Oath of the Spectres

The Emperor is dead. Vanquished millennia ago. His physical form obliterated and his essence cast to the void. Brought low in the cyclopean final struggle with his tainted prodigal son.


Utterly broken, bonding his spirit to his wrecked form though sheer force of will, Horus unleashed a final nefarious gambit. So infused with unfathomable malevolent energies was Horus that the staunchest of Astartes was made to believe through warpcraft that the shattered form laying before them was that of their beloved Emperor. Tears in their eyes, the finest soldiers in the Imperium reverently carried the most heinous creature born of man back to Terra and dutifully followed his instructions in the building of the life-sustaining Golden Throne. So wracked with grief that never did they question the monstrous cost or motivation. And thus did Horus achieve ultimate, treacherous victory. Absolute and unquestioning worship as a living god by every soul in the vast Imperium of Man.


The Imperium crumbles upon itself. The darkness which festers at its core rots it from within. Unfortunate pawns, the mislead dutiful zealously guard and protect the very evil they are forsworn to destroy. Though it pains to bring harm to the virtuous; if enlightenment to the treacherous truth is not possible, the ignorant and the stubborn must be swept aside. Their immortal fate is not ours to decide.


Until the last, never shall rest come until the Golden Throne is torn asunder and the malignancy is ripped from the very heart of the Imperium.


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Spectres: Part Two - 'Slingers & Swingers

Prior to C:BA I had never run with an Honor Guard. Partially because I am a long time, dyed-in-the-wool renegade (CSM) player and only bought the vanilla Space Marine codex for the sake of curiosity.  Admittedly, even once I had the Blood Angels tome in my dirty little you-know-what grabbers, I ignored Honor Guard in favor of Sternguard because they had such cool toys and could pick ammo. It was only when I started missing my five Melta Chosen that I started exploring other options. Once I looked, I was hooked. I am a customization fiend and the crazy selection of wargear options won me over. It’s an eclectic arrangement I have going... that's for sure.

(Note on the images: I've specifically washed out most of them to highlight the models. WIP, of course. Click for larger versions)

The HQ Crew ("Gabriel Seth" analog, Novitiate, Honor Guard Veterans):

- Novitiate: Standard load-out (Bolt Pistol & CC), but Feel No Pain & Furious Charge for all. The gift that keeps on giving.

- Spectral Guard #1: Lightning Claw & Storm Bolter. What can I say? I like Storm Bolters. If only they were Assault3...

- Spectral Guard #2: Storm Bolter & Bolt Pistol. The pistol is irrelevant, but default and it fits with the “gunfighter” theme I was shooting for. *rimshot*

- Spectral Guard #3 and #4: Meltagun & Flamer. This one’s weird. Codex permits two specials on these guys, so I’d be a moron not to go with it. As the Meltagun tosses the extra CC attack out the window anyway, going with a full-on Flamer costs me nothing (combat-wise). Flamers are the "hand" versions, but count as the full size models. Kept the models in-balance aesthetically.

Gabriel Seth analog: I honestly don’t know why we don’t hear more about this guy. He consistently ranks in the top five wound-inflictors for me, and he looks pretty damn cool doing it.

I have never used Whirlwind of Gore, but more often than not there's no need. My opponents tend to beat themselves to death against him due to Ferocious Instincts. This is generally followed by a series of facepalms and phrases like "are you SURE you're reading that right?!"

Blood Reaver is quite the cool (read: fluffy) concept, and four standard attacks at STR6 without Furious Charge ain’t too shabby. Yes, that's a Plasma Pistol. No, it's not accurate to the roster. Supposed to be just your run-of-the-mill Bolt Pistol. I'm either going to modify what he's already holding or replace with something "special".

The Razorback is mostly standard fare. Either twin-linked Assault Cannons or twin-linked Heavy Bolters depending on my point cap. Some modeling love  ala Forge World Extra armor (not necessarily represented in the roster), and a custom armor front plate.

Coming soon: "Revenant" Assault Squads, and the joy of hybrid turrets.

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Updates? Yeah, yeah… working on it.

Now that I got my little pseudo-rant off my chest, I can get back to the important stuff.

Spectres: Part 2 tonight. No… really.  Either the Spectral Guard (analog Honor Guard) or the Assault Squads & their Razorbacks. The Spectral Guard’s cooler to talk about, so likely the winner. Oh… and the list changed slightly.

Dice on Deployment (working name): Slow going, but far from dead. I’m still at a loss for contacts. If you know soldiers on deployment, please have them drop me an email. I really want to get this thing up and moving. Original post: http://ceramite.blogspot.com/2010/10/community-assistance-request-plastic.html

Industrial Terrain: Yep… there’s actually some movement here.  Couple of days and I’ll have some new WIPs.

House of Paincakes: Proud new member. Seem like just the sort of laid back (read: ambivalent) guys I can relate to. 'Course... I'm wrong a lot too.

Can’t think of anything else at the moment. Couple hours… because I know every single one of you will just be sitting there hitting refresh over and over and over until RD&C updates.

I’m insightful like that.

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Opinion: Why I Don't Do Opinion Articles

I don’t do Op-Ed. It is my belief that opinion pieces exist for one of two reasons: promote an agenda, or slip in a rant under the auspices of polite debate. I rarely have cause for either. What follows here could be considered a rare exception, but I’m looking at it as mental house cleaning. Bear with me (or don’t) as I vomit this out of my psyche.

I have been known to scour the internet for anything vaguely 40K related. Army builds, rules debates, unit effectiveness, tactics, rumors, “what works”… all the electronic flotsam one could stomach, and more. So while I’ll never refer to myself as an expert in such things, I am certainly perceptive enough to grasp trending. And the trend in the blogosphere (or whatever you want to call it) I am seeing as of late is a relatively consistent mix of:

- Competitive vs. Non-Competitive, and Why Your Style Sucks
- Comp Score vs. no Comp Score (or Sportsmanship Score, or Painting Score… insert any variation here)
- The Metagame (?!)
- Unit Spam
- “We Knew About This Yesterday, POST FASTER!”
- “So-and-So Sucks Ass, and Here’s Why”

In the midst of my latest bout of masochistic perusing of article comments it hit me like a locomotive…


I. Don’t. Care

My game. I paid for every last bit of it. I glued and sanded and primed and painted every piece. I would have to try really hard to care less what the collective “you” considers correct/appropriate. I don’t like tournaments, and I don’t care if you do. I can’t stand brutal players or sore losers, and have no time for you if you are either. I have a great time rolling dice with a ridiculous army build, losing, and laughing about it.  Metagame?  Seriously? I have a wife, two kids, a career, and impending economic doom to worry about. Why would I waste cycles caring what our little plastic men are thinking when we’re not around? I despise rules lawyers. If you’re playing with me, you’re in my house and a friend. Cookie-cutter your army all day long with 4x Missile Devastators... don’t care.  And finally… your opinion of why Joe Shit the Ragman is an asshat means exactly squat.

So… I just stopped. Lots of places I won’t be visiting any more as I can’t relate. They’re playing a different game than I am. On the other hand, tons of hobby-esque cool places I will frequent more often. Jim and his Killzone, Mordheimer and his Death Squads. Conversions, house rules, out of the ordinary 40K? I’m there.

That’s it. I’m done. All I wanted to say. No need to pontificate any further and justify ten ways to Sunday why I’ve written what I’ve written. Know why?

My blog.

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Community Assistance Request: Plastic Armies for Real Soldiers

So I got this wild hair, and I need some guidance from the 40K community-at-large:

The other day I was reading comments on Big Jim's blog regarding the Killzone rules and how well they are being received. One of the responses was from a serviceman who indicated that he was deployed to Afghanistan and his squad is loving the game. I felt like an idiot that it never dawned on me previously...  that these men and women deployed overseas would prefer to spend their downtime pushing plastic and tossing dice. This got me to thinking; I bet its damn tough in many of their situations to actually acquire those 40K models to put on the table. And possibly even harder to find time to assemble it all. Maybe I can do something about that and thank them in some small way. A couple of assembled and/or painted models here and there, spread across multiple servicemen and/or units. Yeah... that's infinitely doable.

The problem? Not sure how to get the ball rolling.

The logistics I can do. The issue is I can't for the life of me figure out a good way to identify the appropriate servicemen or units. I have a tentative process in mind for acquiring and tracking the models, but how the heck do I even begin to figure out where the stuff should be sent? I don't want to spin up the whole thing only to figure out there's no one to send the stuff to. So I'm looking to the community for ideas, and here's what I need:

How do I identify 40K players in the service, deployed overseas? While I wish I could do this for all our servicemen deployed abroad, my preferred focus would be those areas like Afghanistan where gaming paraphernalia would be hard to come by.

Once I've developed a solid plan to identify individuals and shipping addresses, I can move onto phase two... gettin' the goods.

So cough it up geeks. How do I go about finding these folks? I don't have a heck of a lot of followers, but I get a ton of hits, so I'm hoping anyone who is interested in the idea will pass on a link to this post.

Would really appreciate your input on this one guys. Thanks in advance.

-Dryw

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Spectres: Part One - Dakka & Docs

As promised... dug out the digicam and strained my mediocre photography skills to the limit. Going to try to cover each of the units in some detail, and in the focus of this first episode will be the healers and the shredders. But first, a word from our sponsors (Spectres, class of M41):

I'm really not happy with the quality of the shot, but it's all I have at the moment. I'll work on it, but this gives a general idea of where I am and where I'm going. I wouldn't consider a single one of them 100% finished at this point, but hey... they're getting there. Notably absent from the group photo are:

Baal Predator with MK.IVc turret - not a drop of paint on him and he refuses to be photographed nekkid
Bike Squad - showcased these custom jobs before, but going to wait for the reveal until they have more than a primer coat
Furioso Dreadnought with Forge World MK.IV "Blood Talons"- same as above. Primer coat, but not ready for prime time just yet

And that brings us to our spotlight squads. First up, Spectral (Sanguinary) Priests flanking the Honor Guard Novitiate:

These field medics have been worth their weight in gold Imperial Crowns (Thrones... whatever) on the tabletop. Priests attached to each Assault Squad with Furious Charge and Feel No Pain. Simply exquisite. I am extremely pleased with the finished result of the customization. Forge World MK.III, Chapterhouse Studios shoulder guards, Terminator Storm Bolters and a custom hand cannon (based on a Khorne Berserker pistol) for the Novitiate. WIP as they obviously need more than just a metallic highlight.

Last but not least for this entry... my homage to Robotech's RaiderX Destroid:

I know I'm biased, but gawddamn these things are just freakin' cool! The majority of my shooting wounds by far come from these lead slinging machines, and there is a tangible wide-eyed psychological factor when they hit the table. At worst, they freak my opponents out so much that they spend a good portion of the game chasing Pain & Panic here around the table and trying to pop them through cover... leaving the rest of my units to flank and spank. Its a beautiful thing.

Pretty straightforward conversions. I'm sure you can figure out what came from where. I'll happily relay some penny-saving advice if you're in the market; grab yourself the Ironclad torso/leg combos from your favorite bits store as you don't need anything else once the Forge World Autocannons arrive. Should be able to get away with about $15.00 per (sans the FW parts, of course). Certainly better than the $40.00+ for the full GW Ironclad kit.

Thats it for now kiddies. Thanks for taking the time to peruse. Feel free to leave suggestive comments (heh).

Next issue: why I'm not ashamed to be a Mech whore.

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Back in Black: Void Spectres

Long time no blog, eh? Metric tons (or is that tonnes?) of work hours and a bit of interwebz burnout killed the desire for a time. Easing back in with a new army and a new concept. Void Spectres.


Hopefully I can come up with a chapter symbol thats a tad bit cooler than Casper up there.


Yep... it's a Blood Angels clone. Nope... I won't excuse my bandwagon-ness other than to say my real interest is the zippy quick tanks. Give me those in a CSM army and the red pretty boys book goes back on the shelf. If pushed, I'll admit the literal slew of magic Feel No Pain field medics is sorta' sexy too.

I have a boatload of new models to showboat. Many of them are even... wait for it... painted! Been lazy with the digicam. I'll hit the clicks hard this weekend and get some shots up. Gabriel Seth analog, tailored honor guard, couple of assault squads and enough mech to make Caterpiller jealous. I'm especially fond of the Robotech Destroid Defender Dreads. The moniker will make more sense when you see the conversions.

In the interim I'll preview with my standard 1250 build. Decent successes thus far. Think she's a keeper.

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1250 Pts - Void Spectres (Blood Angels)

1 Chapter Master @ 160 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Iron Halo; Power Armour; Blood Reaver; Bolt Pistol; Fearless; Ferocious Instincts; Independent Character; Whirlwind of Gore)

Honour Guard @ 227 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Veteran; Veteran; Veteran; Veteran; And They Shall Know No Fear; The Red Thirst; Razorback)
   1 Apothecary (Blood Chalice; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol; Chainsword; Feel No Pain; Furious Charge)
   1 Veteran (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Lightning Claw x1; Storm Bolter x1)
   1 Veteran (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Flamer x1; Storm Bolter x1)
   1 Veteran (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Flamer x1; Meltagun x1)
   1 Veteran (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Flamer x1; Meltagun x1)
   1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank, Fast); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Fire Points: 0; Smoke Launchers; Searchlight; Twin Linked Heavy Bolter)

1 Apothecary @ 58 pts ([Power Armour])
   1 [Power Armour] (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Blood Chalice; Power Armour; Melta Bombs; Chainsword; Storm Bolter; And They Shall Know No Fear; Feel No Pain; Furious Charge; Independent Character)

4 Assault Squad @ 181 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Remove Jump Packs; Bolt Pistol x4; Chainsword x4; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Descent of Angels; The Red Thirst; Razorback)
   1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Remove Jump Packs; Bolt Pistol; Power Fist x1; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Descent of Angels; The Red Thirst)
   1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank, Fast); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Fire Points: 0; Smoke Launchers; Searchlight; Lascannon and TL Plasmagun)

1 Apothecary @ 58 pts ([Power Armour])
   1 [Power Armour] (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Blood Chalice; Power Armour; Melta Bombs; Chainsword; Storm Bolter; And They Shall Know No Fear; Feel No Pain; Furious Charge; Independent Character)

4 Assault Squad @ 181 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Remove Jump Packs; Bolt Pistol x4; Chainsword x4; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Descent of Angels; The Red Thirst; Razorback)
   1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Remove Jump Packs; Bolt Pistol; Power Fist x1; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Descent of Angels; The Red Thirst)
   1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank, Fast); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Fire Points: 0; Smoke Launchers; Searchlight; Lascannon and TL Plasmagun)

1 Dreadnought @ 120 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Walker); Smoke Launchers; Twin Linked Autocannon; Twin Linked Autocannon; The Red Thirst)

1 Dreadnought @ 120 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Walker); Smoke Launchers; Twin Linked Autocannon; Twin Linked Autocannon; The Red Thirst)

1 Baal Predator @ 145 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank, Fast); Smoke Launchers; Twin Linked Assault Cannon; Heavy Bolter; Scouts)

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More to come. Stay tuned.

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