Good evening everyone, its Shawn from The Durham Region Ontario Warmachine and Hordes Club, and I have a confession to make.
I love Role Playing games. I always have. From the day I lay my hands on my Dad's copy of the original Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 1st edition ruleset to today and beyond, I have played a multitude of Role Playing games. I've run and Played Dungeons and Dragons since I was 11, on that fateful day that I went into the closet under the stairs and found an entire collection of 1st ed. D&D books belonging to my old man. I have seen Dungeons and Dragons through many of its iterations with an uncontained excitement that at some point in the near future I might have a chance to hit up 5th ed, but my experience has not been localized to that. I've played extensively in the old World of Darkness game system with Vampire, Werewolf and Hunter; I've played All Flesh must be Eaten and more recently, I've been involved in a handful of games of Shadowrun and 7th Sea (both hosted by a good friend of mine, Jason, who has had years of experience with roleplaying storytelling, and left an indelible mark on me with his Shadowrun Stories). Most recently, and in the spirit of my work with Privateer Press, I have recently taken stock and started running an Iron Kingdoms RPG based on their new rule set.
Over the past while, I haven't been able to head out to Worlds Collide for our regular Warmachine and Hordes night due to my work schedule. So, rather than mope about it (it's been a few months since I've played a game of Warmachine or Hordes that wasn't a demo), I opted to use this as an opportunity to explore the IKRPG and feel out what it has to offer as an RPG experience. And so far I'm not disappointed. The Iron Kingdoms RPG, in the non-D20 iteration is almost a direct port from the Warmachine and Hordes rule set. It uses many of the same rules and terms, with much of the structure still intact. One would argue that this particular approach to the creation of the RPG is almost a natural progression of the system and universe as a whole, as the gameplay structure allows for a seamless transition from one medium to another with little difficulty. The only real variant is the emphasis put on donning the outfit of your character, but in that vein is where we see something of a divorce from its previous iteration in the D20 OGL platform, as this new iteration of the game seems more character driven than stats and dice driven. The characters aren't so much a motley crew of Drizzt Do'Urdens, Elminsters, Raistlins or Caramons, but rather characters that are a bit more true to life in a setting that lends to a grittier fantasy setting. I recommend reading Darker Days Iron Kingdoms Summary, as the author does a really good job of setting the expectation for new players considering the Iron Kingdoms as their new Role Playing Universe. It's certainly more character driven than more traditional Hackenslash RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, but less charater dependant than, say Old World of Darkness, where the game relies heavily on the social interaction, and checks are used more as amplifiers to already established player actions. It especailly lends itself to some solid roleplaying opportunities with the history (and it is a very rich one that has only been scratched in the volumes of 2 400+ page content books) and cultural portfolios of the different societies in the setting. Most especially through the use of the Iosans and Nyss in the Core book, and the Skorne in the new supplement for the Hordes side of the RPG, Unleashed, can a player really delve into the skin of something fundamentally different. The roleplaying opportunities for these games are really something, and checking them out would be a cool way of spending an afternoon or evening with friends or fellow roleplayers.
Because of my shifting schedule at work, the Iron Kingdoms RPG has kind of been my product du jour in supporting the Privateer Press community as of late, and has been the reason behind my next point. Since my shedule has been really bad at letting me play with my army men, we've changed things up a bit. Starting in July, a few of us had a meeting with some of our friends in the east end of Toronto, and we were given an idea as to how to regulate gameplay and presence, which led to a pretty neat change. I am no longer looking after the Privateer Press Community as a solo act, smply because doing so has been unproductive due to both a summer off due to surgery, and an unreliable schedule. As of July, a group was put together with two of my fellow OTC partners. So we now have an operative crew to help expand. I will be taking care of the Iron Kingdoms Experience. Keith Drake will now be managing Monday night free play and leagues; and Robert Kovac will be taking care of Saturday Steamrollers happening once a month. I will also host special events based on my availability, and may include different games such as Warmachine and Hordes, High Command and the IKRPG (of which a few of which will be mentioned momentarily). By creating this group, we hope to reach out to more players and support a variety of different levels of play with the aim of creating a more unified community through a variety of opportunities to show off your gameplay tricks.
With that being said, here is where we're looking at gong over the next few months.
Sept 26th-27th: Phantasm Gaming Convention and Expo, Peterborough Library, Peterborough Ontario. This will be my third year attending a a demo operator for Warmachine and Hordes, but in order to simplify the learning experience, I will only be demoing Warmachine. I will also be hosting my first Iron Kingdoms session with a campaign that I've written, intent on bringing some Hallowe'en spirit by tapping into one of my favourite stories. Sunday, I will be hosting the Unleashed Adventure Kit.
October 3rd: STEAMROLLER!!!! - Robert Kovac will be running the first Monthly Steamroller tournament at Worlds Collide (80 Simcoe St. N. Oshawa Ontario). 50 points, 2 lists with a buy in of $15. Awesome!!!!
October 24th: Longest Night - My first themed event. Bring your 50 point army and fend off against the Undead army. Will Alexia Ciannor be your saviour, or the instrument of your undoing?? More to come as developments come to light, but there will be points and awards for coming in costume, especially if you come as an Iron Kingdoms character!!!
Breastmachine Brawl: A modified Steamroller event for Breast Cancer awareness. projected date is Nov 7th, but more to come. Buying support tickets allows for a variety of in game purchases, and przes include Paint it Pink custom Warcaster cards provided by Privateer Press as well as regular prize support. We'll Keep you posted.
Foodmachine: December. Another modified steamroller where donating money or canned goods can lend you one shot power ups and opportunities. More to come...
Annual Secret Santa: An annual event where you put your name in a hat, and draw someone elses. the person you draw has a small list of models that you can choose from to purchase. the draw is done 2 weeks before the exchange, in case someone wants to paint the model they're gifting. this will be the third year of the annual Secret Santa. Gift cap is $20-$30. If someone gets a Colossal, someone ain't doin it right...Or maybe they are *snicker*.
With that being said, more will be posted as we get closer to some of these dates. Again if there are any questions, let me know at meatandmetaldurham@gmail.com.
With that, I'm signing off because its fucking 1am and I have to be up in 6 hours. Next time, I'll be going over my phantasm experience specifically with the Iron Kingdoms RPG and the adventure I'm running for the Saturday.
Wish me luck.
- Shawn
Wednesday 23 September 2015
Road to War III: CHHAAAAAAARRRRGGGEEEEE
So, it's the day after the OTC.
Well, I will say, that I haven't had so much fun in such a long time...
And we lost EVERY game we played. We lost horribly, beaten to a pulp, and with grace. If there was a silver plate, our teams asses would be on it. we only got second last because our last game was dropped due to our opposition dropping from the tournament after round 3.
We loved every second of it. we were shot, stabbed, hung stretched, disembowelled, drawn and quartered. We were shown No Quarter in combat, and it was the best time I've had in a long time.
The first thing I would suggest, is that the night before, don't touch your models except to pack them up. At this point, if you're worried about your game, its too late. Just go out there tomorrow and have fun. The night before, we got together at Roberts house, looked at some of the lists the opposition had and just chatted about it over a couple of beers. it was in no way a serious conversation, but instead just a look at what people were fielding, and otherwise, just a night of laughs and jokes. After a bit, we chatted about the store and other non related things. We just shot the breeze. I hopped home and went to bed at around 11. try to get a good nights sleep. I didn't because of the anticipation of excitement. After all, we had been preparing for this for months. As for the morning, a good breakfast is never a bad idea. we waited until we got out to Burlington and hit up a breakfast joint in town where we got a first glimpse of some of our opponents, laughing and shooting the breeze over bacon and eggs...yeah... I think this is a tradition for any team game, and its members. We chatted, discussed how we were approaching the day, and just sat, drinking coffee like Tom Waits in a Jim Jarmusch film. Breakfast came and went, and soon enough we were stacking our armies on our docking plates. It was not long after that we found our table, and started preparing for some hard gaming.
Secondly, make sure you guys are on the same page when it comes to your goals. Ideally, this should've been established in the beginning. A competitive player in a team of casuals is likely going to have a bad day if the player feels that they are holding up the team. Likewise, a casual player is likely going to piss off a bunch of competitives that are fighting the hard fight, and the one guy is just washing game after game, but is making friends with each opponent. It doesn't hurt to mix it up, but make sure you don't have unrealistic expectations for your team mates. In the beginning we were aiming for a hardcore game, but about a month in, we had a meeting and asked ourselves "Why are we going to this?", and most of us had the same answer, and none of them were "to win". I was going out because I was intent on pressing the flesh with my fellow PP'ers, be it gamers, or Press Gangers or judges. Also, because I wanted to put us on the map. Make ourselves known. I didn't care if we lost every game, but i was going to show that Durham region has a meta, and that we can be small, but we can also be mighty. Everyone else basically stated that it was making new friends, learning more about the factions, and just having fun. When you go out for breakfast that morning before the game, its a great time to just quickly assess that the goals are the same or if they've changed, then to re-establish what everyone else is aiming for so as to keep the expectations realistic. we were on the same page from the get go, but it never hurts to just make sure.
Lastly, is a reiteration of the Friday night. If you aren't ready by now, then you aren't ready. So go out there and just put boot to ass and see what happens. If you're reviewing opponents lists with great scrutiny 2 hours before the event, you're going to have a bad day because you're likely going to stress about the match ups. If you aren't going full tilt competitive, then you really shouldn't be worrying about it anyway. Remember, at the end of the day, we're grown ups playing with army men. This isn't the U.S War Room.
So less talk about the prep, and more about the event then!
As Murphy would have it, we had a bit of a hiccup with our team support. Our sub AND our 5th player both got pulled into work and couldn't dodge it, so we were on the short-list for players. Luck would have it that Scott (one of the EO's for the OTC) had an on-deck list of players who were last minute looking for spots to fill. And as we would have it, we ended up on-boarding a member of the Syndicate of gaming by the name of Herb. Now, Herb was a great fit for our approach. Herb is a big guy and is full of mirth, and was completely in tune with our "who cares if we lose" attitude. Actually, he took to ripping into his regular team-mates which made for a really funny sort of grudge competition with a team we never ended up playing against. Of the teams we did play, we met some more competitive players, and a few casual players, and otherwise just a bunch of really friendly people that we all shared our mutual interest in. Again, never having been to a large scale event for a game, it was nothing short of a delight to be in the company of so many likeminded individuals. Many of these folks we knew from our online presence and respective meta pages on Facebook, but to shake the hands of these otherwise faceless folks was exactly what I had been looking forward to.
Over the course of the day, we lost as a team against each of them (Although I believe Rob won a game and I think Herb won one or two, but as a team we did not do well at all lol). we got second last place because the last team we were supposed to face took leave, so we were given a bye. while I wanted to redeem myself, I couldn't help but feel relieved because at least three of us were feeling mentally drained. Worse still, was there was no coffee on site or close by. If there had at least been a Tim Hortons nearby, I could've fake-awaked myself into playing a last game, but it wasn't to be. The event was really cool, they hosted a few draws for models as well as swag from the Party foul store (Shirts, etc). After that, we bailed. I wasn't about to be a slug on the way home and the drive was over an hour, and I had to take Mike back to Oshawa before I went on home. After dropping off Mike and Keith, I was done. IN the door and head touched pillow.
As my first time going to one of these events, I can honestly say that it was something that I'd gladly do every year. we had a great time, with many hands shaken and friendships made, it was a memorable occasion at its worst, and phenomenal at its best.
Well, I will say, that I haven't had so much fun in such a long time...
And we lost EVERY game we played. We lost horribly, beaten to a pulp, and with grace. If there was a silver plate, our teams asses would be on it. we only got second last because our last game was dropped due to our opposition dropping from the tournament after round 3.
We loved every second of it. we were shot, stabbed, hung stretched, disembowelled, drawn and quartered. We were shown No Quarter in combat, and it was the best time I've had in a long time.
The first thing I would suggest, is that the night before, don't touch your models except to pack them up. At this point, if you're worried about your game, its too late. Just go out there tomorrow and have fun. The night before, we got together at Roberts house, looked at some of the lists the opposition had and just chatted about it over a couple of beers. it was in no way a serious conversation, but instead just a look at what people were fielding, and otherwise, just a night of laughs and jokes. After a bit, we chatted about the store and other non related things. We just shot the breeze. I hopped home and went to bed at around 11. try to get a good nights sleep. I didn't because of the anticipation of excitement. After all, we had been preparing for this for months. As for the morning, a good breakfast is never a bad idea. we waited until we got out to Burlington and hit up a breakfast joint in town where we got a first glimpse of some of our opponents, laughing and shooting the breeze over bacon and eggs...yeah... I think this is a tradition for any team game, and its members. We chatted, discussed how we were approaching the day, and just sat, drinking coffee like Tom Waits in a Jim Jarmusch film. Breakfast came and went, and soon enough we were stacking our armies on our docking plates. It was not long after that we found our table, and started preparing for some hard gaming.
Secondly, make sure you guys are on the same page when it comes to your goals. Ideally, this should've been established in the beginning. A competitive player in a team of casuals is likely going to have a bad day if the player feels that they are holding up the team. Likewise, a casual player is likely going to piss off a bunch of competitives that are fighting the hard fight, and the one guy is just washing game after game, but is making friends with each opponent. It doesn't hurt to mix it up, but make sure you don't have unrealistic expectations for your team mates. In the beginning we were aiming for a hardcore game, but about a month in, we had a meeting and asked ourselves "Why are we going to this?", and most of us had the same answer, and none of them were "to win". I was going out because I was intent on pressing the flesh with my fellow PP'ers, be it gamers, or Press Gangers or judges. Also, because I wanted to put us on the map. Make ourselves known. I didn't care if we lost every game, but i was going to show that Durham region has a meta, and that we can be small, but we can also be mighty. Everyone else basically stated that it was making new friends, learning more about the factions, and just having fun. When you go out for breakfast that morning before the game, its a great time to just quickly assess that the goals are the same or if they've changed, then to re-establish what everyone else is aiming for so as to keep the expectations realistic. we were on the same page from the get go, but it never hurts to just make sure.
Lastly, is a reiteration of the Friday night. If you aren't ready by now, then you aren't ready. So go out there and just put boot to ass and see what happens. If you're reviewing opponents lists with great scrutiny 2 hours before the event, you're going to have a bad day because you're likely going to stress about the match ups. If you aren't going full tilt competitive, then you really shouldn't be worrying about it anyway. Remember, at the end of the day, we're grown ups playing with army men. This isn't the U.S War Room.
So less talk about the prep, and more about the event then!
As Murphy would have it, we had a bit of a hiccup with our team support. Our sub AND our 5th player both got pulled into work and couldn't dodge it, so we were on the short-list for players. Luck would have it that Scott (one of the EO's for the OTC) had an on-deck list of players who were last minute looking for spots to fill. And as we would have it, we ended up on-boarding a member of the Syndicate of gaming by the name of Herb. Now, Herb was a great fit for our approach. Herb is a big guy and is full of mirth, and was completely in tune with our "who cares if we lose" attitude. Actually, he took to ripping into his regular team-mates which made for a really funny sort of grudge competition with a team we never ended up playing against. Of the teams we did play, we met some more competitive players, and a few casual players, and otherwise just a bunch of really friendly people that we all shared our mutual interest in. Again, never having been to a large scale event for a game, it was nothing short of a delight to be in the company of so many likeminded individuals. Many of these folks we knew from our online presence and respective meta pages on Facebook, but to shake the hands of these otherwise faceless folks was exactly what I had been looking forward to.
Over the course of the day, we lost as a team against each of them (Although I believe Rob won a game and I think Herb won one or two, but as a team we did not do well at all lol). we got second last place because the last team we were supposed to face took leave, so we were given a bye. while I wanted to redeem myself, I couldn't help but feel relieved because at least three of us were feeling mentally drained. Worse still, was there was no coffee on site or close by. If there had at least been a Tim Hortons nearby, I could've fake-awaked myself into playing a last game, but it wasn't to be. The event was really cool, they hosted a few draws for models as well as swag from the Party foul store (Shirts, etc). After that, we bailed. I wasn't about to be a slug on the way home and the drive was over an hour, and I had to take Mike back to Oshawa before I went on home. After dropping off Mike and Keith, I was done. IN the door and head touched pillow.
As my first time going to one of these events, I can honestly say that it was something that I'd gladly do every year. we had a great time, with many hands shaken and friendships made, it was a memorable occasion at its worst, and phenomenal at its best.
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