luxury you did not have, haste meant the difference between life and death. She did consider there was a difference in a hasty act, and a rash one.

Again she found herself lost in thought, staring off the short distance to the wall of the small compartment. Shrugging closer under the winter blanket she was wrapped in, she looked again at the faceless gem. A warm bronze elven reflection stared back, the images hair was tousled and dirty from exposure to battle and the elements. The face was dirtier than it usually was allowed, but the golden eyes retained all the shine and fire that drove Talindra. She could simply tidy up her cloths and image with a quick use of prestidigitation, if she had noticed she was dirty. Right now her mind was a mass of questions, concerns, and intrigue. The gem in front of her was special, when she inspected it she almost immediately knew it was a kiira, and would increase the mental powers of those who used it. She could store spells inside it as if she had placed them in a spellbook, and study them from it just as readily. This precious little piece would be the item she needed to test her newly completed studies. A smile couldn't help but cross her weary face, it was almost the mirror image of a child experimenting with a new toy.

Gently cupping the prize in both hands she eagerly clasped the gem and touched it to her forehead. The gem willingly began fusing with her mind and appeared as only a slight pyramid like point from above the center of Talindra's brow. Once the binding was complete she closed her eyes, again a smile crossing her small lips, and pressed her mind towards the gem. Suddenly the world around her blurred, and she found herself in an empty space void of everything, no ship, no sound, no cold. The expanse could go on forever, or appear to end just in front of her nose. She wondered if she was standing or floating, but preferred to be on firm ground and then a realization later, she felt like she was standing on firm ground. She glanced downward and saw her smooth slender legs, caressed by flowing fabric of a red dress. Her boots had been traded for soft supple sandals. They were very elegant she appraised and noticed there was no ground visible beneath her, but she felt like she was standing. She gazed in awe at the area around her, knowing she was helpless back in the reality she knew, and could not spend much time here while she was vulnerable. Setting her mind to the task she spoke an incantation to reach out to the magical properties of the gem.

Several filaments of translucent white material as thick as a finger appeared from an area of white representing the ground and reached upward. The fibrous threads sprung together once forming a central node of sorts level with Talindra's shoulders. There was a single string among the twist that was colored, it was a soft blue and she felt it humming with constant energy. Reaching towards the center ravel of cords she touched the blue one and instantly the fibers untwisted and appeared vertical, side by side, spaced evenly apart. Her soft bronze fingers caressed the blue strand that was centered before her, she instantly felt the spells woven into it, giving life to the magical property of the kiira that increased her mental prowess. The care that went into the creation of this spell was exquisite, a perfect blending of the spell and its host, giving the first life to the creation of this wondrous item.

Next she touched a translucent piece of the kiira's nexus, beside the blue. It was empty as she imagined the rest were, just waiting to be worked with magic and flowing with the power of Mystra and the weave. She brought the final words of a spell to memory and saw the piece extend like parchment. Immediately the recalled phrases and words of power glowed with a golden hue and were written upon the strand like it would appear in her spellbook. It would take some time to detail the entirety of the rest of the spells and she would come back for those as soon as possible. For now she would make the first of her changes to the kiira, a simple cosmetic gesture.

She let the strand with the spell go with a simple thought, it quickly twirled back to a smaller piece, exactly like the rest of the filaments aside from a symbol that appeared wrapped around it. Talindra knew it immediately to be her arcane mark, a heart inside a small tiara with a single gem in the middle, and the initials M and D etched in elven upon either side of the heart. She reached for another filament, one that would hold future enchantments for the gem. There were only so many to hold spells and realized the power of the kiira was limited to the amount of cords appearing in front of her. A few days study would tell her the extent of what she could empower the gem with. The spell she intended to use would hardly summon a fraction of the kiira's ability.

With a careful phrase and gesture Talindra cast her spell of prestidigitation. She was most interested in the spells ability to change colors. Reaching out she touched one of the empty white lines and with a quiet word the small cord spread into even thinner pieces. Taking one gently between her fingers she began working the words to a spell of preparation. The spell would use the power of the weave to allow her access to the small thread before her. She finished the final words and felt the thin line open, she spoke softly and gestured with her free hand. Mystical colors swirled and the line began to become an icy, sky blue color. As the thread changed the white world around her began to spring to life with the same color. When finally the white was gone and the blue remained she spoke the words needed to seal the spell within the kiira's thread. It accepted the spell and with a thought of release the line swirled together into its original filament and the rest of the strands whirled together into the hourglass shaped node before her.

Talindra smiled at the small achievement, this color now be the color of the gem itself back in reality. She was just about to separate from the gem when she felt a small tug from the tangled node behind her. Her head turned to the right and she saw as clear as day a memory of her childhood. The world around changed and she felt herself standing in sand and watching waves crash on a lonely shore. The sand was pristine and the water clear as a diamond. A small sun elven child with blond hair played happily on the dunes. She knew it was her, and this was Evermeet. The kiira was showing her that she could store memories, almost like a journal. If she could do that she might also be able to create an image of herself to recount important events she would not want to forget, or even to protect the contents of the kiira.

As Talindra thought the world changed around her and she looked up, suddenly she was in a very real room that she knew was one from the gambling hall back in Hillsfar. There she was walking through the door, being led by Myla. Talindra not only felt her heart racing faster, she heard it pounding inside her head. Both the sun elves entered the room and Talindra swore under her breath. How could she be so stupid. Talindra winced as she watched Myla pin the image of herself against the wall and force open her shirt. Talindra recalled the strength of Myla and cursed silently to herself, though she was sure the kiira heard her. Talindra's heard was racing and she turned away as Myla kissed her image, the memory vanished as the kiira somehow knew she did not want to recall what came next.

The elven wizard was angry, frustrated and scared all at once. She felt her arm trembling and wondered if she was trembling outside the kiira as well. The gem emitted a reassuring ebb, almost what felt like an apology. A soft smile appeared and Talindra shook her head, "No, no I know you did not mean to upset me. I am not angry with you, but myself. You showed me what I needed to see, how I missed signs and become careless. Thank you. I do need to go now, but I will return." She felt warm and touched her hand to her chest, lips and then forehead and let herself fade from the kiira.

The ship came back almost at once, as if she never left. The cold touch of winter and the rush of the sea crowded her senses. There was a knock at the door and she stepped over a crate to answer it, wondering if it was Castion wanting to learn more about "fireballs" or Borgoth who was very interested in a new book he acquired, maybe one of the others...

Work in Progress

For those werewolves out there and those interested, lastnight was a full moon! Burglars and foodpads beware, its bright out there! No this is not a picture of it, this is acutally called the Blood Moon, or Hunter's moon. The first full moon after the Harvest Moon(full moon nearest the Autumn Equinox).



Does anyone else ever feel like they never complete any of the things you set aside for yourself? I have a million things go through my head daily, many of them involve setting aside a small amount of time, or a greater bit of time, and doing that task. The task could be writing about something, practicing drawing, getting some time in on an Xbox 360 game, painting some miniatures, working on D&D stuff, gaming on the computer, working out! Notice I did not add anything on there that involved housework or chores, because those suck and I usually get them done before the rest, usually...

So I had a few things that I wanted to do over the weekend, despite my being at work for the last half of it, I wanted to throw them up somewhere I can recall them. If I don't, my attention span will be overloaded and I'll forget them, always happens. So here they are:

Write thoughts up on Harry Potter Parody.
Write some Talindra notes/spells (current D&D character)
Work on drawing my hand a couple times.
Start and continue painting my Warhammer Fantasy Wood Elf army.
Paint up my miniatures for Talindra.
Brainstorm some D&D stuff for future campaign.
Post Talindra's character sheet - 3.5 version and Pathfinder version.
Prepare training regiment for Triathlons and begin training for the Spring.

Ok, enough of this for now. I tell you that small list of items is hardly a fraction of the train wreck that is my head. I won't bother you with details on those, presuming the previous writing hasn't bothered you already!

Halo ODST - Mission Accomplished

Well, on September 28th I defeated Halo 3 ODST. I will not place any spoilers in here so fear not. I will go on to say I felt the game was shorter than the others available in the series. I don't mean that in a bad way, I still enjoyed the game greatly despite the length of play. I managed to find 21 out of 30 audiofiles. I didn't really pick up on looking for them right away. I could have gone back to locate the rest but I really wanted to see the way the story continued and ended.

I will say that there was not much to the game when you were playing the Rookie walking from point A to point B. The city kept you limited to certain areas, and you pretty much encountered patrols of grunts, jackals and brutes. Occasionally you would run into a new alien race, non violent towards you, and Hunters. The hunters could be a real pain. Once I managed to find a ghost any patrol or encounter with the Rookie turned into easy mode.(on Normal Difficulty). I plan to try Legendary next.

The backstory of the rest of the squad was fun to play. It was a different way of looking at the game.

I have not tried Firefight yet, nor the multiplayer side of the game. I'll post a separate post mentioning stuff that includes spoilers.

What the Hufflepuff?!

Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?

Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot, and treat them just the same."

Well if that isn't a kick in the teeth. My friend and I were scheming about Harry Potter spells, houses and the like, when I had the idea to write myself, her and a few others we know into the Harry Potter setting, for fun of course. The News has shows Rowling becoming so obsessive about anyone writing about ole HP she'll sue you faster than you can blink! Oh well, no sense rattling on about that.

So, I am looking at four characters: Myself, Tal, Ace and Rysm. I decided I needed to officially try to sort myself to see where I'd belong. My friend was screaming Gyffindor, I was saying possibly Raveclaw (creativity) and I was gagging at the thought of Hufflepuff, and did not see Slytherin as too far fetched. So it was off to the internet to uncover a few quizzes.

I managed to find two sites that I seemed to respect the questions and results. One was short with 12 questions, the other was rather unweildy at 100+ questions (very thorough). So what did I get? You can make a good educated guess if you recall the beginning of this blog entry; thats right, Hufflepuff.

Now, at first I was disappointed, I kinda wrote Hufflepuff off as the runts, the average joes, the meek and weak of spirit. I mean you have the hard charging houses, Gryffindor - brave, courageous, jocks, we had this house shoved down our throats through every book. It was the base of the story, good versus evil. So basically you weren't anyone unless you were here. Slytherin, well not much to say here. Scheming, dark, cruelly intelligent, pure blooded, family line is everything. Then Ravenclaw, who didn't get much game time either. These are the intellectuals, the brains, the pens the brushes, maybe even diviners of truth and the cosmos. Lastly Hufflepuff, and as I felt from the books, "the pile of everyone else".

Now to be fair, those are just labels. I am sure if there was an actual sorting hat, there would be plenty of wiggle room, its magic after all. Since we live in a reality without a sorting hat, I guess my creativity and the general base of the quizzes will have to do.

Thats all for now, if I manage anything soon I'll post it up.

The Company of Art Blades

This band of adventurers started out in a very cold Eleint, amongst the Dalelands. Each seeking a path all their own, but together forming a stronger bond of loyalty and friendship. The sun elven wizard of the group, in a very forward thinking human manner, sent a request to the Royal Kingdom of Cormyr, seeking to make the small band official in the eyes of the surrounding human kingdoms. A lesson the gold elf was quickly learning, to survive in human dominated realms, one must either be human, or act human. She sent a formal request to the Royal Regent Alusair, offering services of the very capable band in return for formal recognition of the Company. An official charter was drawn and solidified with the Royal seal.

A charter of this nature, signed by the Forest Kingdom, is not taken lightly. The Dalelands while not Cormyrian in nature, will undoubtedly recognize the trust given the adventurers. Harpers as well will respect the formality of the document and recognize the station it provides. Sembia will not be impressed by the document and will warily regard the company as operatives of Cormyr, and that such a paper has no bearing on Sembian business. Merchants of Sembia may still see a band of capable adventurers and may be unable to resist the possibility of committing some royal subterfuge.

Below is the Charter that is signed by her royal Highness, Regent of Cormyr, Alusair.

The Company of Art Blades

“Expressly empowered by Her Royal Highness Alusair, to grant a charter of the right to bear arms within the territories and protectorates of Cormyr”

Witnessed by Brenden Ylisire, Royal Court Scribe,
Eleint, XX 1374 DR

“The Company of Art Blades is relied on to act in the best interest of the Kingdom of Cormyr. Know ye all, by this good and true document, that the bearers are entitled by the Crown of Cormyr to bear arms within the lands under our writ and hand.”

Such lands of Cormyr, reach from the shores of Suzail and the Dragonmere west to the Storm Horns, including Skull crag and the High Horn; Northerly from Suzail past the Kings Forest, beyond the Storm horns and into the Farsea swamp and Stonelands; Northeasterly from Suzail as far as the Shadow gap and Tilvers Gap, east along the Immerflo, past the Hullock forest and to the Thunderpeaks; Lastly as far easterly from Suzail, along the Dragonmere and the Way of the Manticore – past the Vast Swamp – and into Daerlun. These boundaries comprise the lands of the Forest Kingdom, the Kingdom of Cormyr.

“While in good standing, Members of the Company of Art Blades will receive the rights and benefits of the Royal Kingdom of Cormyr citizenry. The Royal Kingdom of Cormyr, grants members of the Art Blades unhindered access to its lands in the service or protection of the Crown of Cormyr. In matters of security and special circumstantial missions, members of the Company of Art Blades shall not be detained or questioned without due reason.
A member of the Company of Art Blades word is supported by royal mandate. Members of the Company of Art Blade will be expected to cooperate with Purple Dragon patrols, War Wizards if approached and such Patrols will respect the rights granted by this charter.
Members of the Company of Art Blades have great honor and power bestowed upon them by the Royal Kingdom of Cormyr, and to betray such trust will exact a heavy toll.”

Hereupon is written the Company of the Art Blades Formal list of Adventurers, to hereby receive complete benefits bestowed upon them by the Company of the Art Blades and Royal Kingdom of Cormyr. Ergo their appellation will placed upon this billet and be recorded as law:

Talindra Shalandaerl

Dungeons and Dragons, meet Pathfinder - Your New Home

Pathfinder, is the way into the future of Dungeons and Dragons. Through Paizo.com Pathfinder was born. This newest edition does not say Dungeons and Dragons directly on the cover, but it is Dungeons and Dragons. The newest source book for D&D adds to Wizards 3.5 edition. Players who purchased hordes of books over the last nine years can convert their adventures into Pathfinder rules. The new book updates and fixes some problems with the Third edition gaming mechanics, and also adds new flavor to the game. It does not alienate a loyal player base dedicated to the game Dungeons and Dragons.

I played Fourth Edition and can honestly say that it is a terrible game compared to Third Edition or Pathfinder. I returned three of the newest books I purchased for Foruth Edition, I just could not have fun reading them or playing the destroyed game they called Dungeons and Dragons.

Pathfinder gives Dungeons and Dragons a new lease on life and has allowed so many gamers to continue playing a game they know and love. One day the game will change again, on that day the gaming community of Dungeons and Dragons will make their decision based on Pathfinder or Fourth Edition. Until that day, I chose Pathfinder as my Dungeons and Dragons. True to the game, True to the player!

Halo ODST - 3 days 21.5 hrs and counting!

HALO ODST will be released this Tuesday, September 22nd, at Midnight. Since the release of Halo 3 back in Fall of 2007, I did get a great sense of anticipation from new game releases. That does not mean there are not any games that have been released since then that I do not like. Since Halo 3 was released, I came to love Bioshock, Mass Effect, and Call of Duty 4 and Gears of War 2, to name a few. Maybe it was a time in my life that I was in a video game rut. I recalled, over the previous last two years, that much of my time was devoted to increasing my physical activity, college work and other types of gaming. Perhaps because of these distractions I wouldn't allow myself to get captured in the wonder of these releases. Maybe there just was not a game that grabbed my attention before hitting the shelf. Well now that has all changed.
Halo Wars failed to catch my eye, I just was not interested in a Real Time Strategy version of Halo. Maybe I was not interested because it was too soon after I felt the Halo genre ended. I should be wise enough to realize, Halo would never go away provided it would generate countless millions in revenue for Bungie. Now Halo ODST is hitting the market and I am the most excited about a game than I have felt since Halo 3.
I think a few things are catching my eye about ODST, besides it being a Halo FPS, that sold it to me. Firstly, I get that Master Chief is pretty much super human. He makes his way through the entire Halo series and helps save Earth, humans and Covenant alike. What really lends to my personality is that ODST is the story of actual humans. These humans are of course the elite, hardened, tough as nails men AND women of the human forces. I think it is great that the regular forces fighting alongside the Chief are included.
Second, the ODST helmet was my helmet of choice in multiplayer and I loved the idea of ODST since Halo introduced them! Now it appears my love of ODST is rewarded and we are going to get to see the battle from the point of view of these Shock Troopers!
Third, the game will include cut scenes to other ODST troopers. As you play, you will encounter scenes of destruction or carnage or story where you will go back to that time and play through the other ODST troopers as they fulfill their mission.

I am going to be at my Gamestop at 10pm, Sept 22nd, in the Winchester VA Appleblossom mall for the game release! I also am excited about Modern Warfare 2 coming out just after Halo ODST, Dragon Age - by Bioware makers of Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2!!!!, Bioshock 2 due out early 2010 and Mass Effect 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In 2010. These next 6+ months are going to be fantastic! See you on Xbox Live!

Absent too long

It appears that the Wolf's Rest has been vacant for the last few months. I don't believe there is any room for excuses on my part. I could pretend I was too busy to even think about publishing anything, but then again I remember plenty of moments in the last few months I sat on my butt doing nothing for any range of a few minutes to half an hour. So I will recap major events that I will post on in the near future.

I recently played my cousin in a Warhammer 40k game. His 1500 pts of Imperial Guard against my 1500 pts of Sisters of Battle. There were some special conditions that made the game very fun, mainly a blizzard traveling across the board at 12 inches a turn. I'll throw the details into the post.

I participated in my first triathlon. I intentionally did not say my "first and last" because I am still very pumped to participate in another one. My brother did very well and humbled me with his swimming ability and resistance to the hardships I faced during the event!

A new Dungeons and Dragons campaign has kicked off recently! My friend Rysm (codename) is running it. We decided after much consideration we do not approve of Wizards of the Coast or what they did to Dungeons and Dragons by publishing 4th Edition. Yes we actually tested the system out with a few games before passing final judgement. More about that in a separate post.
So Rysm is leading us in a 3.5 edition Forgotten Realms campaign setting starting in Mistledale. I can hardly wait until each new session. Out of all of the dungeons and dragons games I participated in during my lifetime, and all the DMs I was lucky enough to play under, Rysm brings the best to the table. He'll probably read this and first be shocked that I posted (finally) and second try to post a comment that plays down the praise for his awesome DMing skills. I will post in more detail about the new campaign soon!

Some fool decided he wanted to speed through my parents neighborhood at 60mph, lose control and plow through their frontyard. My dad was talking with my brother as the incident happened. He was standing on the front porch when the suburban came within 5 feet of hitting him. It decimated his motorcycle, smashed into the left front side of my brothers pick-up truck and pushed it several feet. It was some punk and his girlfriend acting like total losers that you have the ill fortune of coming across in life. Everyone was ok.

I totally blew my Axis and Allies game for the tournament hosted on the forum I frequent.

Our visit to Ocean City was a great time. I can't believe how much I missed that place. I couldn't think of anything else after leaving but to head back.

There are other things happening but I will post more of that later. Time to get this bad boy up!

Naruto Character Quiz results!

Which NARUTO character are you!? Your Result: Congrats you are "Sakura"!   Smart and studious, you are the brightest member of your class. You are constantly distracted by a fellow classmate of yours, but can ninja training compete with the power of love?
Congrats you are "Hinata"!	 
Congrats you are "Ino"!	 
Congrats you are "Naruto"!	 
Congrats you are "Kiba"!	 
Congrats you are "Kakashi"!	 
Congrats you are "Sasuke"!	 
Congrats you are "Shikamaru"!	 
Which NARUTO character are you!? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

There it is, it was rough deciding which answers fit my persona. To someone that watches Naruto you can easily figure out how to answer to pick the character you want to end up scoring. My friend said to detach myself, so there it is. My answers were based on how I would respond and act if I was in their world and that of course means I would be dazed and dumbfounded around Hinata! haha! Fun stuff brought to you by Rysm's tower.

Warhammer Fantasy Campaign Battle 4 - The Panty Raid(Camp Assault)

The Great Panty Raid was named for the fourth battle of this Warhammer Fantasy Campaign. Between my Wood Elves and Lord Rincewind's Bretonnians. The theme of this battle was to out manuever the opposing army (most likely at dawn or dusk) and attempt to gain the advantage by ravaging the enemies camp. Since I am partial to female characters and elves, and Lord Rincewind had a damsel (and hopefully a couple others at camp haha) we decided to jokingly name this the Panty Raid! Successfully winning the battle would yield lacy plunder to the opposing force! Here follows is my account of the battle.

















Above is my armies deployment. Pay no mind to the pegasus knights with my Warhawk rider, she is rather stubborn and thinks she can make mounts of them, she always manages to kill a knight with shooting more than 50% of the time so I don't argue. From Bottom picture to top We have (left to right)


(Sorry about the retardedness of going from bottom to top, the blogger moved them all around and this the third time i've changed the writing to try and fit the pictures!!)


My highborn (lord) Alter kindred with Bow of Loren, Arcane bodkins (no armor save) pageant of shrikes, and briarsheath.
3 warhawk riders
10 GG
Waywatchers deployed in the open more than 12 in away from his army (was gambling here)
GG in the forest
Noble with GW, Helm of the Hunt (HoTH), and Hail of Doom Arrow (HoDA) Alter kindred
8 wardancers
Treeman
Dryads
6 Wildriders coming out of camp still carrying win
and farrrr to the right the 5 glade riders.

I wanted to free up some points in this game for another GG unit so I dropped a character. My branchwraith did not come, so I was very light on magic. I knew, and hoped, my friend would be light on the magic. He never uses much of it and I was banking on him taking one damsel to my one level 2 spellsinger (yes I took a level 2 while most would argue take a level 1 instead to save pts)

I rolled treesinging first and i was unahppy because I would have to accept call of the hunt if I rolled it next. I rolled Ariel's Blessing instead, manageable to cast on 3 dice. I took one scroll - didnt need it he never cast anything - and a deepwood sphere. I kept the SS in a wood with the GG knowing he would charge and they would flee out, if he got in the wood he would suffer S5 hits on any model in the wood with my SS, even partially, in my magic phase - plus I could cast treesinging to damage him.















Above is his deployment, Bottom picture to Top one (left to right):
10 Peasant Bowmen (PB)
5 Knights Errant (KE)
10 Skirmishing bowmen
10 more PB
5 Peasant Yeomen infront of the bowmen
9 knights errant (I think)
8 Knights errant with Paladin BSB in it (starting the left of the right picture now)
4 horrid, wretched, dirty pegasus knights (PK)
Lord on a pegasus behind them, just getting his lazy butt up out of the mud.
Trebuchet behind the PK
5 Grail Knights (GK) with damsel level 1 - Lord of Life spell that heals wounds to models.
and of course, the required KoTR unit, who says it needs to be big? Just needs to be, and it is that at 5 models.

Now starts the battle.

















Bottom picture is my first movement of my left flank. Glade riders didnt make it out of LoS of the PB and take 3 casaulties on his turn and actually flee back behind the WR. His other shooting is negligible. On my right flank (bottom pic) I fire away with 20 GG, HoDA that only rolls 5 shots, Waywatchers that moved just within 15 inches of his PK to shoot for Killing Blow (KB) 3 warhawk riders fire, and my Highborn fires at his GK killing 1 (lucky 2 Ward Saves). After all the firing he had 1 PK left and I was happy with that because that unit bugs the heck out of me.

On his turn he charges out at my Waywatchers (WW) with his Lord, Pegsus Knight, and Grail Knights - my Waywatchers flee, and I hoped they would roll just over a 6 to get out of flyer range, they rolled an 11 and ran all the way behind the Wardancers. His flyers had to move full distance and are out of position, his GK stop at 8 inches. This is shown in the picture below

He moved his KoTR to cover chargers of the GK or PK I think, moved his KE on the left to charged my GG and turned his other KE w/BSB to cover his peasants incase i charged them, foolishly, with my Wildriders or dryads. Next round I dont have pics for but I charge his lord with myWD - they fight and lose in challenge but hold. Then lose when charged by his GK, flee and are caught, his PK goes down to firing and a few more GK are picked off by my lord off picture, my Warhawks fly out of LoS of his 5 KoTR and line up the Trebuchet for a charge. WW fail to rally and flee 10 inches, almost just off the table edge.

Hext his KE charged my GG, they flee and his unit stops just infront of the woods, darn! His BSB KE unit charges my treeman, who is sitting just to the left of this picture in regards to the KE unit and Peasant Yoeman base showing.

I take a play from his handbook and challenge the paladin so the rest of the unit can't hit. We do no wounds to each other! I lose combat, need an 8 stubborn and roll a 9, get run down. There goes the treeman, to his defense he has never broke from the many combats he has fought, so it was inevitable and set his BSB unit up perfectly to receive my WR flank charge and Noble rear charge.















bottom picture is my warhawks murdering the dreaded Trebuchet, in the right hands of someone who guesses guess range weapons like the devil, this is deadly. I am just glad I dont have a horde army and when it does scatter it misses! It didn't manage much this game, and I didnt give it chance. The "Pegsus herder" killed 2 crew, no wounds back, and outnumber sent them packing, I hoped to roll high enough to get off the board and away from his KoTR and I did, see you next WE turn!

In the top picture is my left flank, his right. My dryads charged his PW and wiff, killing one, he fears me but has more models and hits on 6's instead of running. Go figure he manges to kill 1 and outnumbers me. I roll over the 7 I need and my dryads run!! OMG tree forces are having a rough day. They dont get run down but hit my glade riders that turned to face that direction on my turn. They fight next time around and the riders kill two and the horses one, no PB hits so they flee and are caught by my riders, who get to set up for flank charge on the next PB unit!

















bottom pic is my battle with the BSB and KE still picking out treeman splinters. The charge yields me about 5 WR wounds and 1 horse, and 4 from the Noble. In all they kill about 5 or 6, not getting hit back. With a banner/warbanner/fank charge, rear, and negating ranks he needs a 2 to stay, with the reroll he fails and they run. Both pursue and the WR hit the side of the KE unit outside the woods, Noble gets 1 inch behind the fleeing unit.

In the top one is just a picture of the dryads running and the GR getting their hands dirty handling some peasant rabble.
















This bottom pic shows the WR smashing into the KE flank, they manage to do well in combat again, even the horses, and the unit flees, don't catch them, but charge the next turn and they almost make it out of my units 18 inch charge range - so are destroyed. The lord charges my WW that rally at the table edge, I lose 3 in the fight, fail break test and they run off, Lord holds. GK can just see the last GG on the left and charges only to die in stand and shoot.

The Grail Knight unit was picked off by more lord shots, and the damsel got 1 wound from my pageant of shrikes, this last turn i shot them again and they wounded her, and she rolled her 6 ward save!!! The NERVE! So I took the Glade guard and pummeled them with arrows, doing enough to randomize a wound to her and finish her pretty little self off, and take a GK leaving that lone model left.















Bottom shows the dryads rallying and taking more heat from the PB on the left shooting. Good thing they get -1 for moving and -1 for shooting skirmishers. The Glade riders avenge their fallen friends and charge more peasants, doing some nice spear hits and chase them off, catching the unit.

Top picture just shows his Paladin and unit turning around, they suffer the effects of the Deepwood sphere but live, and even treesinging doesnt do much. My GG move to see them and shoot, only killing maybe 1. But.... The far unit of GG, I wanted to shoot at his lord before committing my Lords arrows. They fire and doe a nice amount of hits, he rolls his armor save and fails 3 out of 5 or 6 of them. No biggie, he has 3 wounds and a 4 up ward save (due to items) and fails ALL three rolls - again. Easy come easy go said the treeman.


The GG finishing him off allowed my lord to pepper his 5 KoTR and kill 2 and u can see where my WR caught his KE in the back of the pic.

After this there was some more maneuvering around his KoTR with my Warhawks and my GR headed back towards camp, WR went to mop up those KoTR and noble headed left to help with the knights stuck in the woods and the PB. My friend had to concede at this point because of family obligations so we ended there. I took some prized banners, damsel "clothing articles", the camp and the day

Highborn: "Will you wear this?"
Princess Ilyara: "In your dreams, buddy."



The End

Some musings

Just some random stuff I threw down on paper while attending meetings, maybe it will get me in the mindset for my creative writing class that starts soon.

So great is the space
Dividing my world from hers
My heart knows nothing

From pen and paper
A life is born that turns me
Is there something wrong?

Stalemate at Blackadder

Here was fought the battle of Blackadder. Many a peasant was slain this day, much attributed to the elves, but the Prince would say otherwise! He slayed hundreds of them! Anyway, my Blackadder TV show reference is somewhat off, Rysm might glean a peek into that episode and how it compares to this battle. To the right are the Brets, seemingly more numerous than the poor elves! But I did have two units in the buildings, one scout unit in the closest, and a waywatcher unit in the building on the right. They impacted the battle very little. My bowmen are hiding at the bottom left of the screen in the forest, with a spellsinger even deeper in there. For future reference that grey building is 24 inches from the hill with the trebuchet, not that anyone is counting. (inside joke)

This battle was magic heavy, and when I say that I mean we took our Lords as casters, with one additional caster required. Since my magic is anything but, offensive. I took a level 3, threw glamourweave on him and a mount - waste. The one good thing about this lord is that he took the wand of the Wych Elm - allows me to reroll dispel attempts. My level one spellsinger carried two dispel scrolls. I also took a Branchwraith with the level 1 wizard upgrade and cluster of radiants to add an additional dispel die. My dispel dice were up to 7! Good for neutering the Bretonnian magic, maybe not a Dark elf or Chaos magic phase, but a start.

Both the picture above and below are facing each other on the battle field. This is the side my wood elves eventually conquered, but were conquered when it came to the other side. It was a turn or two of staring at each other and the treeman moving himself up in the trees along with my noble. Bowfire was exchanged between the Glade riders and the peasants with each side losing some. Peasant Yeomen found there ways into the middle to bait, and my noble almost bit, and she probably should have because her +3 ward save didnt save the charge she gladly accepted. Don't use leadership dice for armor saves, they will do you wrong. The knights errant smashed into her and then ran into the treeman, who gladly held opened his gnarley arms to his old friends, and then the wardancers pranced into their flank. Dryads moved up to find the skirmishing villien Bill and got within an inch. The next turn they charged the bowmen who fled through another set of knights errant. This led the fear causing dryads into the knights errant, who turned tail and charged (fearlessly) off the table - past the running bowmen. Eventually Bill got his dream and fought the branchwraith mono y tree spirit. To his credit Bill would have hit the wraith, had he got his turn to strike.

Below the Men at Arms move to surround the house in the picture. They heard there were elven women and drink inside. They charged to the building and met with the 7 waywatchers, who themselves were drunk by the shooting rounds that followed, and fought them hardily for the right to the brothel and drink! The battle was fought in initiative order, to the benefit of the armorless extra hand weapon wielding waywatchers. Striking first the waywatchers take down about five men at arms, allowing five to strike back causing no wounds. The peasants take a step back and think about digging under with spoons, before being barreled over by a different kind of forest "spirits".

The battle ended in a draw. With the Bretonnians surrounding their precious trebuchet in the fifth turn and coursing out from it, catiously, to claim another table side. The Elves were routed and had no presence there, and were too far away to bring themselves to bear against the Brets from their now human deprived side of Blackadder. A single scout lived (still not worth the points against a mostly armored foe like brets) The waywatchers also survived the day but should be strung up by their big toes for lousy shooting from such a promising position. Coming soon, the elves regroup to try and gain momentum to push further into Mousillon.

More Hinata Tribute

Blushing and red cheeks
your fingers tap with head down
Lady of the clan


Back to homework!

Gamesday 2009

So, this post is somewhat, belated? Gamesday was a week ago, and I am just now getting around to posting about it. Apologies, but I can get pretty busy... (or lazy) This Gamesday was held at Baltimore, and Ace of Cakes make an armored squig including swallowed squig herder! At first glance I thought this was just a statue, but I recalled overhearing Ace of Cakes was in the building and someone mentioned this beastly thing was actually a cake. Don't get caught licking the icing on this one.

The event included many Club gaming tables and several GW ran events. People could partake in an Apocalypse battle between the Imperium Tanks and Orc Super Heavies. Or they could take control of one of the many forces defending or assailing Minas Tirith pictured above. It was a very big table with a huge model of the famous Lord of the Ring city to add to the flavor. I was not sure who was exactly winning, but I saw many dead riders of Rohan!

The Golden Demon is truely a highlight for many of the avid adventurers of Gamesday. I always consider entering into the competition with my meager skills, until I see things like this one. Above is a regiment submission, I believe, of Bretonnian Knights. My camera skills only take away from this incredible artwork. You had to be there in person and look with your own eyes directly at these tremendous models. I am sure some people would not be as awed as I, but this was a high light for me. Below is a conversation using Bretonnian bitz and Saint Celestine from my sisters 40k army. I could pick it out easily and it held a place in my memories of GD 2009. Awesome modelling.

Here is another picture of the Squig Herder cake. It is crazy what they can do with some cooked cake batter and some glue. Save me a leg!

My camera died at some point during the wandering of the arena. My cousins, Greg and David, and I participated in the conversion contest. You were given sprues of Chaos Warriors and Space Marines and told to make the best, craziest, whatever your mind could think of and you could glue to a base, model to enter into the competition. I have no idea who won, or what the winning model was comprised of that allowed it to win. After looking at some of the crazy stuff I saw, it must be phoenominal.

We traveled to the scenary make and take and I met my old friend from the bunker Joe Neet. We exchanged some friendly banter and he supplied my cousins and I with some cities of death sprues and we went to town making some buildings. I eagerly made a two storey building to act as a church for the next Warhammer Fantasy battle between myself and a friend. It turned out very well.

My friend Dave and his gaming club was present and totally were hosed out of winning the banner contest. GW usually held the contests until close to the end of the day when most everyone was finished gaming . This year the banner and costume contest were overshadowed by events still ongoing. The time was moved up drastically and many people did not participate in judging the banners or the costumes. Several people with costumes did not even make the contest, which was a shame because they had some very good ones. I will not even touch on, what was suppose to be a seminar, that I attended. Nothing good can come from me talking about, but I will say that I was severely disappointed - and not because I had some super question I wanted answered that would never be, but because nothing came out of that seminar, nothing.

Will I go to Gamesday 2010? Who knows, probably, for $25 I got to enjoy a day out in Baltimore, make some scenary, make a chaos dude, check out some armies, meet up with old friends, maybe make a costume next year, who knows? Bring some friends, split parking costs, smuggle in some snack bars to munch on to cut down on food $$$, and have a good time!