Fools rush in

So yesterday we played the Gen-Con adventure that PP released for the IKRPG. This will be just a quick first impression review of the quick start rules and scenarios. 

The adventure takes place in the city Corvis where the players have been trying to set up a mercenary charter. Some guy named Rorke hires the crew and wants them to steal a crate from some guy named Jorvis. I won't go into more details, in case I spoil something for someone. The synopsis is pretty simple, and there's basically only 2 encounters in this game - one that can be solved with social skills and one that lets you try the fighting rules. 

The game kind of reminds me of D&D 4th. There's a lot of focus on fighting, and a majority of the skills and feat will help you with just that. Of course there are skills for socializing, like negotiation, interrogation and con. But fighting will always occur, and you want to be prepared (and good) for it. And when the fighting begins it's pretty much a more "advanced" version of the miniature game - so you're gonna need maps, models and a lot of space where you're playing. 

I'm still pretty new to the Iron Kingdoms setting, and I don't know a lot of backstory, so I'll have some reading to do the next few days/weeks. Well, was it any fun you might ask? As always, with roleplaying games, it will all depend on the group you are playing with. I've always preferred games that focus on social skills and ways to solve problems without resorting to violence. But I still think I can make this work. My friend have ordered the rule book, so I'll have a chance to maybe check it out a bit next week and figure out a few things. 

Anyhow I'll be writing my own adventure/campaign for my group, and we'll give it a few tries before I'll give my final result on this game. 

Casters incoming!

From left to right - (Lord Commander Stryker) (Rhupert Carvalo) (Marcus 'Siege' Brisbane) & (Arlan Strangeways)

Got the first part of my order today (of course it's the order I placed at a Swedish store). I've opened all the blizters to check that all the parts are there, which they are. Siege, Rhupert and Arlan all seem pretty easy to assemble and paint... eStryker... seems to be a challenge. 

Stryker have a pretty odd pose on the jack he is standing on. His head is really small and when you put it in place the collar of his armor pretty much obscures his entire face. Both his arms needs to be glued in place, which give me a few option on where I want the sword (in front of his or over his head).

I still haven't made any specific lists with my new casters, but as I'll receive a few Warjack-kits soon I don't think I'll have any problems playing 35 points with some variation. But I need to start looking for some more units than the Stormblades. Currently I'm looking at some mercenary units, but that'll be another post. 

Create your character

One of the most important (and fun) aspects of a Role Playing Game is the character creation. Hours, days and weeks can be spent on creating the perfect character that you'll spend the next month, or even years, playing. So I'm gonna give you a sneak peak on what kind of characters you can create in the IKRPG.

There are basically 3 rough steps to take before you can start running around in the Iron Kingdoms looking for fortune. Race, Archetype and Career. I will try and explain every step without giving away too much.

There are seven races that you can play as in this game
 - Human (they are adaptable and gain an extra stat point or your choice)
 - Dwarf (pretty much your average dwarf from any other RPG)
 - Gobber (can't use magic, great weapons or rifles.. but they're pretty sneaky)
 - Iosan (you could just call them "high elfs")
 - Nyss (love bows and anything from the nature... can't handle anything mechanically)
 - Ogrun (big ass fighter type, can't use magic or be a good mechanic)
 - Trollkin (tough as always.. kind of a mix between Nyss and Ogrun)

The next step is to choose between four Archetypes. The Archetype will decide what careers the character may choose from and will also give the character some special and cool feats to use. The four choices are;
 - Gifted (you can wield magic and become a warcaster or something similar)
 - Intellectual (gives you some combat advantages and makes you a natural leader for the team)
 - Mighty (yeah.. you want to fight.. a lot)
 - Skilled (you're quick, nimble and dexterous)

And finally you will have to choose 2 careers out of 30 to make you path in this life. You can pretty much make anything you want, and there is really no bad or "perfect" choices here. Just go with what you want to play. I know there are a few "munchkins" you want to max out on a few things, but I won't be playing with them. The careers you can choose from are;
 - Alchemist (you can make potions and throw grenades)
 - Arcane Mechanik (you need to be gifted, but you gain the ability to control warjacks)
 - Arcanist (also requires gifted, and you're pretty much a spellcaster by now)
 - Aristocrat (only Humans, you become pretty wealthy by Iron Kingdom standards)
 - Bounty Hunter (you know how to look for people)
 - Cutthroat (pretty much as close to assassin you will come)
 - Duelist (do you want to know gambling, etiquette and guns.. this is the choice for you)
 - Explorer (you know your way around in the wild)
 - Fell Caller (only the Trollkin know the art of yelling really loud)
 - Field Mechanic (only career that lets you start with a crappy warjack)
 - Gun Mage (you like to shoot people with guns... make that magic guns)
 - Highwayman (you get a horse and can make ride-by-attacks gangsta style)
 - Investigator (a skilled detective)
 - Iron Fang (you used to serve the Khador as a pikeman, at least you kept the armor and weapon)
 - Knight (Human or Iosan only. A solid melee fighter)
 - Mage Hunter (Iosan only. You hate and hunt those pesky gifted people)
 - Man-at-Arms (every ones favorite bodyguard)
 - Military Officer (a soldier with some extra tactical knowledge)
 - Pirate (wanna smell funny, wear an eyepatch and have a peg-leg?)
 - Pistoleer (you do one thing very good... shot stuff)
 - Priest (Human only. Either you're a priest of Morrow or Menoth)
 - Ranger (ever heard of Robin Hood)
 - Rifleman (shot first ask questions later)
 - Soldier (jack of all trades, master of none)
 - Sorcerer (Gifted, duh!You also get to choose which elemental school you use for your spells)
 - Spy (more focused on seduction and disguise than fighting)
 - Stormblade (you used to serve Cygnar as a Stormblade, at least you kept the armor and weapon)
 - Thief (if it's not nailed to the floor, it's probably yours)
 - Trencher (Trollkin, Ogrun or Human only. Kind of a survivalist soldier)
 - Warcaster (Gifted. The rare and powerful battle mage)

And that's it. I've already created a dozen of characters in my mind that I would like to play. Most likely I will end up as Game Master, which suits me well. But if I get the chance to play, I can't honestly tell you what I would be playing as. Maybe the classic Gun Mage/Investigator, or the Heroic Warcaster/Knight or maybe I'll end up as the Gobber Pirate/Field Mechanic.

Calling for reinforcements

So I made a ratter huge (by my standards) order last night. I wanted to make my entire order from Discount Gaming Inc, but unfortunately they didn't have everything in stock so I made a small order from Figurspel as well. But non of the shops had a "Hunter Light Jack" available... so I'm still gonna have to use a proxy for a while, which sucks.

Any way, this is what I've ordered.

Lord Commander Stryker (aka eStryker)
Marcus "Siege" Brisbane
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord
Arlan Strangeways
3x Stormgunners
Stormclad
Heavy Warjack kit (Cyclone, Defender, Ironclad)
And the brand new Heavy Warjack kit with the option to build the three guys;

This will give me a few options for some different lists I want to try out. Both eStryker and Siege kind of want the same units, I could still use some Swordnights or some Arcane Tempest Gun Mages but they'll have to wait. The most important thing right now is to get hold of some good magnets so I can easily swap the arms on my plastic warjack kits.

Iron Kingdoms

So I downloaded and printed the sample adventure of IKRPG that PP released on Gen-Con. I've only skimmed through it but it looks like solid and fun RPG. 

I like the idea that the group is, more or less, a unit of mercenaries hired by people to do their dirty work. I've already built a few scenarios and plots in my mind. As far as character creation go there is a lot to think about. Not only do you have seven races to choose from, there's also over 30 "classes"... and to make it a bit more confusing you need to take 2 classes when rolling your character. A shitload of combinations come to mind. 

I haven't been looking at the rules so much (I'll probably wait until I have my hands on the book itself), but it reminds me a lot of the miniature game, which is good. Many of the rules you can figure out by just hearing the name - pathfinder, gunfighter, though and so on. 

We'll probably play the sample adventure this week or weekend. I'll try to give you a better first impression (and maybe some pictures) from our game. 

Cygnar vs Khador (pStryker vs eButcher) Battle Report

This weekend we (me and two friends) went to Skellefteå, a town a few miles south, to a shop called Legend for some Warmachine. Warhammer is the main game here in Sweden, but we hope we can get a least a couple of players interested. So far a few guys have gotten into the game and will hopefully order some models soon. 

Anyway, back to the batrep. Tonight it was time for the great enemies Cygnar and Khador to face off. Just as last time I'm playing with my pStryker list. I like playing with the same list for a few games, it lets me know the strengths and weaknesses of my army. 

pStryker (+6)

 - Ironclad (7)

 - Lancer (6)

 - Squire (2)

Journeyman Warcaster (3)

 - Charger (4)

Stormblade Infantry (5)

The Black 13th (4)

My friend (or enemy for tonight) played this eButcher list

eButcher (+6)

 - Spriggan (10)

Greath Bears (5)

Widowmakers (4)

Widowmaker Marksman (2)

Fenris (5)

Gorman (2)

Ogrun Bokur (3)

Setup

Khador won the roll for first turn, but let me start. I didn't know what to expect from Khador so I played my standard strategy, put the majority of my force in the middle and try and flank with B13 and Charger.

Khador setup everything pretty much in the middle and advance deployed the Widowmakers behind cover.

Cygnar - Turn 1

Every Jack got 1 focus and ran up the table, same with the Stormblades. B13 ran up the flank (out of camera). Cast Arcane Shield on Charger and Ironclad. The Stormblades got Blur this round to protect them as much as possible from the Widowmakers.

Khador - Turn 1

Butcher rolled for focus and got a 1. Spriggan got a focus and ran across the table along with the Ogrun and Great Bears, while Fenris ran up the hill on my left flank. The Widowmakers shot at the Stormblades, but only managed to kill a single model, the Marksman killed a second one tough.

Cygnar - Turn 2

I only kept Arcane Shield (with Stryker) this turn. The Charger got 3 focus from the Journeyman and took 2 boosted shots at Fenris, killing his horse and leaving him with a single wound. Stormblades advanced and shot at Ogrun inflicting 5 wounds. B13 (once again out of camera) killed 2 Widowmakers and the Marksman. The Lancer moved up next to the cover while the Ironclad remained behind a few inches.

Stryker cast Earthquake on the Spriggan, knocking over Butcher, Gorman, Ogrun and the Spriggan. And after that I cast Arcane Blast on the Great Bears killing 2 of them and leaving the last on standing with only 2 wounds.

Khador - Turn 2

Butcher rolled for focus, and once again rolled a 1. Fenris charged the Charger but didn't cripple any system. The remaining Widowmakers killed a Stormblade. Ogrun stood up and advanced on the Stormblades, the Spriggan did the same. The last Great Bear charged the Lancer, but due to cover and Set-defense he missed his attack.

Cygnar - Turn 3

Stryker kept Arcane Shield this turn and allocated 3 focus to the Ironclad and a single focus to the Lancer. Charger got 3 focus and killed Fenris without any problems. A Stormblade managed to kill Ogrun and the remaining 2 caused a single wound/box to the Spriggan. Ironclad charged the Spriggan but didn't cripple any of the systems, but he lost quite a few boxes. The Lancer missed a boosted attack against the Great Bear. The B13 killed the remaining 2 Widowmakers.

Khador - Turn 3

Butcher rolled for focus and got a 6 (aka 7 focus this turn). Spriggan got 3 focus and Butcher used his feat. Spriggan killed the two Stormblades in front of him. Gorman advanced and threw a bomb at Stryker, but missed and the scatter fell short. The Great Bear once again missed its attack. Butcher charged the Ironclad and killed it with only 2 attacks (ouch!).

Seeing how outnumbered he was, Butcher threw down his axe and surrendered to Cygnar. Victory once again for the boys in blue.

Conclusion

I don't think I made any big mistakes this game. I had some very good dice rolls this game. The only really bad roll I had was with the Lancer when I made my boosted attack roll.

Khador on the other hand made a huge mistake when he kept all his units so close together. A single Earthquake and Arcane Blast pretty much wrecked his entire force and battle plan on a single turn. And two pretty bad focus rolls with Butcher didn't make it better.

Short paint update

About 99% done with my 2 Light Jacks, just got to give them a litte more details and they'll be completely done.  

B13, Stryker and Journeyman have had some work done to them. Note to self, never again use blue primer on anything except Jacks and/or Stormblades. It's been a pain in the ass.

Light Jacks - WIP

Spent an hour on my Light Jacks tonight, just gave them the same treatment as the Ironclad... bronze and some gunmetal with black ink. Gonna add "more" blue layers and shade and some details tomorrow. 

I also started with my Black 13th buy painting them black. The plan is to make the 95% black, grey pants and bronze/gold details. Only have 2 days to finish them before we're going to Skellefteå and playing.

(I know the pictures are pretty bad at the moment, will try to take new ones tomorrow when the sun comes up, and I have a little more to show)

To Minuteman or not to Minuteman

I've been thinking the last few days on which Light Jack I should invest in. So far I've only been playing with the Lancer, Charger and Hunter (which I've had to proxy) with some varied success. As I mainly play with pStryker, the master of buffing, the Minuteman is starting to look really good.

A 5 points Jack with Advance Deployment, POW 14 "shotguns", a free base-to-base POW 12 each turn and the has the ability to jump 5" and shoot stuff in the back. What's not to love about this litte guy?

I think I'm gonna drop the Hunter from my 50 points list, add the Minuteman to Stryker and let the Journeyman Warcaster run solo and upkeep Arcande Shield and drop some boosted shots. That leaves me with 1 extra point, and if I drop 1 Stormgunner maybe I can add Gorman back to the list.

Well, it's something to think about at least.

Cygnar vs Cryx (pStryker vs eSkarre) Battle Report

I would call this my first "real" game with my Cygnar force. We have spent the last few weeks (or month even) learning the rules and making mistakes, and confusing the rules with Warhammer... but lets not get into that. We didn't play any scenario, we just went for the caster kill in a 25pts Skirmish. 

I played my standard force;

pStryker (+6)

 - Ironclad (7)

 - Lancer (6)

 - Squire (2)

Journeyman Warcaster (3)

 - Charger (4)

Stormblade Infantry (5)

The Black 13th (4)

The Cryx list 

eSkarre (+6)

 - Slayer (6)

 - Deathripper (4)

 - Deathripper (4)

Bane Lord Thartus (4)

Bane Thralls (8)

Mechanithralls (3)

Necrosurgeon & Stich Thralls (2)

Setup

I had a pretty clear battle plan from the start. I knew I would be facing off against a lot of Bane Thralls, and I didn't have much stealth detection aside from B13. So my plan was to move up in the middle of the battlefield with my Ironclad and Stromblades. Use B13 and the Charger to flank him, and have my Lancer flank in from the other side. Hopefully this would let me get some free shots on his caster or maybe even let my arc earthquake in a critical location. Things didn't really end up as planned.

Cygnar - Turn 1

Cryx won the roll to go first, but let me have it. The (in)famous Run-up-along-the-board-phase. Each Jack got a focus and ran. Stryker cast Blur on the Lancer and Arcane Shield on the Ironclad. Journeyman casts Arcane Shield on the Stormblades. Not much else going on.

Cryx - Turn 1

Cryx respond with doing the exact same thing. Every jack got a focus and ran, every other unit advanced as far as possible. Skarre cast Death Ward on the Bane Thralls. End.

Cygnar - Turn 2

Journeyman Warcaster didn't upkeep the Arcane Shield, instead he gave 3 focus to the Charger. Stryker kept Arcane Shield on the Ironclad but skipped Blur on the Lancer. Instead he cast Snipe on the Charger who then shot Bane Lord Tharthus with 2 boosted shots and killed him (I asked if Tharthus had Stealth, but my friend said no). B13 advanced just enough to get into range of the Bonejack on the right flank, 4 Brutal Shots later and the jack was wrecked. The Ironclad and the Stormblades made a "tactical retreat", because I didn't want the Bane Thralls to get a charge just yet.

Cryx - Turn 2

Not much happened this turn. Bane Thralls advanced along with Skarre and the Slayer. Mechanithralls made a charge move against the B13 and managed to kill Watts with a single strike from a Thrall. A few attack spells were cast (Arcing them through the Bonejack) by Skarre but every spell missed the Ironclad.

Cygnar - Turn 3

Stryker still kept both Arcane Shield and Snipe this turn. I also tried to cast Earthquake on the Bane Thralls but couldn't reach them due to stealth, instead the Bonejack got knocked down and locked in combat with the Lancer. Journeyman gave another 3 focus to the Charger who took 2 shots against the Slayer managing to destroy its right arm in the process. Ironclad advanced to meet the charge from the Bane Thralls. B13 advanced along the right flank trying to move into position to put pressure on Skarre. Oh, I also feated this turn.

Cryx - Turn 3

Time to fight! Cryx charged with almost everything. Bane Thralls charged both the Lancer and Ironclad and the Mechanithralls went for the Charger. Due to both high ARM and (un)lucky dice rolls Ironclad only suffered 2 wounds/boxes. The Lancer lost its Right Arm and so did the Charger, but they were still alive. The Necrosurgeon tied up the B13 in close combat, but missed every attack. Skarre and the Slayer moved into position just before she feated (Preventing my Ironclad and Lancer from attacking, and preventing me from attacking the Slayer and Skarre)

Cygnar - Turn 4

Stryker kept Arcane shield in play on Ironclad, and Journeyman cast it on the Stormblades before he moved behind cover. Both my Lancer and Ironclad were unable to attack due to the feat. Instead I charged to Bane Thralls with my Stormblades killing 2 of them. The Charger got another point of focus and kept swinging his broken hammer in close combat but didn't manage to kill a single Mechanithrall. B13 had some bad dice rolls and only killed a single Stitch Thrall. Stryker moved in behind the Ironclad and went for a boosted shot with his gun against the Bane Thrall, but missed.

Cryx - Turn 4

My Cryx playing friend decided to go for a assassination run on Stryker. The Slayer started with a Trample move through my Stormblades, killing all but 3 of them. Next he charged my Ironclad with Skarre, and using her Great Rack she knocked down the Ironclad, making a clear path for the Bane Thralls do move up and around Stryker for the kill. However, he only managed to inflict 8 wounds on Stryker, and about the same amount on the knocked down Ironclad. The Lancer, Charger and B13 also survived this round without suffering any major damage.

Cygnar - Turn 5

A quick turn to end the game. Ironclad got 3 focus. Stood up and hit Skarre with his mace causing 14 wounds on a single boosted hit. Because she had used her feat and spent 4 wounds already, she was defeated. Victory for Stryker and his forces.

Conclusion

The biggest mistakes in the game were that we forgot that Thartus had stealth (he is a Bane Thrall, duh!), which probably would have helped his charge against the Ironclad/Lancer a lot. Meanwhile I forgot that Squire added 2" control range for Stryker, which made me not put focus on the Lancer and moving him further down the left flank, and perhaps move in closer for an Earthquake spell on the Bane Thralls.

I was also told that the turn I shot at the Slayer with my Charger, I could have instead moved him a few inches and shoot 2 boosted shots at Skarre who was a bit out of position. If you check out the "Cygnar turn 3" picture, you can see she is standing between Bane Thralls and Slayer.

I had a battle plan and I tried following it through. Maybe I should have spent more time with the B13 and Charger killing the Mechanithralls on the right flank to clear it up. And I never got my Lancer in to really good position. What really won me the game were his unlucky dice rolls the turn he charged my Warjacks, and the turn he went for the assassination.

Perhaps next time I can bring a unit of ATGM+UA instead of the B13 and the Squire. Or perhaps Ol' Rowdy will make an appearance with Stryker.

Plastic Stormguards

Fuck yeah!!! 

Privateer Press announced they will release a box of plastic Stormguards sometime in the near future. No date is yet set, but according to the forums it's usually about 30 days after they have revealed a new unit. 

I will most certainly buy them along with the mercenary "Rhupert Carvolo" so they'll be able to get both pathfinder when playing with a lot of terrain, and tough for every time other situation. 

Cygnar 50pts list

So I started a thread on the Privateer Press Cygnar forum asking for some advice on a 50pts list with Prime Stryker as Warcaster. I kinda knew what I wanted in the list, based on what I've read and what models I wanted to use. 

The big question for me was if I wanted to Include some mercenaries or keep it "blue". There were also the question about what my Jr (Journeyman Warcaster) was suppose to do in the list. Anyway... this it the list I ended up with. 

pStryker (+6)

 - Ol' Rowdy (9)

 - Centurion (9)

 - Squire (2) 

Journeyman Wacaster (3)

 - Hunter (6)

Stormblade Infantry (5)

 - Officer & Standard (3)

 - 3 Stormgunners (3)

 - Stromclad (10)

The Black 13th (4)

Arlan Strangeways (2)

Stormblades & Ironclad

So I'm almost done with the Stormblades. I still need to do some free hand on their banner, and some more shade/details. The tutorial I used made them really fast to paint and I'm satisfied with the result. It won't win me any awards, but they're TT standard. 

The Ironclad went trough some phases before I settled for a simple 3-color scheme. Blue, Metal and Bronze. As non of my current Jacks will make it to my 50pts list I don't really want to spend that much time on them. 

A friend told me about this page. So I will probably buy some 50mm bases for my upcoming jacks.

The boys in blue

So after owning my Cygnar for almost a year I finally decided to paint them. They have all been based in a "Ultramaines blue" which is said to be 99% Cygnar blue. A cheap and easy way to cover all the major areas fast. 

As for the bases I bought some "fine sand" and painted is Bestial Brown. Perhaps I should have bought "ultra fine sand" instead as this sand looks like rocks. Oh well, what's done is done. At least it's not just some green flock. 

I used this tutorial to some extent for painting my Stormblade. I still lack some of the washes and colors that he mentioned, so I used what I could. 

Cygnar

Why Cygnar you might ask?

Well, when we decided to start playing Warmachine I didn't know much about the game. I knew Cygnar were the good guys, Cryx the bad och Khador a bunch of russians. Something with the boys in blue stuck with me. I kinda liked the idea of a mobile army with huge steam powered Warjacks running around with lightning bolt shooting out everywhere... and my friends had already settled for Cryx and Khador. 

Where to start?

I did the only reasonable thing and bought the Cygnar starting box with Stryker and three Warjacks. A solid ground to expand upon and give me the basics of the game. Although I had already lurked the forums and knew that a Squire, Journeyman Warcaster and the Black 13th Company was almost always used in any standard Cygnar force, so I got them aswell. 

Right now I'm sitting on a small but solid 25 points force that I've used with mixed success. My rooster consist of the following:

pStryker (+6)

 - Ironclad (7)

 - Lancer (6)

 - Squire (2)

Journeyman Warcaster (3)

 - Charger (4)

Stormblade Infantry (5)

 - Leader & 5 Grunts

The Black 13th (4)