Blast From The Past: EverQuest Role-Playing Game

Welcome to the world of Norrath, player!

Say hello to Fironia Vie. The 'hot' elf. You'll be seeing her a lot...

One of the first MMORPGs was EverQuest. Based on many elements from Dungeons and Dragons and other fantasy games, it was a wild success and started the MMORPG crazy that is still going strong today.

Since EverQuest was based on RPG elements, and had a fanbase that were role-playing nerds, it was inevitable that an official RPG would be released. The game used the D20 System, which was all the rage in those days, and the Swords and Sorcery system, which wasn't that common.

The world of EverQuest was rich and expansive, full of interesting details and characters. Don't believe me? Just check out the list of races and classes below:

Races:

Human

Dark Elf

High Elf

Wood Elf

Halfling

Barbarian (Nordic/Scottish sub-species of human from the frozen North)

Dwarf

Gnome

Eurdite (Magic user sub-species of human)

Half Elf

Iskar (Lizard people from a far-away continent)

Ogre

Troll

Vah Shir (Cat people. From the moon. No, I'm not making that up.)

Big list, isn't it? Like D&D 2^nd edition, only some races were prevented from taking some classes and they would take experience penalties when the group gained XP. 

... Because they used her in ALL of the advertising...

 

Classes:

Warrior

Shadow Knight (AKA Death Knight/Anti-Paladin)

Paladin

Beastlord (Druid/Fighter mix)

Monk

Ranger

Rogue

Wizard

Magician

Necromancer

Enchanter

Bard

Cleric

Druid

Shaman

The pen-and-paper RPG is almost a complete port of the computer version which causes some... Issues.

So, there's almost every race... And Fironia...

Mana and spell slots: Just like the video game (and many others for that matter), the EQ RPG included mana. While the classes generate a goodly amount of mana, you have to balance the spell level, the mana cost, and the slots you have for spells. You get six spell slots no matter what your level, but you can't have any spell memorized in more than one slot and it takes time to re-add a spell to a slot. For many coming from D&D and the like, this system feels a bit off. In the video game, resting for a few minutes allows you to take a quick break and get something to drink. In a role-playing setting, it's annoying.

Faction: In many MMORPGs, you have a variety of factions you have to deal with. When you decrease faction with groups, you can expect to be attacked on sight when you enter areas they control. This makes sense in a video game, where the monsters and guards seem to magically communicate this to each other. However, in a role-playing game, you don't assume that sort of thing. Sure, NPCs talk to each other and you expect that. But, being instantly attacked when walking in to a city when you're not a member of an evil race just doesn't jive with most players.

Quests: Oh, we all know quests. Every video game has them. Since video games don't have a DM/GM who can control everything and the worlds are much less free-form, it makes sense that you need to provide rewards and motivations to players. In the RPG, they've included many of the common and important quests, but they didn't seem to think out the rewards very much. In the video game, they would give a player a faction reward and an item reward. But, in the RPG, they don't add additional rewards when a group takes up the quest, and the monetary rewards kind of suck. CR 5 quest and 3d10 GP reward? Um, what? That doesn't make a lot of sense when magic items are few and far between and cost tens or thousands to hundreds of thousand of gold.

Magic Items: One of the best things about any fantasy RPG is always the magic items. D&D has thousands of them, varying from the questionable to overpowering, from utilitarian to the humorous, they're always creative and fun to read about. EverQuest is no exception. While the list is limited and many of the items are very expensive, the items are unique to the setting. One thing that I find interesting is that almost every item adds a stat boost (ranging from +1 to +3 to several different stats), a small HP bonus (around +5 on average), and other minor bonuses.

Trade Skills: I'm sure anyone who has played a video game RPG in the last few years is familiar with these kind of skills. Things like fishing, tailoring, brewing, and etc were very popular in EverQuest. The RPG uses them to allow players to create the items they need. Because everyone wants to waste game time with creating items instead of paying for them at ten times the cost...

Order/Disorder: Not going to lie, this is by far my favorite thing in the game. I don't know if it comes from the Swords & Sorcery system or not, but it makes Alignment so much easier to understand. Rather than 'law' and 'chaos' which are more nebulous concepts, Order and Disorder are far more easier to understand.

Delay: In a video game, swinging that Amazing Great Axe Of Asskicking as fast as you can mash the button can unbalance it. But, in a RPG, you already have a better way to balance that Amazing Great Axe Of Asskicking. Unfortunately, they included Delay in the RPG, so you'll have to deal with it effecting your Base Attack Bonus. Thankfully, they also included spells to reduce Delay.

Level Cap: Here's one of the cooler things about the game- The level cap in the Player's Handbook is 30. So, you have a long way to go before you have to worry about trying to track down an Epic Level Handbook for the game.

Its an Iskar... And Fironia...

The setting:

This is why I bought the books. The setting was what always fascinated me when my friend was playing the game religiously. In general, the setting is why I buy a game. I don't care too much about the rules, it's all about the setting for me.

In EverQuest, the world was pretty huge and included a vast amount of races, spread across five continents and a moon. Let's look at each one:

Odus:

The home of the Erudites and former home of the Vah Shir. A small continent, really just a large island. The Erudites are divided by the 'good' ones that practice normal magic, and the 'bad' ones that practice necromancy.

Antonica:

By far the most populous place, with the largest city in the world, Freeport. Antonica is home to humans, Dark Elves, Trolls, Orges, Barbarians, and Halflings. Most adventures take place in the wilds and cities of Antonica.

Faydwer:

Home to the Dwarves, Gnomes, High elves and Wood elves, Faydwer is also home to some of the biggest and nastiest villains in the world. Notably Maysong Mistmoore, who creates vampires, not-driders, and other dark creatures.

Kunark:

The only playable race from this place is the Iskar. The land of Kurank is full or ruins and reptiles. A dry desert that's dangerous to even seasoned adventurers.

Velious:

There's not playable races from here, as it was an expansion in the game that was created to provide a new place for high level adventures. Giants, dragons, and other things inhabit the frozen wastes of Velious, the land itself marked by the Queen of Dragons.

Luclin:

To the moon! In addition to the Vah Shir, there's two groups from ages past that ended up here on the moon. The Shisshar, a snake-man race that challenged the gods (and were wiped out on Norrath), and the remains of the Combine Empire, who are pretty much not-Romans that tried to form a multi-racial empire that was destroyed by the jealousy of one man. Luclin also has an axial tilt of 90 degrees, meaning one side is always day and the other is always night. Now, we all know that would most likely render both of those sides uninhabitable, but, magic, I ain't gotta explain shit.

You'd think, it being that cold and all, she would cover up a bit more. Just a bit.

Now, since the books were written when the game was hugely popular (2002 or so, before the release of World of Warcraft), the core books don't provide a huge amount of detail on the setting. Partly, this was because they assumed that you knew about the world from the game, and also because they created several other books that provided information on the major locations in the game. Places like Freeport, Luclin, Faydwer, and a few others got their own books. Luclin actually got two: setting book and it's own Monster Manual. In addition to these source books, they also released a few adventures. The problem with these adventures is that they're, again, a direct port of the video game. Different sections of the adventure are at different CR and seem to exist in a vacuum. While you could raid the various Planes in the game (Hate, Fear, Air, Underfoot, etc), those were never translated to the RPG. I'm sure they planned on it, but there was the release of WoW as well as EverQuest II. Strangely enough, the original EverQuest is still around and even releasing expansions, but I don't think people are playing in numbers anywhere near they use to be.

I told you! Cat people from the moon! And more Fironia...

So, if you're reading this and you want to maybe pick up hard copies of these books, it's not expensive at all. The Player's Handbook can be found on eBay for as low as $7. There's a seller that puts out all the core books (Player's Handbook, Game Master's Guide, and Monsters of Norrath) for $40. The various source books cost $10, on average, but aren't easy to find. In case you're wondering, I picked up the core books, then bought Freeport, in case I ever ran a game. I recently found a cheap copy of Luclin, because I was always fascinated by that place, and the Faydwer book, so I can run stuff with Castle Mistmoore. If you can't remember the details of the places that aren't covered, you're going to be out of luck trying to find it online. I've been searching around and even the EQ Wiki is seriously lacking in anything beyond the most basic information. 

"Shit! Let's get out of here before it wakes up!"

 

Let's Review: Road Kill

Welcome to (yet another random) series here on Bearers of The Word. In this series, I'll be covering more recent things that are still supported (to a degree) and easy to find.

What it is:

A 28mm scale post-apocalyptic supernatural horror skirmish minis game. With motorcycles. And Zombies.

Alright, what did you guys do?

The setting:

Set in the far-off year of 2015, the world has gone to hell in a handbasket. In 2010, a group of anarchists set off a device known as the 'Shadow Bomb' in Jerusalem, unleashing the destructive power of a parallel shadow dimension. The fallout from this bomb killed half of the world's population, changed a quarter in to vampires, werewolves, and zombies, and left the remaining quarter strangely untouched.

In the bombed-out and depopulated wasteland of North America, the various survivor groups, monsters, and zombies fight to survive another day. The Survivalists, who had been preparing for this day in their bunkers, and the 'Man,' or the remnants of the government (including cops, soldiers, and highway patrol officers), are the only 'true' human Factions in the game. The Brotherhood and the Sisterhood are the bio-engineered monks and bio-enhanced nuns who fight the monsters on their own terms. The Sons of Night are the vampires that control LA and the surrounding area. Wolf's Angels are werewolf bikers. The only zombies in the game are 'Rage Zombies' very much like the ones in 28 Days Later. Many of these Factions can work together, so you don't have to buy just one Faction's models.

It takes all kinds to survive...

The system:

The game uses the '4 Goal' system created by West Wind Productions to handle combat and etc. The system uses d6s. Lots of them. The game includes rules for the various factions, and their alliances, as well as rules for motorcycles, larger vehicles, and most weapons you could think of. Initiative is done with a deck of playing cards, which is cool. Especially since I picked up Deadlands years ago, I have a ton of decks laying around...

One of the cooler things about the game is they allow you to create your own characters and vehicles, so you can use minis and terrain you have laying around to play. I also imagine gamers (especially 40k players) have one, if not several, piles of dice laying around and a deck of cards are easy to find. That cuts down your buy-in cost by a bit.

Nuns with chainsaws. Who would have thought?

Is it worth it?:

I picked up the rulebook for this game for $12, and I'll be honest, I think I might have overpaid by a bit. The rulebook is poorly edited and is just plain missing parts. Nothing critical, but enough so you'll have to make some stuff up (what does Unwieldy do? I have no clue). The book is also black and white and is clearly made from high quality 8 ½ X 11 sheets of paper folded and stapled. Professionally done, but, still... If feels like it was suppose to be included in a starter set that never got made (or is no longer made, the game is 10 years old at this point). There's only two Scenarios in the book, both of which involve specialized buildings. While there's a lot of story elements in the game, I think a once-over on the rulebook during the final edit would have made this game much more worth the price. I haven't bought any minis, as I almost always buy the rulebook first then minis, but from what I've seen of them, they look cool and aren't terribly expensive.

I picked this up because I thought the setting and minis looked cool. Once I read the rules, I figured I use it for some minis I picked up just to paint (like the Hasslefree stuff). The cool thing about being about to make your own characters is that you can buy something like the Wargames Factory Survivors, Zombies, and Greatcoat Shock Troopers and make yourself a force. Or three forces. If you're in to converting and modding things, picking up some cheap 1:24 or 1:35 models and some plastruct sounds like a worthy project.

So, if you've got some 28mm scale guys laying around that you're not sure what to do with, this might be worth the $12 to have something new to play with. The basic system is solid, but the poor editing will require you to work with it a bit before you'll really be able to play. Which may or may not be a selling point for some people. If you're interested in vampires and werewolves on motorcycles minis, they've got you covered.

Some time soon, I'll be sitting down and trying to not only fix this game but expand it as well. Stay tuned for that. 

Yeah, that's creepy

Who likes giant robots?

Because, chicks dig giant robots!

Okay, maybe not. But, I have yet another find on Kickstarter. This one is another Mecha RPG. If you're interested, give it a look. I'm okay with $10 for a PDF copy.

Battle Century G.

There's less than two days left, so if you're interested, better get in now.

Gone But Not Forgotten: Star Trek: Customizable Card Game

Welcome to another (randomly) regular series here on Bearers of the Word. In 'Gone But Not Forgotten' I'll be talking about 'collectable' games like CCGs and CMGs that I've played in the past. Usually, these are games that have been discontinued and you can't find anymore. So, let's get started!

To boldly go...

No School Like Old School

In 1993, Magic: The Gathering exploded on to the hobby scene. Kids and adults alike were spending hundreds of dollars on a card game that had an original background. Soon, companies that owned 'nerd' licenses took note and started selling the rights to others to get a slice of this new expanding market. One of the first was Star Trek.

The first edition of the Star Trek: The Next Generation Customizable Card Game was released in 1994. Now, 20 years later, the game has aged... Poorly. But, I love it all the same.

Gotta love cosplay...

Affiliations:

When the game was first released, there were three Affiliations: Federation, Romulan, and Klingon. There were also Non-Aligned, who could work with any Affiliation. Most people built decks around one Affiliation but there were treaty cards, so you could mix and match if you wanted. The first Affiliation to be added was the Borg, in the First Contact expansion. The Borg played completely differently that any other affiliation before or since, assimilating planets, ships, and people to win. The next major expansion was Deep Space Nine, which added the Cardasian and Bajoran affiliations. Of course, they followed this up with the Dominion in a self-named expansion. The Dominion were the first affiliation to be set up in a completely different quadrant. If you didn't get the Bajoran Wormhole, you were stuck in the Gamma Quadrant. Later expansions added the Ferengi, as well as cards from the Original Series and the Mirror Universe. When they released the Voyager expansions, they had to add the Hirogen, Viidian, and Kazon factions. They even did a minor Enterprise expansion and an expansion for the Original films. By the time the game died, there were 13 affiliations and two Mirror Universe 'groups', spread across four quadrants (Alpha, Gamma, Delta, and Mirror) and across all of the TV series and films. Needless to say, the game had grown too big to be any sort of manageable endeavor. And, many of the affiliations and groups couldn't really function or score enough points to win out of the box.

Who cares about Kirk or Picard? It's all about Sulu!

How the game works:

The set up for this game was unique and interesting. Instead of summoning up monsters and artifacts, the creators of the game looked at the source material. You included six 'mission' cards in your deck. These missions (really planetary systems) had a list of requirements you needed to complete them and a number of points you would score if you did so. They also had a number at the bottom which showed how much range your ships would need to use to get past the card. Because nothing goes as planned, you and your opponent would slide (or 'seed' as the game called it) Dilemma cards under the missions. When you attempted the mission, you would run in to the Dilemma and have to deal with it. You could include up to 30 Dilemmas in your seed deck, so you could put down Dilemmas that helped you score bonus points and put some down to screw the other guy. Of course, he'd be doing the same to you... In addition to Dilemmas, you could also place Artifacts under a mission, but this was risky as your opponent could use them if they completed the mission.

Once you got done seeding missions, you would place your 'outpost' which was your starting point. Any ships, personnel, and equipment you played would come in to play at your outpost, so you wanted to place it somewhere useful. The ships had 'staffing requirements' that you had to meet with personnel, which was kind of a pain in the ass if you drew people that didn't have the right stuff to staff the ship. Once you got a ship staffed up, which could take awhile, what with your massive play decks and being able to play ONE card a turn, you flew the ship around and completed enough mission to score 100 points. In the most basic terms, that's the game. Of course, it gets way more complicated when you use later expansions.

Because it was one of the first post-Magic games, it doesn't have the balance or slickness of later games. You know, things like cost and resource management. You drew one card and played one card each turn. That's it. So, the game developed draw engines and play engines. Some of the most powerful cards in the first release have been banned because they provided too many draws or too many plays per turn. In order to balance the game in later editions, they created cards to specifically counter another, so you'd want to include those counter-cards in your deck. This in turn lead to 'deck bloat' as I call it. It wasn't uncommon to see play decks over a hundred cards. Decks between a hundred and fifty cards and two hundred cards seem to be the norm.

One of the best episodes, Yesterday's Enterprise

For all of its flaws, the game is fun to play. You can have the oddest crews in the history of Star Trek running around (Captains Kirk and Picard commanding the USS Defiant in the Delta Quadrant battling the Ferengi? It's possible) as well as some humorous combinations of factors (facing a Borg raid on your outpost in the Gamma Quadrant while infected with alien parasites). Completing missions was the goal of the game, not combat. Of course, combat became a way of denying your opponent points, by destroying his ship, it took time to build up a fleet capable of attacking, much less destroying, a single enemy ship. The game tried to keep the flavor of the setting, using your wits and skill to overcome obstacles rather than using your fists and phasers. Even with all those Affiliations, each one had a different way of playing. The Federation, for example, couldn't start a fight, but they had the largest number of personnel and powerful ships. Federation players developed a tactic known as 'redshirting' where they would beam down one personnel that had no real use to attempt the mission. Maybe they overcome some Dilemmas, maybe they don't. You just keep beaming down some more disposable crew down until all the Dilemmas are finished, then beam down your people who can complete the mission and score your points. Of course, the creators of the game came up with counters to this tactic, but it still exists today.

In contrast, there's the Ferengi. They use the only resource in the game: gold-pressed latinum. They use this to get equipment out, score points, and complete missions. They have an interesting mix of ships and a surprisingly good selection of personnel, so they don't need to fight to win or prevent someone from winning.

Even though the game is long unsupported, a group got together in 2007 and have tried to keep the game alive. This group, the Continuing Committee, has done a lot to modernize the game and even added their own expansions. If you're interested in starting up this game, or just want to see what was, head over to the 'Links' page and click on their name.

Yes, there is a Tribbles game as well

SpineSpur: Would the real Anti-Pope please stand up?

Players: 2-4

Premise:

Someone has created an advanced form of Doppelganger, either by black magic or mad science. They can not only assume the form, but the knowledge, powers and magic of their targets.

Force Composition:

Players agree to points total and build forces as normal, except each player must select the same Alpha or central character.

Deployment: Standard

Scenario rules:

During the game, the Central Characters (all or them) act normally, using abilities and etc. When the Central Character dies, he is replaced with a Doppelganger corpse marker.

Victory Conditions:

The player with the last duplicate Central Character has the ‘real one’ and wins the game.

Variant:

When building a force, each player should take care to not include the same Individuals in their forces. For example, all players choose the Anti-Pope as their Central Character, then each player chooses one of the cardinals to include in their forces.

Variant:

To make things random, before the start of the game each player records a number between 1 and 6. When their Central Character takes damage, compare the number on the Blood Die with the number written down. If it matches, the Central Character is replaced with a Doppelganger.

Blast From The Past: Cyberpunk 2020

Ah, the 1980s. The Reagen years. When we all thought the Japanese would conquer the world. Not though military might, as they tried some forty years earlier, but though economic might. An era of massive technological improvements and advances. Pop music was changing, bringing in influences from the Punk movement. We knew the world was going to hell in hand-basket and we were all along for the ride.

In this era, authors like William Gibson and Rudy Rucker wrote about a future where the internet was completely interactive and that countries had been overshadowed by corporate entities. TV shows like Max Headroom shed light on the new ideas of ratings, companies running political candidates and the growing income disparity in the western world. Movies like Robocop blurred the line between man and machine, while movies like Escape From New York made us fear the increasing levels of violence in the country. And, as always, the violence of this grim, dark, and Dystopian future was front and center.

But, it never happened.

Maybe these things made us change direction, or maybe it was never meant to be. Either way, the Cyberpunk future never happened and the genre has made less and less sense to mainstream audiences. But, screw them. Let's harken back to those years of violence, net running, cybernetics, and anti-establishment sentiment.

CyberPunk 2020: Live fast, die young, and leave a cybernetically enhanced corpse behind.

Many years ago, when I first starting branching out from D&D, I was shopping for a gift for my best friend at a local used book store, searching the RPG section. I stumbled across a beat-up copy of Cyberpunk 2020, looked though it, checked the price, and bought it for him. My friend and I poured over the rules and we found our first Greatest Game Never Played. Because neither of us wanted to run it and nobody else did. I bought my own copy and, to this very day, I've never played a game of it. But, what was so good about this game?

In Cyberpunk 2020, you have a broad choice of classes to play:

Rockerboys: Putting the 'punk' in cyberpunk, Rockerboys (and girls) tell the tales of the street. While possibly one of the hardest classes to work in to a game, the Rockers have to be some of the most interesting to play.

Solos: Soldiers of Fortune in the early 21^st century. Full of cybernetics and usually some of the most damaged people, Solos are the combat beasts of the game. However, that means you'll probably have more than one in the group, if not a group full of them.

Netrunners: When it comes to the Net, these guys are gods. Using their 'Interface' special skill they rule the electronic world.

Techies: The doctors and cyberneticists of the world. Every group needs one of these. If they know it or not.

Medias: Clearly, this group was based on the world of Max Headroom. Out of all of the classes, Medias have the power to change the world at large.

Cops: Even in this dark world, there are still folks who are willing to help their fellow man. Of course, cops in 2020 are out-gunned, overwhelmed, and underpaid...

Corps: Wait, aren't these the bad guys? Maybe yes, maybe no. Surprisingly, these characters are easy to fit in to most campaigns. Got a Media? Great, the Corp is part of her company. Rockerboy? The Corp is his manager.

Fixers: The middle-men and general 'guy who might know a guy' characters. The Fixers take the role of fence, intelligence resource, and face for the party.

Nomads: In 2020 America, there's not a lot of jobs for folks. So, they travel around like caravans of old, usually part of family groups. Nomads are generalists, can be faces, good in a fight, and have the ability to call on some folks to help out in a pinch.

Night City was the original setting for the game

There were several things that made Cyberpunk 2020 different in its setting. For one, the European Union was the big economic driving force in the world, not Japan. They brought Punk to the fore, along with the Cyber. The world was dark and gritty, but not too far from our own world. Well, at the time it was written.

One of the more interesting things that the game did was how the handled the Net. They really went all in and allowed you to design whole worlds. Of course, people being people, there's some nasty things out there in the Net: viruses. That's how they handled combat in the Net. Now, as cool as the Net is, there's one major problem: If you have a Netrunner in the party, they're the only ones who will be using it. So, you'll have to run solo adventures for the 'runner while everyone else deals with stuff going on in the real world. It might be cool for some folks, but most people I know who have run the game either ban Netrunners or do nothing but Netrunners.

When it came to the cybernetics, Cyberpunk 2020 had a huge list and even expanded it in the Chromebooks they released. There was a cybernetic attachment, limb, or implant for any situation. Even in the bedroom. They balanced this with loss of 'humanity' and Empathy. Which means most Solos were really empathic... Before they started relacing perfectly good parts with chunks of steel and plastic.

When it comes to the game itself, the system is your 'standard' D10 system: Stat+Skill+D10=results, higher better. There's a good amount of stats, including Attractiveness which is always good to see as many people confuse 'charisma' with 'looking good'.

The skill list is fairly complete, I doubt anyone would have trouble not finding a skill they wanted. One cool thing they did in the game is you can get 'skill chips'. Want a skill but don't have the points? Just spend some money and you can have a few levels in it. Not bad, right?

The one thing that always stuck for me was the Lifepath the game uses. It's a random background generator for your character, but it provides so many ideas for what your character is like. Not sure of your character's style? There's a chart you can roll on. Want to know what socio-economic class your character came from? There's a chart for that. The only problem with the chart is that lucky rolls can give you extra money, which is critical for classes like Solos. Of course, if you really need money, you can get some by having a bomb implanted in your head or other worse things...

While the technology is dated (oh so dated), they did have some insight in to what we have now, like wireless internet connections. They also included organ banks and hover cars, but that is fine for sci-fi. Just, kind of a shame we don't have those yet.

So, the world moved on and left Cyberpunk 2020 behind. They tried a new edition, Cyberpunk 203X but I don't think it caught on with anyone. And, they did release (or were going to release) a new version: Cyberpunk 2077. I guess cyberpunk isn't dead but it sure has changed...

If you're looking for a flashback to the future that never was, put on your mirrorshades, put in Johnny Mnemonic, and jack in, choomba!

Haters gonna hate

Giving Up On GamesWorkshop

About seven years ago, I started reading the Warhammer 40,000 novels. Starting with the classic gateway drug of 40k fiction, Eisenhorn, I quickly started Gaunt's Ghosts and wanted to play the Imperial Guard. I liked the idea of normal people facing the horrors of the Warp, the brutality of the foul Orks, the machinations of the enigmatic Eldar, and surviving the hordes of Tyranids. I was drawn to these stories and, of course, I wanted to get in on the action.

I had surplus funds and quickly bought the 4^th edition hardback rulebook, the Imperial Guard codex, and a IG battleforce box. I started putting together the minis and tried to rope my friends (the original co-contributors here) in to playing. Being foolish with money, I soon bought Chaos Space Marines to provide a force I could let others try out the game. Soon enough, we figured out that the Assault on Black Reach set was a sweetheart deal and I kept splitting it with people and had a pile of Orks. (Which, thanks to the price increases, I can sell used at a profit.)

Soon enough, I was painting, playing, and having fun with my friends. I was getting more and more in to the hobby, planning events, creating terrain, and losing... A lot. But, I was still having fun. We all were. I also had the idea for the blog and tried to get the others involved. Then, we all got busy, games happened less and less, and I got tired of being the driving force behind getting games together. In time, we pretty much quit playing. I quit painting and just about everything about the game except the books.

All the while, I knew the game was expensive. That was fine, Gamesworkshop makes a quality product. The minis are usually well made, the books always well done with fantastic art, and paints are some of the best quality out there. But, I started noticing 'codex creep' and how every year, the prices of things increased. Then, they started releasing codexes and editions faster and faster. While I agreed, to a degree, with the lawsuit against Chapterhouse, I soon began to see more and more frivolous lawsuits.

I don't know if there was one particular moment when I gave up on GW. It was a slow process, over the course of years. One of the turning points for me was the release of the 5^th edition Imperial Guard codex. I loved what they did with the army in the book... But, then they cut down the troop box for Guardsmen. Originally, you could get 20 Guardsmen in a box, which was great, because you needed that many for one of the two required Troop choices. With the new codex release, they got rid of the 20 man box and introduced a 10 man box. For about the same price. They also use to have an 'Armored Fist' box which came with 10 Guardsmen and a Chimera. Given that that edition was much more vehicle friendly, this would have been a great product for new players. But, it never returned to shelves. I can't begrudge a company for wanting to make money, it's their goal. That said, it has become more and more obvious that GW no longer cared about providing a quality environment for players while making money.

I know this may be late for many people who have already turned their backs on GW. That's fine. I wanted to express my own feelings, without lashing out in anger. I've taken time to think about why I don't want to play anymore. I'd rather be late but more balanced about the topic.

So, GW has started to increase prices. Then, they start going after people who sell their products below market price. Excuse me, GW, but you've made your money off of the sale. If someone wants to sell it below what you're selling it at, that's up to them. I've never ordered directly from GW. I always bought from a local store. As I once told them: I'd rather give some of my money to the people in my area then all of it to them. But, GW continues to cause problems. They allow stores to sell their products, make a market in the area, then they open an official store that only sells their product. I don't know if any of you remember, but about 15 years ago, there were Wizards of the Coast stores. And you know what the first thing I ever bought in one of their stores? My first copy of All Flesh Must Be Eaten. Not something made by them. Of course, they dropped other companies' products before the stores went under, but for a time, they weren't as evil an empire as GW.

There are so many issues with what GW has done and continues to do. They got rid of supported tourneys. They've made White Dwarf in to nothing but an ad for their products, not even bothering to be subtle about it. I've heard stories of GW store employees asking people to leave if they mention a game made by another companies or using models made by another company. It's disgusting. To top it off, they made it so you couldn't order a product from a third-party store using a 'cart' online, nor could they ship products outside their 'zone'. It makes no sense. Some people say that GW is afraid of the internet or is stuck in the 90's. I don't think so. I see it more that they're trying to make as much money as possible without regard to their public image. Perhaps they believe that the players will keep coming as they're the biggest game in town. I also think that they know that the rest of the world, people who don't play games, they're not going to pay attention to this kind of thing. If this was any other kind of company, one with a bigger image, there would be public protests and all sorts of things. But, while nerds are becoming more and more out there in the eyes of the Western World, most people could care less about 'little plastic space men'.

I think the final nail in the coffin for GW is their new focus: new players. I understand why they're focusing on new players. To start the game, there's a massive initial investment in this game (or any game for that matter). People who have been playing longer need less. Maybe a new unit here and there and usually things like paints and glue. But, those aren't making as much money for a company as someone who walks in, buys a codex, the core book, and a battleforce. That's hundreds of dollars (or pounds, for our friends across the pond) all in one sale. Then, they'll be back for the paints, glue, tools, and basing supplies. I can see why a company would focus on those new players. They make more money. Some people complain about the updates of codexes and editions, but it makes sense to provide a way to make money from older players as well as providing a means to allow the game to evolve.

The major thing about focusing on new players, to the near-exclusion, of older players is that it's not sustainable in the long term. If you don't keep some people around, keep them engaged and happy, you will eventually reach a point in which there are no more new players to be had. Sure, you've made hefty short-term profits, but you'll end up with dropping profits later on.

Let me put it in context: When I picked up Spinespur, I bought a rulebook and perhaps a dozen models. As I started playing more and more, I bought more and more minis. I also bought more copies of the book (one was a gift for a friend and another was to semi-replace my abused copy I had bought originally). I put up money for the Kickstarter and then bought more minis because of that. But, I haven't bought minis in over a year now. I have no more need to. So, there's not much I can do to support Comfy Chair Games. Not directly, at least. But, since I love the game and think CCG is good people, I can do something: I can talk about their products, I can get others in to the game, and I keep an eye out for their products that I want to pick up.

And that's the difference for me when it comes to GW: I don't want to support them because I can't agree with their way of doing business anymore. I'll paint the minis I bought, I might buy novels from time to time, but I'm not going to spend another dime of my money on any new models, rulebooks, or anything else to play the game. I may buy used, but that's it. I'll give my money to companies that try to create a community based on respect, not greed.

In time, I see Gamesworkshop trying to encourage older players to come back in to the fold. The question is, will any of them be willing to come back?

A find on Kickstarter

Hello there, boys and girls! Did you miss me? I wish I had been around more, but life (mostly drama, bullshit, and laziness) got in the way. But, I'm back! And I come bearing gifts from Kickstarter.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/33195679/wwii-assault-tactical-skirmish-combat

Jay (who you may remember from my SpineSpur battle reports) emailed me this link earlier this week. I took a look and threw down $40. Why? Because unlike most WWII games, this one is a skirmish one. And I've found I like those better than most other things.

Now, why should you back this project? Well, I'm not one for nitpicking rules. I'll play anything and houserule stuff if I have to, so don't ask me about that. That said, Jay is that kind of guy and he seems impressed from what he's mentioned. I like the scale and the size. It looks fun. And, for $10, that should be worth it for you guys.

What army am I picking up? Why, the Russians, of course. Don't ask me why, but I have a thing for those crazy Soviet bastards. Plus, in WWII, they did a hell of a lot of damage. At the end of the war they had a standing army of five million. Kind of reminds me of the Imperial Guard... Hmm...

So, take a look. If it's something you think you might like, spend $10 to give a game (and a new guy) a chance.