New FAQ's!

Inturrupting our regular post timings to keep you up-to-date.  CHECK THE COMMENTS FOR STUFF I MISSED/EXCLUDED.

NEW FAQ'S OUT.  For everyone!

Some highlights, brief comments from me in blue:

MAIN RULE BOOK

Page 26 – Assault phase, Look Out, Sir
Change the fourth sentence of the first paragraph to:
“Determine which model in the unit is closest to the character,
and resolve the Wound against that model instead.”
Combo with:
Page 410 – Reference, Profile, Codex: Grey Knights, Paladins.
Change unit type to Infantry.
Page 411 – Reference, Profile, Codex: Space Wolves, Wolf Guard.
Change unit type to Infantry.
Page 413 – Reference, Profile, Codex: Orks, Nob.
Change unit type to Infantry and add the following Designer’s
Note:
Page 413 – Reference, Profile, Codex: Orks, Warbiker Nob.
Change unit type to Bike.Page 413 - Reference, Profile, Codex:
Tau Empire, Crisis Shas’vre
Change unit type to Infantry (Jump).

Page 413 - Reference, Profiles
Add the following Designer’s Note:.
Designers Note: Wolf Guard, Nobz, Nobz Warbikers, and Crisis
Shas’vre that lead a unit (for example an Ork Nob leading Ork
Boyz, a Wolf Guard leading Grey Hunters) have the unit type
Infantry (Character).
No more wound allocation shennannies.

A Thought About Learning 6th, and Feast of Blades Tournament Restrictions

At this point, I kind of doubt anyone has played more 6th than me.  Excluding, of course, GW's staff.

I had to get the Feast of Blades missions ready in a week, which meant a LOT of playtesting, and a lot of figuring out what does and doesn't work.  And there's one conclusion that I've come to that seems extremely, extremely obvious to me:

All these people telling you what's "good in 6th"? They have no idea what they're talking about.

The thing that hit me really strongly, that made me realize just how uninformed everyone is at this point, is the armies that everyone started posting to try to prove that double FOC at 2k is a bad idea.  Most of these lists would be terrifying in 5th, but frankly, are pretty bad in 6th.

Thoughts on Missions & Deployments

Initial thoughts, anyway.  Let me know where I'm wrong.

I'm in a bit of a fix, because I need to get the 6^th edition Feast of Blades qualifier missions out in about... a week. That means a lot of playing for me, and a lot of figuring stuff out.

Luckily, not a ton changed in regards to scoring/objectives, and Kill Points- I mean *Victory Points* seem to be unchanged. Kind of a shame, that last one. Quarters never existed for realsies, so nothing changed there.

I was kind of hoping that 6^th edition would give me a new deployment type to play around with, as well as fixing (old) Dawn of War. Instead, they nuked Dawn of War and gave me Hammer and Anvil, which is... well, let's just start, with:

Fate of Biomorph (and me!)

I enjoy a diverse variety of projects.

I'm in a tricky position right now.

No, not just that.  I was in a car crash.  Nothing serious, no one was hurt, but things rapidly got complicated, and now I'm in a protracted legal battle with an insurance company.

This isn't to whine or ask for pity, it's just to help you understand where I have been: it's been an extremely busy time for me, these past few weeks.  On the upside, my internship has finally morphed into a job, so that's nice.

Feast of Blades LIVE Promo Game

It's a fun time.  Starts at 6PM MST.  Come watch with us!

Imperial Guard Vs. Necrons- 2000 Points.  Both lists should be competitive.

I'll be there, to explain the mission, answer questions, and make sure that no one cheats.  (Though I doubt that will happen.)  There's a chat that comes along with the stream that I'll be hanging out in, you should join us if you can.

If not, well, it'll get archived so you can watch it anytime.  But it's a lot more fun to watch it live with a bunch of other guys and backseat general.

(Also, I've been going through some intense stuff, will update very soon on state of Biomorph.)

Project: Biomorph Playtest Patch 1.1

EDIT: I have updated the patch with a set of initial edit after feedback form the community.  Thank you everyone for your comments and criticisms!

This is the first playtest document for Project: Biomorph.  It's a big one.  Bigger than I had originally intended, at least, and I really hope not TOO big.

This is a big moment for us, bigger than I think a lot of people would think.  This is the moment where we stop wish-listing, and start really forging something.  It's also the moment I expect to lose some people.  No matter what changes I make, no matter what I adjust, I know I'm going to get a dozen people telling me "You're wrong!  You're as bad at design as GW!"
 

Don't be that person.  Please.  This is a playtest document, which means I want you to PLAY it so that we can TEST it and make sure that there's nothing wrong.  And it's not a final list of changes, so don't be surprised when several major issues aren't fixed here- we're yet to tackle them.

The Big 4 Problems of 40k 5th Edition

The more and more I look at the problems in 40k, the more and more I realize that most problems with the core game are a subset of a a few overarching major issues.

There are a lot of smaller issues in the game that can be changed without interaction to these rules, but those are the exception, not the rule. More on that in a minute. For now, remember that there are only two kinds of problem: complex problems, and isolated problems. (Notice “simple problems” are not on that list.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Big Four:

Biomorph Forum Launch

Kirby gets so excited, doesn't he? =P

But yes, it is true: Project Biomorph has it's own website and forum! You can find it over at projectbiomorph.com. Please register an account and get to posting!

Also, remember that there are no project obligations except for those you choose. You do not need to submit a certain amount to be part of biomorph, you do not need to involve yourself deeply in any projects. Even if you post once and disappear, you've still contributed and I'm still glad you came by. I'll be putting up some posts in the various subforums later today to get the ball rolling. But in truth, I'm even late to that party: there are several good threads going on in the General Discussion section right now. This is only the first stage of the project. Right now, we're gathering opinions and locating problem spots, figuring out the kind of language we want to use, and getting to know each other. It's a great time to get involved.

And a note about 6th- I've said (and Kirby) that if 6th edition doesn't suck we won't push forward the project. I'm starting to think we will anyway. I've received a flood of supportive emails from people thanking me for creating the project, and expressing their desire for a continuation of 5th. A lot of people are dedicated to the project, and I'm not going to abandon anyone or anything as long as people are still willing to work with me. I want to thank the community again, and there's a reason for that. (Well, besides the fact that I'm incredibly grateful.) This project lives or dies on it's community. You can be the most talented designer in the world, but if you don't have anyone to play your games with, if you can't test and learn, you won't be putting out good products. I realize that means that whatever the community gives, I will have to give even more- motivation has to be kept high, which means I have to work a lot.

But that's okay, because I find it incredibly rewarding. I hope that I can make you guys feel the same way. It would be incredibly easy for me to shut myself away in my tower of design, doling out only the barest information to my testers. But that sucks. That's not fun for anyone, and there's no reason this can't be fun. The community is involved in every step of the way: they give me ideas, they discuss changes, they help me write gud. Now, we have direction, we have intelligence, and we have skills. Let's put them to use.

You can also contact me at sirbiscuit@gmail.com. You already know that, because holy hell, a lot of you have. I'm sorry that I haven't responded to most of you- it's a personal goal that I will by the end of the day. A deadly task, to be sure. You can still email me, but your best option if you want to become involved is to sign up for the forum- you can start working instantly, and I'll most likely redirect you to the forum anyway, but if you have anything personal to tell me, you can do it there.

A final note, yes, I get the hate mail too. I'm not sure why this project seems to personally offend some of you. It makes me sad. =( I'm not going to stop, though, and there's no amount of threatening to not read my blog that will stop me.  If you don't like this project, just don't visit the forum and don't read the posts on it, it's as simple as that.  Though I sill wish you would- you may find something you actually like. =)

Project: Biomorph Goals, and a Note About Timing.

First, a note about timing.

There seems to be some concern that this project is premature- that we should wait until 6^th edition drops before making any moves, and that no one should be panicking. Well, a couple of things to that:

No one is panicking. Or at least, not in the way people think they are. We are concerned, and frankly there's nothing wrong with that. GW hardly has a good track record when it comes to putting out balanced games with tight rule sets. No one's sitting in front of their screen, sweating and crying over the demise of 5^th edition- good riddance to it, it has more than it's fair share of problems.Everyone wants a new edition; that is, what you would classically consider what a new edition would bring: more balance, ironed out rules, more depth. That doesn't seem to be what's about to drop. We ALL want 6^th edition to be fantastic. If, by some miracle, it somehow is, we'll drop the project. There's no need for it if the game's gone in a great direction.

Project: Biomorph: Heirarchy

I seem to have gotten very popular very fast. I've spent almost all day fielding calls, sending out emails, and making plans. I apologize if I didn't respond to you in my first post, and I apologize in advance if I don't respond in the future. I do read every post you guys make, but there simply isn't time for me to do much with the vast majority of them. I also appreciate those of you who put out your negative views, it's helpful and brings a lot of potential challenges into the spotlight.

I would like to kick off this project by explaining two things: our organization and project goals. We'll talk about them in that order, with hierarchy today:

5th Edition Evolution

Most of you don't know this, but I love to design games in my spare time. Board games, RPGs, and dozens of things that never even get played by my friends... it's just what I love to do. Making and modifying games has been a big part of my life for over a decade and a half now, and with any luck it will someday become my career.

40k is my big obsession. Despite it's flaws, there's really something about the universe and the basics of the system that appeals to me. It's fun. But it could be better. A lot better.

6^th is dropping soon, and things aren't going to get better. How can we know that? Few reasons:

Community Spotlight:: Studio Colrouphobia

Making the missions packet for Feast of Blades is a much bigger process than you would think, mostly because I'm a perfectionist for this kind of stuff, and I want to make something that's a lot MORE than just a few throwaway scenarios.

To that end, I'm working on making a mission book that all our tournament players will receive. Not only will this book have the Feast of Blades missions we're using at the event, it will also have every mission we've ever used, plus extras.

Needless to say, I want it to look good. I want it to be something that's worth having. The goal, ultimately, is to have people go home and consider their mission packet swag, not just more paper to recycle.

A Company Embraces the 'Net

Recently, I've become quite charmed by Dystopian Wars. (That's a portion of my badly photographed fleet to the left. WHY U NO WORK CAMERA?!)

For those of you who don't follow the 'lil wargames that pop up, Dystopian Wars is a combined arms steampunk wargame, primarily focusing on naval engagements. It plays quite well, even though the rules are quite MK1.

The first thing I always do when I start up a new game is go look at the forums and fansites. I don't think I have to tell any of the readers of this blog that the e-community is probably the fastest way to getting good at your wargame of choice.

Winning Armies

I've had a while now to think on the Feast of Blades, and I think I'm ready to start writing about it. My body has recovered, the feedback is in, and I've reflected with others. What did work, what didn't and what can be done to make it even bigger and better for our second year. I'll be posting a lot of convention and tournament thoughts, more theory than tabletop practice. As always, I value your comments and opinions.

There was an almost terrifying moment for me this year, as we approached the end of our series. In the semifinal game, Daemons and Tau were both winning on tables 1 and 2 respectively. It really looked like our final was going to be Daemons vs Tau. Luckily, Darkwynn, the eventual tournament champ, managed to scrape out a win against the Tau and advance. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Almost Feast of Blades Time!

Like the title say.

As this is being posted up I'll be setting up terrain in the main ballroom. The event starts tomorrow and runs throughout the weekend. I'll be rules-judging during both the team tournament and the main open and invitational events, and generally hanging 'round when those events aren't running.

It should be pretty easy to find me at the event, I'll be wearing a red staff shirt, patrolling the tables just about all the time. I'd love to talk to any of you readers out there; I'm more than happy to talk about lists, ooh and aah at your conversions, and generally hang out with the gamer crowd if you find me. If you're having trouble locating me, ask for Maxx or Sir Biscuit, just about all the staff know me and can point you in the right direction.

I understand that the top table is being livestreamed as well; I'll be sure to stop by for a bit and hang in the chat with you fine folks. When I'm not patrolling tables, that is. =P

Sure to be a fun event, if you're not there or I don't see you don't despair, and remember, you're all my very special favorite. <3

Warmachine: Keepin' the 'Jacks Alive

I've been playing Warmachine for a little over a year now, and I've taught more than a few people how to play the game. It's interesting to me, because I see people make the same mistakes over and over. I'm only just really starting to understand a lot of the higher-level strategies, so seeing these newbie mistakes really helps spotlight some of the more difficult aspects of the game; tactics-wise.

One of these issues is simply keeping your warjacks alive. It's more difficult than you think, simply because all your tactical instincts will be yelling at you to do the exact opposite of what you should.

Take a look at a warjack's statline and you'll be impressed: they boast the highest ARM, the most health, and the highest damage output in the game. Thinking of them as tanks isn't that far off- they just tend to be melee-oriented instead of ranged. Because they can use focus, they can buy additional attacks, and they can boost attack and damage rolls, they are some of the most accurate as well as heavy-hitting models out there.

What's Up With Events?

I really believe in listening to the community.

While I've been working on Feast stuff, I've taken a lot from what I hear around the internet. Ideas on how tournaments should be run, ideas on how missions layouts should be, what people look for in an event and what people absolutely hate.

There's tons of opinions and it's impossible to please everyone. Still, there are definitely good and bad ways of going about things.

Feast of Blades Mission #7

Mission 7, the final mission.

A lot of thought went into this one. As we are livecasting games, we really wanted something exciting that would force both armies together.

I'm sure you'll notice that the invitational and open missions are extremely different. Hell, just look at those maps! This is a really good mission to illustrate that the kinds of missions that work in win/loss often don't really work when ported over to battle points. Let's talk about the original mission 7 and how it underwent it's revamping.

Feast of Blades Mission #6

I'm not arrogant enough to claim that I "invented" any of these missions, at best I've formalized the kind of ideas 40k players have had for missions since, well, it's inception probably. Foothold is hardly original, and I'm sure every player has encountered some variation of it at some point or another.

The idea is simple: you can only capture some objectives, but you can contest all of them. The only objectives you can capture, of course, are the ones furthest from your deployment zone.

Feast of Blades Mission #5

Kill point missions always take some extra consideration- it's difficult to create a balanced mission while also creating an interesting theme or interaction for the mission.

Despite a lot of opinions that get thrown around, playtesting has proven to me that kill points, for the most part, actually do work. The disadvantages MSU armies have tend to be more than made up for with their inherent advantages.