Inquisition Time!

Tomorrow we begin Under A Vast Grey Sky, the first part of a new Dark Heresy cycle that will be running here at the Wargate! For those who aren't as familiar with the setting, and for those who are wanting a few more specifics as to how the Ordos stand within the Mardannon Sector, this short primer is designed to hit a few high points in as few words as possible, making it readable for your average net-serf.

Let's start with the major divisions within the Holy Inquisition itself, the Ordos.

1. The Ordo Hereticus is responsible for protecting mankind from itself. This includes but is not limited to apostate members of the Ecclesiarchy, rogue psykers and mutation.
2. The Ordo Malleus is responsible for combating and defending the Imperium from the physical manifestation of Chaos, the daemon. Some overlap with the Ordo Hereticus regarding psykers.
3. The Ordo Xenos is responsible for learning about and policing the Imperium for alien threats. Orks, Tau and all other foul xenos are within the Ordo's purview.

There are myriad smaller Ordos, but these three are found across the galaxy. Also, some Inquisitors do not belong to any Ordo, just sort of roaming around doing crap. However, there are more factions than just these. Many Inquisitors have a certain philosophy they ascribe to, and this colors how they operate. In an organization the likes of the Holy Inquisition, there is bound to be a staggering amount of conflicting viewpoints, and we'll touch on the major strains of belief in the Mardannon Sector. These philosophies are divided into two major camps, known as Puritan and Radical.

The Puritan factions try to stick to Imperial doctrine as much as possible, and pretty much persecute their Radical Brethren as much as possible. The Puritan factions are as thus:

1. The Thorians believe that the Emperor of Mankind will one day be reincarnated.
2. The Monodominants believe that Mankind is only safe if all other sentient alien races are completely obliterated.
3. The Amalathians want the status quo to be maintained, and strive for cooperation between Imperial agencies.

Radical factions have a different outlook - pretty much "if it works, do it". This turns to using the tools of the enemy against them, which is a valid tactic in some situations. However, the suspicions of their Puritan Brethren can be hindering and in many cases dangerous. The Radical factions include:

1. The Xanthites who believe that Chaos can be used against Chaos. This takes the form of daemonic pacts, Chaos artifacts and crazy rituals of nasty Chaos-ity.
2. The Recongregationists who believe that the Imperium is deeply corrupt to the core, and want to destroy it to rebuild it in a more suitable image.
3. The Istvaanians who believe that only strife and war can bring humanity to where it must go. They hold that humanity is the strongest after periods of terrible suffering.

So there are plenty of diametrically opposed viewpoints, and this doesn't do much to actually breed trust amongst certain members of the Inquisition. However, this is the Mardannon Sector...what Inquisitors are active here? To answer that question, I have prepared a small report on the top members of each Ordo most active in the sector. It's assumed your character, as an acolyte, will be aware of at least this much.

The Ordo Malleus

• Inquisitor Lord Lucian Kylan - The most militant Inquisitor in the entire sector, Lord Kylan plies the stars on the powerful and ancient warship Hammer of Titan. He commands a vast amount of resources, and has taken war to the minions of Chaos many times. A staunch monodominant, Kylan's power is turned upon the daemon mutated armies of Chaos.
• Inquisitor Dominic Gustav - A powerful daemon-hunter in his own right, Gustav was once the acolyte of Lord Kylan. Now, he attempts to uphold the Amalathian agenda where the threat of the warp bleeds through.
• Inquisitor Marius Vex - A quiet but thorough witch-finder, rogue psykers and others bound for the Black Ships fear the shadowy form of this Inquisitor. Though he is a believer in the Thorian way, he's not so sure there will ever be such a vessel and focuses on his work rooting out daemon-sorcerers.

The Ordo Hereticus

• Inquisitor Shan Tsien Tiang - Openly ascribing to the philosophies of the Recongregators, this Inquisitor from a barbarian world travels a route between five systems, handing out judgements and burning at least one witch on each stop just to make a point. Many criminals who have violated the tenets of the Hereticus are held prisoner until he arrives to hand down judgement, which might be a period of many years.
• Inquisitor Corvus Mandera - A low key operative who is a staunch Amalathian, Mandera makes it a point to follow up accusations of witch-craft and heresy in the many guilds criss-crossing the sector. Oftentimes operating with very little resources, this rugged Inquistor has produced an amazing amount of results in the short time he has been operating.
• Inquisitor Abakum Lukyanov - This eccentric Xanthite has spent many long years seeking out and (presumably) destroying several legendary sorcerous tomes, such as The Infinite Secret and Ulorkotesh's fabled Snugdriggunumancy. Lukyanov has written several treaties on using mankind's latent psychic powers in conjunction with certain types of learning that suggest he may favor teaching nascent psykers sorcery by tome...

The Ordo Xenos

• Inquisitor Lord Marcus Baurus - A militant Istvaanian, this influential Inquisitor Lord has taken it upon himself to work to aggravate situations where destabilization is imminent. He has fanned the flames of war in many places, ushering in fighting with Ork tribes all along the reaches in warpshot of Magnum Sierra. Lately, he's been exploring the relations of the newly arrived Tau, and how to exploit them to draw them into a cataclysmic war.
• Inquisitor Ignacio Sulla - A professed Recongregationist, Inquisitor Sulla is ready and willing to help any Imperial Commander who requests his help. The catch is that whatever catches his attention is exposed to the most prolific Recongregationist in the sector, and profound change usually follows in his wake.
• Inquisitor Demekh Gulyayeva - An explorer from the edge of the system, this monodominant seeks out alien threats to the Imperium with the aid of the Imperial Navy and even Rogue Traders and other starfarers and organizations across the sector. Currently chasing Eldar pirates all around the sector, this Inquisitor has more resources and favors to call in than many other Inquisitors in the sector.

So, there's our outline for the Inquisition in the Mardannon Sector. You can find more information on the Inquisition at this awesome link to the Warhammer 40,000 wiki. As the game progresses, I'm sure you'll find out a lot more than you wanted to know! Just remember this one maxim, however, whenever you think of the Inquisition.

Even if you have nothing to hide, you still have something to fear.

Warband Briefing: Von Stauffermann's Expedition

Von Stauffermann’s Expedition

By Chief Scrivener Hannan

Wissenland, 2522 I.C.

In the southern parts of Wissenland, the Knights of Sigmar (e.g. the Witch Hunters) are quite an active part of the landscape. Mutants, witches, beastmen and worse crawl in the darkness between the days, and the Witch Hunters patrol ceaselessly the villages and towns of the Empire rooting out such evils.

Amongst those who stand on the line between the darkness and the simple folk of the Empire is the decorated Knight of Sigmar, Georg Von Stauffermann. His name is whispered quietly when it is heard that his servants may be nearby, for Von Stauffermann has earned quite a reputation as witch-burner. 

The villages along the Grey Mountains are often in need of the ministrations of the Knights of Sigmar, and the Witch Hunters that are active in the area almost to a man owe Von Staufferman a great deal of loyalty.

It is only lately that Von Stauffermann has begun to call in these favors. He has assembled a warband consisting of the hardest Knights he could find, and the stone-craziest zealots and flagellants he could tear from their errands. Now, the expedition readies for a series of voyages into the darkness beyond the walls of the villages and towns of Wissenland to bring the light of Sigmar to all who would hide from it.

With Fire and Stake

The itinerant warband now wanders Wissenland, stopping where they can along their pilgrimage. Von Stauffermann has cited several “dark places” where he hopes to find the enemies of Sigmar, but does not share this information with his colleagues. Instead, they focus on one of the objectives at a time until they have done what they can for the folk who must live in the shadows of such things. Von Stauffermann and his warband have had much success in hunting the spawn of vampires, the beastmen and mutants of chaos and of course, plenty of witch-burning.

Von Stauffermann will stop at nothing to see that every entry in his “Book of Shadows” is investigated. This book consists of Von Stauffermann’s journal, and the scraps of testimony, folk legends and even a very few facts that he’s wrung out about the various cases the book contains. Accusations of witchcraft, mutation, worship of the dark powers and other, fouler deeds are contained and kept track of within. Though he’s been working on the book for almost five years, he has much work to do before there is even a dent in the volume of tasks contained therein.

Rulebook Ruminations: Dark Heresy Edition!

Howdy folks!

It's time for another game to start here at the Wargate, with our first World of Darkness game in the new edition having ended a few days ago. We'll talk more about that later, because today I'll be talking about some rulebooks we'll be using starting this Sunday!

Yes, it's time for Dark Heresy! We've used the basic rulebook before, but this time we'll be using the careers out of the main rulebook instead of stand-ins for space marine career paths. We've got a lot more players and plenty of miniatures, so we're going to be quite ready to throw down some game this weekend. But what books will we be using this go around?

The main Dark Heresy rulebook has a lot going for it, and despite what you might read on various boards around the net I think this is a fantastic volume. I've had mine since release, but I don't 'review' any books until the Wargate has a call to use them. I've already gone over a lot of the characters in other recent posts so I won't populate this post with a lot of that mumbo-jumbo. I'm going to speak for a moment about mechanics, instead.

Anyone familiar with the way Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, 2nd edition is run will be at home in the game. A few things are different to account for differences between the universes, but after a few rolls you'll be back into the swing of things in no time. Skills, Characteristics, etc. all use the same systems as that game, and advancement is also similar. A little time before the game spending experience and you'll have that down pat too - in many ways advancement is easier than Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay - a lot of the career paths are straight lines in many places, with one or two alternate ranks and the final ranks branching out into two forks, one of which your character will follow.

Combat has a few differences, but these are minutiae dealing with bonuses for autofire, cover and so forth. Mosty the differences are in nomenclature rather than function, so I'm fairly certain everyone will be comfortable with this and we'll be able to teach new players even quicker.

We'll also have the Inquisitor's Handbook on the table! This is a great reference when creating and advancing your character as it contains new Homeworlds, the Adepta Sororitas career, and a horde of alternate ranks. Alternate ranks are like prestige classes. A lot of the material is centered on the Calixis Sector, which is the default setting for the game. However, we'll be in the Mardannon Sector, the area of space the Wargate has been waging war in for the last six years. This means that there may be availability issues with some Alternate Ranks, but we can definitely find the Mardannon equivalent to whatever it is. There will also be special Mardannon Alternate Ranks that may become available to your acolytes during the game.

Most of the Inquisitor's Handbook is chock full of gear, but I have to take a moment to talk about this. It's not going to be open season with this book, like with the Old World Armoury. There are going to be all sorts of restrictions on what you can get. The gear in the Inquisitor's Handbook is divided by planet type, so here's the deal. If you are on that sort of planet, availability is as listed in the book. If you are not on that sort of planet, I'll just tell you right now that's a fat chance. Depending on the gear you are seeking, there might not be an availabilty roll made - that's just how it's gonna be. So suck it up - there's plenty of gear wherever you are, I assure you.

So, Dark Heresy is gonna roll into full swing and not be just a myth. Either of these books are invaluable player aids, and I highly advise anyone interested in such a thing to pick up at least the basic rulebook, which retails for like $50, but can be had for as low as $30 new if you shop around.

So until next weekend, remember this always: The Emperor Protects!

Get Into the Mordheim!

In a few weeks, our new miniature skirmish campaign will kick off. Titled Death in the Delve: The Curse of the Alderhalls, the scenario is set beneath the hold of Khazid Grimaz, where the Alderhalls under the city have recently been discovered. For those of you that played in ourWarhammer Fantasy Roleplay game will be familiar with the setting, but for those of you who are just joining us, rest assured that there will be plenty of carnage to ensue.

The campaign will be the first serious Mordheim game that has been played by the club, so we'll be taking this one pretty close to the source material. In fact, you can pretty much sub in the words Khazid Grimaz for the word Mordheim in all the material and it's perfect.

So what's the deal with Mordheim, and why should you worry about it as a member of the Wargate?

Mordheim is a skirmish game produced by Games Workshop and stands alongside Warhammer Fantasy Battle as one of the games set in that universe. The games are much different from the battle game, however. The players' forces are called 'warbands', and comprise no more than eight to fifteen models. Small games, small scale...but it's a lot more brutal.

The main draw of the game is the inbuilt campaign system. We'll be using the system right out of the book, to showcase how this sort of game can develop. Your characters earn experience and gain new skills and equipment, like a roleplaying game. The game is similar in many respects to older editions of the flagship battle games, but playing it is a different beast altogether. Look for the full rules of the campaign to be published in the Battles Book very soon.

Mordheim presents a great opportunity to collect new models for a variety of purposes, but Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay springs to mind as one of our other games that you would benefit greatly from having a selection of models that you can use as a player, either as your own character or an NPC.

It's also one of the five miniature games that are being played in rotation at the Wargate. There are plenty of warbands floating around, so there isn't any danger of you not being able to play if you don't want to. The campaign begins on November 1st, so talk to me if you want to set about collecting a small set of models to battle with during Mordheim season!

Army Briefing: The Umbral Stalkers Cabal

The

Umbral Stalker

Cabal

By Chief Scrivener Hannan

Silencia System, .M41

In the darkness of the most dread reach in the Mardannon sector lurks a terrible menace to the Imperium, the Alpha Legion initiative known as the Umbral Stalker Cabal. With a hidden base of titanic proportion amongst the icy recesses of this frozen planetoid, the Cabal has orchestrated most of the wars across the sector over the last several hundred years. The facility is a huge shipyard and armory, and has acted as a staging point for almost all of the Chaos incursions of the Black Crusade.

The area is a known safe haven for the servants of Chaos, and the Alpha Legion commanders here cultivate favor with the other lords of Chaos in the sector. At any one time, several other Chaos warbands might have ships in the system, usually working with the Cabal towards some nefarious end. Some Chaos commanders have commented that while undoubtedly useful, the Cabal may have been a little too helpful at times with equipment, logistics or personnel. This has led many to speculate that the Cabal might have an ulterior motive that has not been deduced yet, and the Chaos commanders of Mardannon are yet wary of that motive.

The Cabal

Composed entirely of Alpha Legionaries, the Umbral Stalkers Cabal has a unique position in the Mardannon sector. Safely entrenched at Silencia Minoris in their fortress they call the Night Spire, the Cabal has sowed the seeds of rebellion and anarchy across the entirety of the sector. Guided by sorcerers known as Umbral Masters, the Captains of the Alpha Legion direct a clandestine web of traitors and malcontents who may or may not know whom they serve. The Cabal moves munitions, information, slaves, and whatever it can get its claws in to serve its purpose – which seems to be the systematic disassembly of the Administratum.

The Cabal’s flagship, the Warp Stalker, is feared throughout Battlefleet Mardannon for the curious ability to cloak itself from sensors. It is unknown how this ship achieves this feat, and the Stalkers aren’t saying. There are only a few ships sighted in the sector that actually bear Alpha Legion colors and the Warp Stalker is the most infamous.

Silent Siege

Directing the massive amount of Chaos worshippers throughout the sector requires a vast network of spies and a logistics program of equal proportion. The Cabal has consolidated their grip on the sector and seems to have this all covered, and it is suspected that they are the power behind the massive number of uprisings in recent years. It has even been whispered that these Chaos Space Marines may have influenced orks to attack Carpithica. The list of crimes suspected by the Imperial authorities who have been investigating the Cabal’s influence is vast, and also includes providing weapons to heretic militant groups such as the Khorne worshipping mutants on New Waco, the daemonic incursion at Silencia Majoris, and the rebellion of the Imperial Navy at the 1^st Battle of Partisan Imperious.

Thousands of operative cells exist across the sector. They are all tasked with myriad jobs, and their cooperation is alternately influenced, coerced and paid for by Cabal interests. Not every criminal knows they are being utilized as Chaos pawns, but many are willing participants. The Umbral Masters offer some the path to Chaos sorcery, and actively scribe daemonic texts to liberally disseminate amongst the Imperial populace to encourage large scale heresy.

Some operative cells favored by the Cabal develop cults, or organized crime rings. As these smaller organizations grow in size and usefulness, they in turn receive more attention from the Cabal – for good or ill. There are a great many syndicates across the sector who have no idea exactly who they are allied with, for the Cabal will frequently use human emissaries to interact with those whom they wish to conceal their nature from.

The Umbral Stalkers are the top action item for the Black Templars’ Mardannon Crusade. The hidden base at Silencia has not been uncovered by the Imperium at large, though undoubtedly certain individual within the Inquisition may suspect such doings. In the mean time, the Alpha Legion has diverted as massive amount of resources to bear in engaging the Imperial Space Marines, whom they view as the true opponent. Recently, a massive battle at Ordavis in the Carpithica system greatly damaged the Imperial crusade, left the planet in shambles and crawling with orks. This was the first time the Cabal ever openly declared war, and they did it with the rumbling of siege tanks.

Now, the stage is set for a cataclysmic battle in the depths of daemon-haunted space between two sects of Adeptus Astartes. The Umbral Stalkers and the Mardannon Crusade will hunt one another, and woe betide whatever encounters these two forces in the mean time!

Jerry's Got Beastman Aides!

Our friend Jerry has been hard at work on what every exploding Chaos Herdsman needs - Beastman Aides!

That's right...aides to destruction!

With the newest edition of Warhammer out and the Wargate's own burgeoning Mordheim campaign coming soon, we've all been dragging out models and getting new warbands together. Jerry's never been much of a Warhammer guy, but he's been into 40k longer than ME so it should come as no surprise that he's finally come around full circle and has stepped into the arena for fantasy battles with his new army! I'll let him explain in more detail!

The Beastman Army Project VS The Army Painter

Hi, Jerry is my name but I am known here online at the Wargate as Warmaster Laserwulfe. I have been a member of the Wargate and alongside Warmaster Dave for 15 years. I have jumped back into modeling and wargaming with a flash and a bang! From my early and young beginings in AD&D 2nd edition, Magic Unlimited and Warhammer 40,000 2nd edition, life and fantasy have brought me to where I am today.

After many years of playing and roleplaying, I decided to re-emmerse myself into modeling and painting, with a vegenace known only by Chuck Norris. The Army Painter supplies have been my shining icon of rebirth. A great inventory of primers and quickstains, paints and tools, The Army Painter has been a big help. Also restocking my paint shelf has been good Games Workshop and Valejo paints, the old stand-bys of the old days and beyond.

This has been an expensive rebirth but also quite rewarding. I've dropped my 14 year nicotine addiction with the help of painting and model projects, and a supportive home. This has been a huge plus, finding my time literally absorbed silently by these projects. I have found this to be the greatest reward in the end - patience.

Patience and forethought is important to the modeler, giving and making shape in the mind first before the first sprue is ever cut. A hobby enthusiast's skills age like wine, slowly circling and coming to full revolution as time goes on.

Anyways enough about me and time. I have done several youtube videos over tyranid painting and quick army staining as some of you might know. Now marks a new time and new army to be stocked and locked by the old dog. Warhammer Fantasy Beastmen!! Awesome models!! Awesome Army!! It is right up my alley!! Skulls and evil satyr looking henchmen, minotaur guards, and spell throwing goat lords who dont take no lip!!

I'm very excited to have the opportunity to present and show step by step the process of quick painting this army for you at home to learn and use yourself on your own hobby projects. I will be starting a full out project log and explain the process here on the Wargate as well as with accompanying youtube videos. Please use my work to enhance your own or share with other hobbyists.

A mighty shout goes out to Warmaster Dave! His works and magiks have long since kept a local circle gaming and interacting. Also to the Army Painter, for putting such awesome supplies out there for us to use.

Enjoy and learn,

Jerry

Terrain Log: Green World Rockies!

Howdy!

Sorry for the gap in posting, been a little wild around the house with Summer drawing to a close. We have lots of cool articles written by some of the other members of the Wargate coming up, so you can hear some more opinions by your fellow gamers on some subjects that are relevant to your interests!

In the mean time, I want to talk about our 'mountainous' terrain - the Green World Rockies! Ok, so they aren't really mountains...just kinda rocky. Hence, the names...but honestly I think I still prefer "mountainous". Lets go with that instead.

These two formations are modeled after some actual rock edifices we have here in Oklahoma. If you've ever been out in the wastes on I-35 near Ardmore, you will pass between them. They might be a little thicker, but on the table these two pieces are quite dynamic. As they totally obscure line of sight, it adds a dimension that was lacking in our games after Warhammer 40,000 5th Edition came out. We played with them for quite some time before I finally put the bases on these...what a pain that was. Now they are a mainstay on the table, and a a great many warriors have felt these walls concealing them from fire or closing them in for an assault massacre!

These two pieces have phallic nicknames that I won't repeat here, like Low Schlong and Penis Mountain. I'm not sure why they acquired those monikers. It was probably Warmaster Laserwulfe, but I digress. These are interesting pieces on the table, as the low one is good cover and difficult terrain to cross, or perhaps a barrier. The larger mountain is an important tactical piece due to it's sheer size...you can hide siege tanks behind it or get clear views for weapons teams on the summit, even claiming cover for the large phallic rock.

All these pieces were made from random bits of packing styrofoam. I cut them to shape with a hot wire cutter, then glued them together. I then coated each piece in a layer of elmer's glue, just like the hills. After that, it was safe to spray paint them black, then grey. Add a layer of flock, stones and peat moss and VOILA. Penis Mountain.

Rulebook Ruminations: Lord of the Rings Edition

Howdy!

I thought I'd take a moment to explore a little bit of the structure of the Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. It's structured a little different than some of our other battle games, so it makes it a prime candidate for a rumination. Rather than reviewing the book as a whole, I'll be going over just a few of the things that really make it stick out from Warhammer. Namely, those things are turn sequence and army building.

On the whole, this ruleset is very simple and elegant. The fight sequence is a simplified version of Warhammer's involving fewer rolls, and terrain is given a treatment that makes each piece a different beast than in our other wargames.

In actual play, the game is a lot more, shall we say...focused? Models fight mano e mano, and multiple combats usually involve no more than three models. It's more like a skirmish game in that respect - armies tend to be a little smaller...though if you're running goblins you might end up with just as many models as your Warhammer 40,000 army!

Players share the same turn. That is, after rolling for priority (who will be going first in each phase), we progress through the turn together. So in turn 1, I get priority over you. The turn sequence is Move, Shoot, Fight. I'll take my moves, then you take your moves. Then we do my shooting, then yours. Finally, we do the fighting (which is resolved at the same time).

Pretty simple, and players of other wargames might even find a familiar ring to this sort of ruleset. Just remember to rotate players phase by phase, rather than turn by turn. In the Goblin King campaign, this was an issue that was misunderstood by a lot of folks.

The second major divergence is in army building. The main rulebook lists a lot of models for different forces, but what are Warhammer players to do who are looking for codified lists? Well, your lists are by and large all contained in Legions of Middle-Earth.

This book lists all the 'tournament' style lists for the Strategy Battle Game. The armies are divided by region, and then by list. For example, the Bastions of the Dark Lord section contains five army lists (Dol Guldur, Cirith Ungol, The Black Gate, Barad-Dur and Minas Morgul). You choose from one of the lists, but each list has plenty of options to ally with other lists. For example, you can get your Minas Tirith force together with some Grey Company or members of The Fellowship. Whatever, really...the lists are really loose and there are a lot of options for making customized forces.

Games Workshop has published several supplemental books to the line over the last decade or so, and while a few of those are basically obsolete (save for a few scenarios and collector's value, of course) only a few of them are worthy of mentioning. Fall of the Necromancer, Harad, Mordor, A Shadow In The East and The Ruin of Arnor are fantastic and actually have lists and statistics for new models. These books come closest to being "codeci" or "army books", though none but the main rulebook is truly nescessary except in a few cases. A lot of the rules for new models gets published in White Dwarf.

We'll be doing another campaign with Lord of the Rings sometime very soon! In the mean time, remember that Middle-Earth is part of the Wargate!

Army Briefing: Khazid Grimaz

As our campaigns grind ever onward, information may be cycled out of the current game zones, but still be relevant to continuing battles. To preserve these records on the site where they are easily obtainable, I'll be posting them here as normal after they are moved from the current campaign pages. Here then, are the army briefing for the Throng of Khazid Grimaz, whom you are likely to encounter if you hang about the Wargate!

The Hold

Of

Khazid Grimaz

By Chief Scrivener Hannan

The Grey Mountains, 2522 I.C.

It is said that the Dwarfs of the Grey Mountains, to the west of the Empire, are not as wealthy as their estranged kin in the World’s Edge. Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of the hold known as Khazid Grimaz, which sits very near the Empire’s city-state of Nuln. Here, nestled in a mountain stronghold between the kingdoms of Men and the forest of Athel Loren, the dwarfs of this ancient hold have rediscovered their ancient power – the hidden and vast stone city of built by their ancestors, which laid beneath their very feet.

The gromril that lay beneath the mountain has been rediscovered, and the halls have been reclaimed by a short series of skirmishes in the deep below. Now, revenue has started to pour into the city as the ore makes its way into the city’s forges. A new age has dawned on the Khazid, one that might see the defeat of the kingdom’s ancient enemies.

The mines of the Khazid have never produced much, but now the mines are quite lucrative. The hold operates five small and medium sized mines in its protectorate, and two new large mines. Brass, copper, iron and steel are all among the products made in the dwarfs' smithies. The city and it’s sparsely populated rural protectorate could be on the rise in wealth and influence, if the war does not go against them.

The Throng of the Khazid Grimaz

The city is run by several Guilds, as is the case in many dwarf cities. The following Guilds are represented in the Khazid by a considerable amount.

• Guild of Tradesmen (Red Heraldry)
• Guild of Weaponsmiths (Red Heraldry)
• Guild of Miners (Black Heraldry)
• Guild of Goldsmiths (Black Heraldry)
• Guild of Rangers (Green Heraldry)
• Guild of Domestic Crafters (Green Heraldry)
• Guild of Engineers (Blue Heraldry)
• Guild of Jewelers (Blue Heraldry)
• Guild of Runesmiths

Khazid Grimaz

Khazid Grimaz is located in a valley in the Grey Mountains and is protected on three sides by nearly sheer rock bluffs. On the North side, the bluff overlooks a tributary of the River Reik, and to the East is the only entrance to the Khazid by road.

The city is divided into roughly five different sections: the Upper Valley, the Hold, and the Vaults, the Alderhalls and the Delve City. Each of these areas is high security, with warriors posted at regular intervals throughout the entire city. The city has a population of almost 4000, about 500 of which are transients in the Upper Valley. Additionally, the Khazid maintains roads for several miles towards the ‘borders’ with the Empire and Athel Loren, the foothills of the Grey Mountains. These roads have watchtowers at regular intervals and are seen to by the Guild of Rangers.

The Upper Valley is the trade district, where men and even elves are seen at the market. All of the trade to and from the Khazid is done here by the various guilds. PC’s wanting to do trade in the Khazid may use the following table to conduct their business.

Availability	Difficulty	Modifier
Very Rare	Hard	-20%
Rare	Challenging	-10%
Scarce	Average	+0%
Average	Routine	+10%
Common	Easy	+20%
Plentiful	Very Easy	+30%
Abundant	Automatic	N/A

The Hold is the home of the dwarfs at the Khazid Grimaz, and strangers are only very rarely permitted within the Hold proper. This is a massive underground city, akin to the larger holds throughout the Old World. The families and guilds live and work within the massive construction, which is nigh impregnable should the throng be mustered for war. The thanes of Khazid Grimaz are more involved with the men of the Empire rather than the other dwarfs of the Mountains, particularly those from Karak Norn to the south.

 The Vaults are the crypts and bowels underneath the Upper Valley. The twisting and intersecting tunnels lead to abandoned mines, the interment crypts of the dead, and to locked and sealed treasure rooms. The Vaults are doubly guarded by the throng, and it has never been breached.

 The Alderhalls and the Delve city have recently been reclaimed by the dwarfs, and they have been quite studious in the restoration of the ancient tunnels, though a great many have been destroyed. Currently, these sections are being restored…though it will be a generation or two before the Delve City is totally reclaimed and bustling as it was a thousand years ago.

Oh Ringwraith, where art thou?

Elrond's refuge at Rivendell is often called the Last Homely House, so-called due to the fact that it is the last civilized area a traveler to the east is to find before crossing the Misty Mountains into Rhovanion. It is sometimes also called the First Homely House, for travelers coming into the West. It is also home to a great many elves of many different houses. Elrond Halfelven himself could reasonably claim lineage from all three houses in Middle-Earth.

The elves of Rivendell, along with their allies the Rangers of Gondor and the Riders of Rohan, have completely defeated the Nazgul known as the 'Goblin King' during his encroachments upon their domains! The campaign was won with a Total Rivendell Victory!

In fact, there was little damage done by the marauders. Orcs from Mordor rampaged through the woods near Dol Guldur, but were met and turned away by warriors from Rivendell. The men of Gondor and Rohan were warned of danger, but the Haradrim and Easterlings either turned from their course or fell to natural hazards. In the end, there was little bloodshed...and all is now quiet. The so-called 'Goblin King' is nowhere to be seen...and may never have even existed!

However, the victory is a hollow one. The turnout on this campaign was less than optimal...so much that we've instated a few new rules to handle campaigns going forward.

The Wargate's Universal Campaign Rules, version 1.0

1. Please do not join the campaign unless you mean to play!
2. Make arrangements with your opponent and set a date to play! This will be done following all campaign games and be mediated by the campaign manager.
3. If a date is set and one party arrives while the other does not, that party that is present is the winner of the campaign game through the other party's forfeiture.
4. Exceptions can be made for absences involving extenuating circumstances. Exceptions will not usually be made in the interest of keeping players playing and the campaign rolling.
5. If one party has forfeited two-thirds or more of scheduled games, the campaign is over and the non-forfeiting party is declared winner by maximum condition, i.e. Total Victory. You have to fight to win a war.

This short list of rules is designed to keep our games rolling forward, and not get mired down in a massive amount of reschedules or delays like some of our other campaigns. Moving forward, we'd like to see a minimal amount of reschedules and absolutely NO forfeitures on anyone's part.

I also want to encourage everyone to DEMAND forfeitures for opponents who do not bring an army to battle! If your opponent does not have a good enough excuse (like he wants to trip shrooms with some pin-up girls instead of do battle) do what the Lords of Old would have done.

Declare yourself the winner and help yourself to the spoils of his lands (or the conditions of victory in that scenario)!

Tyranids - Jerry Style!

For the last several weeks, Jerry over at Jerry Sells Pipes has been quite busy preparing his Tyranid Swarm, Hive Fleet Pioughd. Jerry and I go way back to like, when we were amoeba. Now, with the rise of the Wargate and our resurgence of gaming, Jerry decided to come on back to the Grimdark future and bust out a few armies!

His Brotherhood of the Most Hated (Chaos Brigands) have already been written into the lore of the Mardannon sector, and recently his tyranids have been swarming the lands around the Wargate with immense hatred. We've had a couple of battles, and let me tell you these critters can be tough in the new editon. However, I'll let Jerry himself tell you about how he acquired and colored these guys in his video section on youtube.

What I want to talk about is how Army Painter Quickshade can help out the folks battling around the Wargate! No doubt you've heard about it before, as I have - but I've never really gotten a chance to check the material itself or play with the medium. Take a look at some of Jerry's synapse creatures, painted basically in bone and red with Quickshade Strong Tone.

Not so bad, eh? All this has been done in record time, so I was intrigued. I got a few pieces together and jerry allowed me use of his Quickshade vat for some of my own models. I'll be getting to those in a later article, but let me tell you I was impressed. I've heard about the 'dip' for quite some time and looked into it before, but I wasn't moved when I first heard about it. Maybe it's because I was so set in my own techniques and fell victim to hubris, but I think I was just worried about how it could actually work. I got to see that it actually does.

Jerry did everything in his tyranid army the same way, from the rampaging carnifexi to the skittering swarms of termagants birthed from his converted tervigon. It's fantastic to see fully arrayed, and the entire army is almost completed exactly the way Jerry wanted it to be. It's so successful that he's started an Eldar project with his little bro and is thinking about replacing his entire Chaos Space Marines with a new army done with Quickshade!

Quickshade costs about $30 a can. You can do at least an entire army with one of those, and it can really cut down on your shade time. Currently I'm working on several different projects I'll be showing soon, and I'm not using this method on all of them. However, moving forward, I'll definitely be planning projects using Quickshade Strong Tone and Soft Tone (for lighter colors).

I think everyone who doesn't have an army painted should be considering using this, at least to get one playable army for each of the games that you play. Once you've got a totally radical force painted up and Quickshaded, you can worry about improving your painting technique.

Our friendly local game store is now carrying these products, along with a wide variety painting equipment and new units for you guys that need them.

Throw out those crappy old models!! Get together a 1000-2000pt force and get it Quickshaded!