Oaths, the beginning

Oath Overview:

The goal of oaths is simply motivation. It’s to get you to do something you’ve wanted to do, but haven’t had the chance to. I know we can all be lazy, and I’m not a shining example for completed projects. I think we can all admit that a bit of peer pressure helps you get stuff done.

I think oaths should, at most, take up 4 hours a week. That doesn’t mean that it needs to take that long, but expect to spend that amount of time. And, feel free to do it all in one week, or break it up to 30 minutes a day. It’s up to you, and how you work best.

Oath Requirements:

The goal of the oaths is to assemble, prime and paint a unit (but mostly just paint something). If you don’t want to do this, please check the Substitutions header below

You must complete a legal unit. You know like 5 CSM or 10 ork boyz. Don't go too crazy, like 30 ork boyz, or 55 Guardsmen, unless you think you can manage it. Do something you think you can manage. You can add to your oath later, if you get done too fast. And don't worry, it can be a unit that isn't yours, and you're getting paid to paint. You may also oath something that can be in the slot, like Ork Nobz can be a Troops choice, if you take a Warboss. The wargear options do NOT have to be legal, nor does unit composition. For example, you could oath 5 regular Space Marines one month, without a sergeant or flamer one month, then do another 5, this time with a sergeant, a flamer and a missile launcher, the next month.

Substitutions:

If you are unable or unwilling to paint a unit, look at some of these instead.

Terrain –
I can’t stress this enough. Good terrain is just as good as a painted unit. And, terrain is good to have. Some of us need certain types of terrain, like Jungle. Or, area terrain. If you want to play a Cities of Death mission, you need to have ruins. There’s no way around that. Terrain can be easily made with household items. Soup cans, cardboard from a cereal box and some glue can be grain silo. Or, bits of sprue can be made into barricades. If you want, I can split the cost of things like foam, paint, sand and the like.

Blog Stuff –
I really want to make our blog look awesome. This can be an easy way to complete an oath. Pick a topic you think you can write about. Be it tactics, painting, unit uses, product and/or book reviews, etc. I know you all have something you’d like to do for the blog, and this can be good way to get you motivated to do it. You could also do artwork, links, and etc.

Troops –
You can ALWAYS sub in a unit of Troops for an oath, no matter what. You have a max of 6 Troop choices, and if you’re going to break them up in to smaller chunks, like in the examples above, you might not get a whole one finished before we move onto Elites, Heavy Support, Fast Attack, and HQ. Troops are also very important for holding objectives, so you may end up with all of your slots full.

Transports –
Transports can be included in the month’s normal oath, as part of the unit. However, they can also be substituted for the month’s normal choice. Some armies are transport heavy, and vehicles can take more time to complete than regular models.

Things We Can All Use –
I’d really like to have some things we could all use. To name a few; roster sheets (with space to include all of the stats, special rules, wargear, and page numbers for a unit), reference cards for special rules, a shooting and assault flow chart, etc. We could all use these. If you have the spare time, why not?

Art and Short Stories –
I know some of us have creative talents. Why not draw us as the leaders of our respective races? Or, write some fluff for your army? I’m not saying you have to name your models, or anything that ludicrous, but I think we could add a bit more flavor to our games. Plus, it would be awesome for when we do campaigns.

Large Projects –
I know one of us has been building a table for the better part of a year. Get off your ass, and get it done! In this case, oath just a part of the project at a time. Glue the boards together one month, then drill and vanish it the next. Or, make an army box/carrying case for your army. Maybe you have a large conversion project you want to do, but it’s going to take time or money to do.

Markers –
I think we can use some markers, be it objective markers, kill counters, turn counters, or army specific markers, like markerlights. There are Cities of Death stratagems that could use markers. If you have bits and bases, it’s easy to do. You can also use paper. Whatever you choose to do, make it look good.

Oath Start and End Dates:

Your oath must be declared by the 1st of the month. (This means emailing, or making a blog post to everyone else with a suitable line like, ”I, Captain Pete, do hereby oath to complete 10 Imperial Guardsmen by June 31st, or may the Warp take and damn my soul!”) If you want, you can oath a week in advance, and start work then. Oaths must be completed by the end of the month, be it the 31st, the 30th or the 28th. On the 8th, 15th and 22nd of each month, send a picture to the rest of us with your progress, if you want to. We’ll root for you, or shake our heads in shame each week. Either way, we all know where each other is at. On the last day of the month (or when you complete your oath, whichever comes first), send pictures of your triumph or utter failure to everyone. Kudos and/or ridicule to follow, as warranted.

Prizes:
After we complete the first oath cycle, I think we could do prizes. I’m not sure how to work it, but if you think it’s a good idea, let me know.

Oath Manager:
I’m not sure if I’m the best person to put oath things up on the blog, nor do I have the time to write little blurbs for everyone. I would like someone with a bit more time and internet skills to manage the updates and stuff. If no one wants to, I’ll give it a shot. But, don’t be surprised if it never gets done. If you really want to, I suppose you could oath manage everyone’s oaths, as an oath. You know, if you want to be a big douche like that….

Extra credit –
I’m going to include this in our oaths. The oath manager comes up with some special thing to add to the Oaths. For example, it could be ‘wounded warriors’ which means in some part of your oath, you have include someone who’s been wounded in battle. These can be a subtle as you want, just make sure to point it out to the rest of us. This is easy for those of us who are buying things for the challenge, or who haven’t build the thing yet.

Points –
You will receive points for doing the following:

Making an oath – One point
Completing an oath – One point
Including the extra credit – One Point

This means you can earn 3 points per month. The person who has the most points at the end of the year wins. What they win, well, we haven’t got that part figured out yet.