... and is right on the doorstep of The Giants Causeway Gaming Group

So, long story short, if you have read the history le sson you will know, after a second hiatus, I got back into gaming around 2013 when I found a local gaming group, The Giants Causeway Gaming Group. A few of the members of this group were staff and members of Be a   sts of War, who if you haven't heard of them by now, were set up to provide news, reviews, tutorials and general all round great info regarding various topics such as wargames, board games, card games, roleplaying games, as well as painting and modelling.

At the time I got back to gaming (c. 2013) much of the focus from Beasts of War was on the wargame and tabletop miniature skirmish game side of the hobby, and I suppose trying to build up a fanbase and future business that was to be expected of them. I joined the ranks of their online community around this time although I didn't do much with my registration as the games they were promoting were not something I was into at the time, and to pay a premium membership to access games and systems I wasn't interested in didn't appeal to me either.

Around 2015 they got some shiny new premises in Coleraine, close to home for me, and offered the Causeway Giants Gaming Group a chance to use their venue on a Sunday afternoon. Whilst this was a great opportunity, it didn't suit me, and so things just bumbled along as always.

Recently Beasts of War, have relaunched themselves as On Table Top [as of writing this, same URL as Beasts of War], with more of a family friendly approach, rather than only focusing on the diehard gaming nerds, and grognards like me. Whilst I didn't think much of the relaunch at the start, much to my surprise and delight, their vision has been a real boost to gaming in the local area, and not only that their membership package now includes use of their gaming space up to three times a week, the use of their boardgame library, the use of their workstations where you can build and paint, and a small discount off certain ranges from their new small shopfront. This was perfect for me, as I now had more days to plan something, more opportunities to play something, and if I didn't get down one day, it was not another month before I would be back. Needless to say, I took up the membership offer straight away as the opportunities it afforded well outweighed any cost.

The team and On Table Top / Beasts of War must be lauded for their efforts, especially in helping to bring the community together and to help a grognard like me to get back into gaming. Good things can only follow, and I will offer my support to the team where possible. I look forward to more gaming real soon!

J

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay  

Good News! Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay has a new lease of life...

Okay, let me rewind a bit. You may remember from the history lesson that I am a keen Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) kind of guy.

Cu bicle 7 have now acquired the licence to publish the new Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay game system; and have so far released - the Core rulebook both as PDF and physical copy, a Limited Edition core rulebook (physical copy), a Starter Set as a PDF (the physical copy of this will be released as soon as errata feedback has been compiled), printable character sheets, two free PDF adventures, and a free PDF adventure seed document. Needless to say I have ALL these so far!

I am so happy to be back in the Warhammer World, which I think is a rich and glorious world to play in, and I am looking forward to taking a group of players and telling their story in the future. I will post more thoughts, reviews and game info so if you are interested, stay tuned!

J

Wooden Crates for Tabletop games

Following on from my last blog about making Wooden Barrels, I have added to my scatter terrain by making some wooden crates. These will also give minis something else to hide behind and climb over. These are definitely easy to create and mines are made from thin card and polystyrene. I used cereal packets for my thin card as it is cheap and ideal for this build. I used expanded polystyrene like the stuff you find as packing material, although you could easily use extruded polystyrene instead. If you don't have any polystyrene you could use foamcore or corrugated cardboard instead.

General scratch building tools. You will need something to measure and mark out your polystyrene and cardboard, and you will also need a metal edge and a sharp knife to cut things out. If you are working with polystyrene, you will need a suitable glue that will not dissolve the polystyrene. The basic box (polystyrene core and outer cardboard) can be glued together using any suitable glue, but I would definitely recommend PVA to glue the card on to create the wooden slat effect.

The polystyrene is used to fill out the void in the middle of the crate and give the crate some solidity to attach the card cladding to.

Cut out the polystyrene to the size and shape you want. I used my Proxxon hot wire cutter for this, but you can just use a straight edge and a knife. Don't forget to make the blocks slightly smaller than you want the finished item as you will be covering all this in cardboard. I find using a mini for scale helps to determine the various sizes which work best, but I cut 10mm cubes and 17mm cubes as my basic structures and then increased or decreased from there to make my different sized crates. If you are using cardboard or foamcore, layer these to get your desired shape.

Clad the polystyrene (or cardboard stack or whatever) with thin card to give a plain card box shape. Next cut thin strips of cardboard to make the wooden slats for the body of the crate and glue these on. I cut my slats approximately 3mm and 4mm to give a bit of variety. I didn't glue any slats to the bottom of the crate as my crates will just be sitting on the ground. Once you have all the slats for the body of the crate attached, cut more slats for the support staves, generally these are cut slightly thinner that the slats for the body.

It is up to you how you want to build your wooden crates, but I would suggest having a look at some photos to get some inspiration. I have used slats to build the body of the crate to give the old-style effect that I was after, however there is nothing to prevent you from adding slats to the outside edge of the plain card to provide a frame. This would give a more modern wooden crate style which is made from plywood or other material with a sturdy frame around it.

All the crates were primed black, then once this was dry given a coat of a light brown beige colour (I used a of approximately five parts toasted nut to one part burnt umber). All the crates were then highlighted with a cream, then light grey. All the paints used in this step are either cheap artists acrylics or trade paint tester pots. These colours used here are to build up the tones in the crate before the wash is added.

Once all the paint has dried, the crates were washed with a black brown ink wash (I used two parts black ink to one part brown ink, both mine are citadel range of washes). Once the wash has dried the boxes were dry-brushed to bring out the details. The final colours I used were to give a bleached wood effect.

I first gave the crates a heavy dry-brush with a lighter version of the base colour. This dry-brush was from all directions and was to bring back the light wood colour. Then a heavy dry-brush of beige was added (although not as heavy as before) again from all directions. This is to add that grey effect to the wood. A light dry-brush of the light grey was added to pick up some of the detail. This was again dry-brushed from all directions although I brushed more from the top down and less from the bottom up. White was finally added in a very light dry-brush and is only for an edge highlight to pick out the final detail to make these pop.

I enjoyed making these and reckon these will look great on the gaming table. I hope that this inspires you to make something yourself.

J

Wooden Barrels for tabletop games

I love skirmish war games and tabletop dungeon crawls but I need some appropriate dressing to give the minis something to hide behind or climb over.

I decided to make some wooden barrels. Not the easiest thing to make if you have never attempted scratch building before, especially the smaller barrels as they can be quite tricky, but the results are good and these look good on the table. All of these barrels are made using thin cardboard. Cereal packets are cheap and ideal, although make sure the cardboard is flexible and does not split when curled.

General scratch building tools. You will need something to measure and mark out on your thin card, and you will need a metal edge and a sharp knife. A good pair of scissors are also very useful for this build. Glues are of your choice but a general purpose glue works best. You can build using PVA (I did some this way) but you will need to hold everything till the bits stick. You might need some superglue for those tricky straps. Hot glue isn't great for this build. You will also need some cocktail sticks or something to roll the card on.

Cut out strips for the body. The width of the strips will determine the height of your barrel. The length of the strips will determine the width of the barrel. For appropriate sized barrels to fit into 28mm scale, cut strips at approximately 20mm wide and 15cm long for the main body. Cut the strips for the bulge about 1/3 of the width of the main body. Roll the main body strips tightly around a cocktail stick and glue together. Roll the bulge strips around the middle of the body about 2 or 3 times. The more you wrap the bulge strips, the merrier the barrel will be. Glue on the end pieces cut from scrap card.

Score and cut out the staves. The overall width of the staves should be 1mm or 2mm greater than the height of the barrel to provide a lip. This measurement will vary depending on how much of a bulge you have provided. When scoring for the mid section, this should be the same width as the bulge. Trial and error will get you the correct width for the staves, mine are approximately 4mm wide. As the barrels go up and down in height, the stave width should be adjusted accordingly to make it look right. I found it quicker to cut out the notches with scissors than to slice out the notches with a knife. The scissors are not the most accurate, but if you want to mass produce some barrels to throw on the table, then this will be the quickest route.

Once the staves are glued on. Cut out thin strips about 2mm wide and glue on as barrel strapping or banding. Glue one at each end of the staves, and one at each of the score lines near the bulge.

Once the barrels have all been glued together, I gave everything a quick coating of PVA glue to harden up the staves and ensure that everything stays glued together. To finish of the barrels, paint to your liking. Mines are painted with GW spearstaff brown, with a red / brown wash to give a basic wood effect. The banding I have simply painted black. Don't forget to look at pictures of real barrels to get some inspiration.

J

Why am I running a Kings of War Builder League?

Within the Causeway Giants Gaming Group someone asked would anyone run a league of some sort for the group. There were lots of suggestions and points raised, and through the ensuing discussion a Kings of War League was suggested. I had been itching to play more Kings of War and so I decided (wisely or not) to organise a Kings of War League myself. Thinking on past experience I have found that whilst there is lots of enthusiasm during discussions when things like Tournaments, Leagues and other Events are suggested, until someone actually steps up and does something, nothing ever happens. I mean, how hard could organising a league actually be?

The initial response to a Kings of War League was good, garnering about 17 positive responses about playing in a league. I therefore reported to the group that I would be setting up and organising for a league. Quite a bit of work was initially undertaken, including reading up on Kings of War organised play, putting together a draft ruleset, organising documents and schedules, getting the league listed on the Mantic community events page, and dedicating a small section of this website to the future Kings of War League.

When I was compiling the rules I looked to see what other clubs had done with their Kings of War Leagues. Most of the information I found was from that period in time shortly after Games Workshop blasted the Warhammer Fantasy Battle world into oblivion and brought out Age of Sigmar. Most of the league rules if found were based around bringing in new players and introducing them to Kings of War, not only as a game, but also to get experience of a league and tournament practice.

I wanted to do something similar for the group's first league, and so between Mantic's 2017 Clash of Kings Organised Play supplement, and the league rules I found online I drafted rules for an escalation league, which would allow players to build their army over the course of the league. This should hopefully be engaging for both new and experienced players. The Builder League was therefore created where you essentially “build” your army over the course of the league, and at the end, hopefully have something which can be used in tournaments.

So with everything ready, the league was launched and registration opened. As it turned out, rather disappointingly, only 4 people signed up for the league; 5 people if I included myself. This was a huge drop from those that had initially been so positive about the league. Not to be disheartened, I am currently working away with reckless abandon to make this league work; and I want this league to work not only for my own sanity, but to encourage others to join in any future league that might be run within the Group.

So as we draw to the close of registration, I was on tenterhooks because the league as I had designed it was built around an even number of players, and so with 5 people signing up, it meant that I would have to sit this league out to ensure everyone else got a game. This is not a real problem, it was just the way I drafted the rules. I am sure I will still get a game in here and there with folk as they practice with their lists, but it seems that my itch to play Kings of War would not be soothed so easily. Whilst I am disheartened that it has turned out this way, I will be working on a new set of league rules for next year, and hopefully I will take better account of an odd number of players.

To answer my question above, how hard could it be to organise a league? Very hard as it turns out!

J

The Hiatus

One of the problems I have, is I never seem to have as much 'me time' or 'free time' as I think, especially when it comes to my hobbies. If you have read the history lesson, you will know that the Light and Dark project has had several stumbles, stalls, and re-workings during its life so far, and so another hiatus is not an exception to this well established rule. This time, thankfully, the hiatus wasn't as long as before, and the reason for the hiatus this time was mostly due to my work and family commitments.

I have listed this post-hiatus information as 1, as I am sure that in the future, my work and/or personal life will once again conspire to limit my hobby time. Thankfully, I have still been busy gaming and crafting in the background, although this has been small scale and limited to whatever free time I have had over the past few months.

Post-Hiatus

So what have I been doing during my hiatus? I have played some boardgames, managed to play a game of Warhammer 40K, managed to play a game of Kings of War, I have continued in the Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition game I am playing in, assembled more of my Dwarf Army, built some modular hills (with my Proxxon), and compiled a draft for a Kings of War League rules, I have also found a new (gaming) podcast to listen to. I will post details over the next week or two about what I have been doing in the last few months, so keep checking back for info.

J

Proxxon

I took receipt of a Proxxon Thermocut in February. This is a highly recommended hot wire table cutter, and the specific model I purchased can be found here.

I love this, it's a great tool and I am wondering why I didn't get one of these sooner!

I have been crafting for a long time, and whilst I am well versed in cutting with a knife and ruler, it is not easy to replicate parts in polystyrene, especially if you are wanting something with a straight or square edge that you originally cut a few days or weeks previously, and this tool really does make that job so easy. Cutting a thin sliver of polystyrene is also possible using a knife and ruler, but once again this tool makes it very easy. It is with all this in mind that I decided I really needed to invest in a hot wire table cutter.

I had bought some hot wire hand tools a few years ago, and these tools were my first foray into the world of hot wire cutting. I purchased the Hot Wire Foam Factory kit, and whilst I still use these in my projects, I was quite disappointed in the tools after buying them. They feel cheap and flimsy, especially for the (reasonably high) price I paid for them at the time.

I have used the hot wire hand tools for the past few years now, and these are quite good for freehand cuts and detailing, but it is difficult to get a repetitive straight cut with the hand tools. Before purchasing the Proxxon Thermocut, I used card and wood templates to give me straight edges with my hand tools, but this is more work than I would like, and sometimes things go wrong and you end up making a mess.

I didn't jump straight into buying a hot wire table, I did my research. I read reviews, visited crafting forums, and watched endless amounts of videos on using hot wire tables. The Proxxon Thermocut came out on top and I was not disappointed.

Pros and Cons

+ Easy to set up and use

+ On/off switch and variable temperature dial for fine control

+ Cutting table is large enough for all the trial work I have thrown at it so far

+ Hot wire angle can be adjusted so you can cut somewhere between 15° and 110°

+ The guide is easy to use and set-up

- The guide lifts off the table when tightened (although it can be easily held in place with one hand when cutting)

- The vertical gap (height) is only about 5 inches (so slicing down polystyrene is limited to this thickness / width - I would have preferred 8 inches or more)

- No adjustable feet so the table the Proxxon rests on needs to be sturdy and flat (my dining room table is uneven through wear and tear so the Proxxon rocks now and again)

- The guide is narrow and getting a square cut from thinner pieces is difficult (although accessories can be bought for this)

Accessories

Two of the Cons I have listed above are around the guide (not the actual hot wire cutter itself) - The guide lifts off when clamped in place, and the guide is too narrow to consistently hold pieces square against the table to make 90° cuts. Accessories can be purchased for the Proxxon Thermocut from Shifting Lands which will solve these issues, so I am not overly concerned about this part of the assessment of the hot wire cutter.

I am really happy with my new tool and look forward to the next few years creating new stuff for the gaming table.

J

Charity begins... ... in a wargaming group on Facebook?

I am happily a member of the Northern Ireland Wargaming Group on Facebook and a short while ago a post appeared which caught my attention. One of the members who works for YMCA YouthBase posted about a new initiative they were trying to run at their local centre. Two of the workers were going to introduce hobbying and gaming in two aspects, the first as tabletop games and the second as collectable card games and roleplay games.

The post was focused on hobbying and they were looking to use Warhammer 40k and BloodBowl as the games of choice to introduce to the kids. This would build up slowly from assembling and modelling of miniatures, including conversions, through to painting and then eventually actual gameplay. The benefits would be able to be seen in improving fine motor skills, learning patience, active problem solving, and learning strategic thinking.

Whilst the post tried not to read like a begging letter, they were just looking for any surplus to requirement miniatures or bits for Warhammer 40k or BloodBowl. It didn't matter if the miniatures or bits were older models, part painted, broken, or just random bits; anything would do.

So what could I do?

Last year I had purchased some second hand Warhammer 40k minis to expand my never ending Space Marine army (I bought a big box of Space Marines parts); but within the box were some random miniatures, specifically Orcs and Chaos Marines, and a load of other seemingly random bits (I was able to identify some Eldar and Imperial Guard parts within the mix).

I hadn't decided what I was going to do with the unwanted minis, but when I read the post, I just knew that donating these would clear out the minis from my house and help out a good cause. I wasn't the only one who decided to help out as other Group members were also keen to offer their support, so I made contact with the member who's post caught my attention, and sent the above photos to see if the minis and bits I had were of use. Of course they were!

After trying for a couple of weeks to make a day trip and hand deliver the minis, I decided it would be easier to just mail them out. I can report the minis arrived safe and sound and they are now part of a small but growing collection of parts helping the kids learn about tabletop gaming and the hobby that lies behind it all.

So you want a fuzzy feeling too?

This was a good cause to support, and it felt great sending off the minis knowing they would be put to better use than I would ever have for them. If you want to get a warm fuzzy feeling inside and help I would encourage you to get in contact and send your unwanted minis to a better home. You can make contact with the centre and send parts to the following address: YMCA YouthBase, 10B Donard Street, Newcastle, Co. Down, BT33 0AW

J

Playing Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition

I am currently in a group playing D&D 5th edition. I like it. A lot!

As of writing this we are somewhere in the midst of the Storm King's Thunder official campaign module, and for most of us in our group, this is the first time playing D&D 5th edition (5e).

The last time I played D&D was quite a few years ago and back then I was either playing D&D revised 3rd edition (3.5e) or D&D 2nd edition (2e). I played loads of D&D 2e, both growing up in my home town, and during my time in university. The D&D group I was playing with in university had tried 3rd edition but we really fell in love with D&D 3.5e and we played this for a good number of years both through university and afterwards.

I have never played D&D 4th edition, and so I cannot comment on the merits or detriments to this particular rule-set.

My familiar roleplaying group slowly dissolved (not through any great cataclysm, just through life interceding in our plans to get together) and after my fun with 3.5e, I found a new group of players and we played Pathfinder for a bit. I liked the Pathfinder system as it had its core in 3.5e, but getting a regular game in was becoming a bit of a struggle so my D&D / Pathfinder (and general roleplaying) has slowly dwindled to nothing in recent years. When I was asked recently did I want to play D&D 5e I jumped at the chance!

Did you say 'Free' rules?

I like D&D 5th edition, the rules are quite straight forward, and so far as I have been able to figure out through play, make for a great game. The big draw for me with 5e over previous editions was the offer of free rules in PDF format (supplied by Wizards of the Coast) and also the many great SRD pages available online (that's System Reference Document for all those who were wondering but were too afraid to ask). This meant that taking the plunge into 5th edition as a player has never been easier. I personally started out with the free rules and the SRD and played a couple of sessions before I decided to buy the rulebook.

The 5e free rules PDF is a stripped down version of the rulebook, and gives you enough to information to create a basic character and play the game. The SRD helps fill in the gaps in the free rules, but if you are a veteran like me, you like a physical copy of the book to pour over, and so I gave in rather quickly to purchase the book once I had a game session or two under my belt.

This roleplaying is Character building stuff...

Throughout my D&D / Pathfinder career, I would generally play as a Human or Half-Elf, and take the Ranger class or a Prestige class based on a Ranger, or depending on how the game was developing possibly dual class into a Ranger-Sorcerer. I am not sure if it was our GM suggesting things (hello Ciaran!), some options presented from the other players or just the fact that this game was something new, but I decided to move out of my comfort zone and play as a Human Druid. I had no idea what I was doing in Druid class, and so was not sure where to start, never mind how to progress.

I then remembered I had come across a podcast discussing D&D 5e, and so I had a listen to the Stories from the 5th Age podcast for some inspiration. This opened my mind. I didn't need to play a tree-hugging leaf-wearing Druid, I just had to capture the essence of what it means to be a Druid within my character. Concept now developed I created my character, Erik Bathmoss, Human Druid. I have had a few moments within the game sessions where I feel lost, but this is more about me struggling with my new role as a Druid than anything to do with the game, the campaign or the GM.

The rest of my erstwhile party members are, Claus Varderdale, Human Paladin, played by Tony; Arranis Siannodel, Fey Sorcerer, played by Keith; and Hobbi Tee, Hobbit Bard, played by Paul. Ciaran is our GM and along with me this makes up our group.

The next session

I really like 5e, and having a good group to play with helps. I like getting to meet up with the group and delve into the next session and I feel aggrieved when I have to miss a session (just like the last session I missed due to a family commitment - as I said earlier, life tends to intercede on things!).

I can attest that the rules work well, so far as we have played, and character progression (that is levelling up your character) is easy enough. I could never remember what to actually do in 2e to level up and had to consult the book every single time as it always seemed so damned complicated, and in 3.5e I would always forget to add or increase something when levelling up, leading to retroactive additions half-way through the next session. Levelling up in 5e is quite easy, once you go through the process once or twice, and so far everything is looking good.

We have been using the narrative experience system for the campaign, which means you don't obtain experience for encounters but gain levels on completing tasks or campaign sub-plots. It works quite well, and we have reached the dizzy heights of 6th level already. The narrative experience system doesn't feel rushed, as you generally get to play a session or two at your new level, and in doing so, complete the next task or sub-plot to gain your next level.

I am looking forward to the next game, and hopefully will be able to report back with more thoughts on 5e and the Storm King's Thunder.

J

Inspiration

Inspiration comes in many forms. It might be artwork in a rulebook, a homebrew article for a game you play, or the mention of a new game in a blog or podcast. I will outline a few places where I get my inspiration, and some of those gaming things out there which interest and inspire me.

Causeway Giants Gaming group

The Causeway Giants Gaming group are the reason I am trying to be more proactive about my gaming, and part of being proactive is bringing back this web site. The inspiration here comes from the sharing of ideas. These guys are a great bunch to meet and game with, and the nice thing about them is the range and diversity of games that each member has an interest in. I enjoy spending time with these guys either roleplaying, wargaming, playing other tabletop games including boardgames, or just meeting up and heading off to the cinema to see the latest fantasy or sci-fi film.

Web site specifics

There are some places I always end up heading back to for inspiration. This might be because I am looking for something specific, I am looking for something new to whet my appetite, or I have got the bug for a new game or system and want to see what is out there that I can add to my personal game.

Free Dungeon Tiles to Print is one of my go to places for dungeon tiles for my roleplaying or dungeon crawl board games. I would be lost without such a resource as this!

Boardgame Geek and RPG Geek are two flavours of the same great web resource. Good for information on games, both old and new.

Lead Adventure Forum is a great place to find content around wargaming and tabletop gaming with miniatures, whatever the flavour.

D20 Radio is a gaming blog with artiles and content from across the roleplaying and gaming spectrum.

Sadly no longer active the Mad Adventurers Society is still a great resource to find information on gaming, and it was through here I found a lot of my other web based gaming resources.

Lastly Pinterest is a great source for general inspiration, be it for miniatures, modelling, scenery, maps, or just looking at drawings and artwork.

The rest of the Internet

There are a host of other blogs, web sites, podcasts and YouTube channels dedicated to various forms of gaming, whether this is specific to a particular game or system, or whether it is a live play session or crafting tutorial.

Delve Podcast is a web site and podcast looking at game development.

The Order 66 Podcast centres around the Star Wars RPG by Fantasy Flight Games.

Reck less Dice is a website and podcast which was spawned from discussions about Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition but has grown beyond this to include other games and systems.

The Terrain Tutor offers both a web site and youtube channel dedicated to wargaming terrain.

Lukes APS is a youtube channel looking at wargaming terrain on the cheap.

The DMG info is a website and youtube channel centered on cheap terrain crafting for your roleplaying games.

Drive Thru RPG is my go to RPG shop. A great place to have a rummage, whether looking for something specific, like character sheets or other resource for my current RPGs, or just looking to see what is new in the sale or bargain bin which might take my interest.

There are loads of other Facebook groups, YouTube channels and web sites I go to for inspiration, but I wanted to take the time to outline a few rather than bore you to death with a huge list. Also, the internet is a transient place, as I can attest with this being the third iteration of these pages right now. Some of the channels and web sites I list here today, might not be around tomorrow, and new channels might spring up to replace those currently in my 'go to' list. You just have to keep looking and be open to new ideas.

Everything else is inspiration

Films, TV shows, computer and console games are good for inspiration. This might be a villian archetype, or a whole new world for you to create to run your game in. Going out for walks, and in my case travelling (to foreign lands) can provide loads inspiration. This could be a building which you could recreate for your tabletop or just an area to base a scenario in. History books, historical maps and novels also provide inspiration; and going back to the first inspiration I listed, meeting up with other folk and just having a good chat can be some of the best inspiration out there.

I hope that you get something from this and may these pages in turn inspire you.

J