Treading in worn shoes

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