The Next Evolution of Our Club

Stormskull Dave has Stormskull things
to say to your Stormskull tookis.

Greetings, folks!

You might have been wondering (or not) where we've been these past weeks.  Like always, we've been hard at work putting things together for you - this time with more of an eye on the future.  Well, the battles grind on...but we're taking a moment to assess ourselves and make improvements.

All games clubs evolve.  Over time, you can find yourself doing things you never thought of just because that's the way things are going.  We've been comfortable with the format of things for a while, as a club.  Yet, the shifts have been both sudden and subtle over the last few years.  Now that the dynamics of and around our tables have changed.

We have more folks on Game Day than any of the game stores around us seem to have at any one time, and are far more involved in the gaming as an entity.  We're a private club - we don't have a storefront (but we do have an eBay) and space is limited - but everyone invited is made to feel like family.  The finance plan of the club has also changed, and the Project Assessment Committee is helping us move forward in a great many ways.  So many, in fact - we've been preparing for weeks on the back-end without many articles.  This is a cardinal sin on our part.





We'll be changing venues as planned in a few weeks, and several changes will occur.  More on these later.  Suffice it to say that for the last three or four years we've been experimenting with a few different options for going forward, and we'll be rolling out more news on this in July and August.  During that time, you may notice strange things happening with the site.  Don't be alarmed, this is just us fiddling with the web.  Things will be back to normal soon - in fact, better than normal.

More importantly, I have another announcement.

Our good buddy and coordinator Skim has stepped up to help out with content and is now co-author on this blog and moderator across the Wargate's social media.   In addition, check out his new blog, where he'll be talking about the meta of gaming.  I look forward to seeing his thoughts on the state of our hobby, industry and other facets of gamer life.

Skim is most certainly a welcome addition to the web-team, he and I have been friends for longer than I can really remember.  It's been at least twenty, and one of the first solid players back in the dimly remembered days of high school.  He's been a frequent co-conspirator over the years and is a big fan of miniature wargames.  We're sure to see a lot of cool stuff from this new level of collaboration, and I for one am very excited.

A new and improved network map will be available this week.  Original images by our art team will replace many on the site as well, so look for a total restructure of this blog and it's nature.  Thanks to everyone on the PAC, and to Skim for helping make it happen.

Now, back to work on the next phase of interdimensional war...

Frostgrave Campaign Rules Update

Greetings, folks!

Since our campaign began for Thaw of the Lich Lord, we've found that Frostgrave is a very tight ruleset.  Indeed, each rules question we ran across has been answered in the Errata & FAQ from Osprey Wargames.  We've been playing the game according to the rules as written in the main Rulebook, and there hasn't really been an issue we've seen to cause a problem save one.  Namely, permanent wizard death.

It wouldn't be an issue in an open or long-term campaign, but we've traditionally ran timed campaigns and tracked individual player win / loss records.  It causes an issue when your wizard dies if we're keeping track of certain information (like experience points).  If you're reset to 0 in certain respects, how can you manage to make it up before the end of the campaign?

We decided not to subject anyone else to a 0-sum after I suffered as the club guinea pig for having their wizard killed (R.I.P. Arzoz Maurz, Most Annoying Illusionist).  After casting around on the internet looking to see if anyone else had come to this conclusion, we quickly found that we were not alone.  After examining a few of the rulesets, we've decided to integrate the popular JustPlay Frostgrave Rules Changes wholesale, both Recommended and Optional.  This cleans up all the questions we had very nicely, including giving us a nice structure for the Out-of-Game turns as well.

In addition to these changes, we're adding several official Frostgrave expansions to the ol' chopping block this season:  Sellsword, Dark Alchemy and Hunt for the Golem.  Consider these expansions to be legal in any Wargate campaign where one of the scenarios is listed.  For our current game, these are all legal as of now - including the ability to include Captains in your lists.  Now you can finally make use of that section of the wizard sheet!

As for the smaller campaigns, Dark Alchemy and Hunt for the Golem, the scenarios take their place in the current order as shown on the Frostgrave campaign page.  In addition, Dark Alchemy replaces the potion rules immediately.  The campaigns can generally be undertaken by players as they wish, any limits will be denoted in the season's own campaign rules.

Lots of folks are frothing at the mouth for Frostgrave around these parts!  We'll see a large campaign update this weekend as new combatants enter the fray.  I wonder what level we'll end the season around?  Get your wizard leveled now, and we'll see you on Game Day!

The Wargate Project Assessment Committee

Greetings, Gatekeepers!

We're back at the helm after our extended absence from the blog, but casual readers won't know what we've been up to.  What could possibly demand our attention so much that we neglect our blog?!  Blasphemers!

Well, I'd like to tell you about that today.  Of course, some things are still under wraps (and you won't even get a hint) but overall, the organization of the club has had a fundamental change in the last month.

We have begun a new initiative to engage our members and restore participation levels across the board.  Participation?  What, man...like, no one's playing or what?

Would that it were so simple.

We've been droning on about the collective for a while now.  Now that the entire process is finished and we've seen the interesting dynamics the collective brings to the games, it's time to give more agency about things back to the players.  To that end, I have appointed a Project Assessment Committee from those members who are interested, motivated and invested in the Wargate.

The Committee has been given the resources and authority to aid the Project Coordinator with making decisions for the club.  This includes just about everything a club needs to have a stronger voice in to make the best moves.  From managing the budget, organizing Hobby Days and Events, dealing with member conflict resolution, and helping decide what games are on the table each season, the Committee itself is an important resource to the Wargate.

We have created a private forum for the members of the Committee to communicate easily throughout the week to resolve any issues between Game Days.  The Project Assessment Committee (PAC for short) also has access to the club's inner workings in the form of access to a Google Sheet that contains all the information from the club's spreadsheets that was previously only on the Wargate's computer, meaning they can access any and (almost) all relevant club information any time they desire.

There are currently ten members of the PAC, not including myself.  Some have special appointments and duties, others are voting members and contributors.  All of them have been critical to the club's existence in one way or another, before ever having been appointed to the PAC.  Now, they have the tools and authority to initiate projects, or vote to block them - whatever they believe is best for the club.

On Game Day this weekend, we will be conducting our first focus group survey in four years, the results of which will be posted after the surveys are collated and the information discussed by the Committee.  Afterwards, we'll have a clear plan for 2017 and going forward.  The PAC has already started planning for club events, and some are scheduled for later this year.

Thanks to everyone who's still around, and BIG thanks to the Project Assessment Committee for volunteering to listen to my crazy internet-based chatter while we plan the club's activities.  It's a good feeling to work together, and it makes me more confident that we now have a stronger voice for what the club itself wants.  2016 has been a resurgent year for us so far, and going forward I have no doubt that the PAC is going to be a critical component of our organization.

See you on Game Day!

Hoard of the Dragon Queen Campaign Open!

Welcome back to the Sword Coast, intrepid adventurers!  This season we begin with the first published adventure for Dungeons & Dragons, 5th Edition - Hoard of the Dragon Queen!  It's time to get down and dirty with the Cult of the Dragon, but please be advised that this season will contain spoilers for the adventure, so if you haven't played it yet you may wish to avoid the RPG Campaign Updates.

However, if you've already played it (or don't intend to, or intend on running it) then you will be amused at the ridiculous antics of our ridiculous player characters.  Serious / Not Serious play is where we live, so expect over the top characters and equally ridiculous reactions to events in game.  Our Dungeon Master is no less than the Reverend Greg, and he's been preparing for 5th Edition since launch and has already ran an awesome campaign last year based on the Basic Set.  We got 55.5 hours of play time just with the introductory box set and a Player's Handbook!

The shared experience of these adventures is what's going to make them classics, almost instantly.  I'm really looking forward to this, and we even have a few new players this season as well.  This shows how anticipated the new game is, and the strength of the new line to draw in players who have never played an RPG before.

All our campaigns this season share the same setting, as we've "nested" them together to create a stronger narrative.  This is another important aspect of the draw, and helps spread enthusiasm to other game lines.  Our version of the Sword Coast will definitely be changed, and we'll catalog all such new additions at the end of the campaign as normal so there will be a reference guide for any such changes.

 As I've already mentioned, I personally am super-stoked about being able to play this campaign as a player.  Big thanks to Reverend Greg, who's devoted his time to preparing and running the game and committed to running the season's game for four months.  To our new players:  we're so happy you've decided to join us!

Game Day this week will be in overdrive, as we've got some catching up to do from last week.  Our internal meeting took up too much time last Sunday...but that's ok.  A small backlog will help us avoid the "we're caught up" blues and give your wizards, dragons and professional wrestlers a good reason to try to kill each other.

Just remember - it's not the size of the wrestler that counts, but...no wait, that's not true.  The size of the wrestler does count, so stack all the bonuses you can find and get ready to do battle with the followers of Tiamat.  For our characters, an interesting career opportunity emerges from the strife of the Sword Coast.

It's not every day the gods give you a dragon to wrestle. So just accept it, and know that no matter what happens it is a feat of strength that will surely garner the attention of the gods themselves.  When the hits go down, you better be ready - or you'll get bodyslammed.

Tyranny of Dragons II Campaign Open!

"Don't you dare make a Skittles joke, worm."

A while back we started working on our scheduling system to fit in all the games we wanted to during the season.  Well, not all the games - we can't do that.  It's impossible, so we make compromises.  We can manage two per season, and we feel that's pretty good.

Now the day is split into two wargame sections prior to RPG's in the evening.  At noon, we start Frostgrave!  The later part of the afternoon is now devoted to the Attack Wing campaign!  Pitch in and help your team (Good vs. Evil, naturally) win!

Tyranny of Dragons II is the first of our organized team play campaigns.  These campaigns are designed to allow anyone in the club to play, just by walking up to the table.  Attack Wing is really good in this role, as the cards and counters conveniently track all the rules for you.  

That's not all that makes this campaign season awesome!  We'll be running an all day Campaign Day event, and there will be public campaign battles as well!  We'll keep you posted on public event information, including venues and registration fees.  Prize support?  Let's generate it!

Lots of cool stuff coming up this season, but we have to keep a lid on it for now.  Expect a few big announcements in the coming weeks.  See you on Game Day!

Thaw of the Lich Lord Campaign Open!

We've been waiting a long time for this, and Season 2 hits this weekend!  The new season brings a ton of new games to the table, and we return fully to our Dungeons & Dragons roots for a while.  Even more exciting is the prospect of awesome miniature games!

Thaw of the Lich Lord is the latest supplement for Frostgrave, and we've decided to use both the published books for this year's campaign.  In addition, this season will be the first to incorporate "campaign days" for both our wargames.  These will be event days set aside for the entire club to participate in the new games, and will be a ton of fun for everyone.

We have situated the Frozen City of Frostgrave to the north of Citadel Adbar, somewhere beyond the Ice Mountains.  This should give us plenty of terrain to move around on, from mountainous forests to the rocky crags of the topmost spires.  It's a time of hobby elation as we begin to both paint our warbands and build a new set of stark, cold and rocky terrain!

Our wizards are already prepared for battle!  Join us in discovering what the depths of Frostgrave holds by checking out the campaign page, and tell us about your wizard and warband.  We love to hear from everyone!

See you on Game Day!

Dungeons & Dragons & Miniatures

For the past few years, the Wargate hasn't done much with miniatures.  In the heyday of Games Workshop's rule, games were going all the time and projects marched out with due speed and reverence.  Since then, we've tried lots of different games, each one of them requiring the normal buy-ins, considerations and other investment we put into our games.  Sadly, though they are great fun, other than Flames of War very few of these games have had all that we demanded from it.

What exactly have we been looking for?  It's not like Ronin sucks as a game...far from it.  In a word, immersion.  The 'nested' effect of the games we had played previously provided a common backstop for everyone to inhabit, and create that shared narrative we enjoyed so much.  However, intellectual properties being what they are, the game companies that have provided us with so much fun over the years became inimical to said 'fun'.  I'm happy to report that we bucked that trend.

So we've set some long term plans into motion that's going to bring the focus back to miniatures.  We've talked about our plans for Dungeons & Dragons before, but things are heating up as we close in on Season 2.  So it's time to get real, as it were...and put the rules where our collective mouths are.


Frostgrave will start in Season 2 alongside Dungeons & Dragons Attack Wing.  These, like the others we've had lately, will be linked (at least in setting) to our RPG game.  All the rules and the campaigns will be discussed when the season begins, because that's not what this article is about.

What I'd like to address instead is how this has opened up our selection of models to include pretty much anything and everything we want.  For our new fantasy battles, we'll be using the myriad worlds of D&D...including, if we wish, homebrew games.  At first I was skeptical about this, but I realized something -  D&D was essentially just a battle game.  Sure, it's got a lot more depth now...but that's how it started.

We now have the ability to literally create any army and run it in a battle game...literally anything.  Derro, yuan-ti...whatever.  However, the army still has to be built.  Style choices still have to be made.  For example, most of our orcs going forward will be Mantic Orcs painted grey, and a few bright green Pathfinder minis.  To that end, we've finally finished organizing most of the fantasy / medieval models into the system we now use.  Once you get used to the new categories, it should be very easy to find exactly the soldiers or monsters you want.

We'll also be taking this time to go about updating the gallery with an ACTUAL gallery consisting of shots from our current collection...probably as we do each unit's rules.  This gives us a great opportunity go back to our collection and really get some use out of our new photography equipment.  The goal here will be to get each painted miniature on the site, creating a reference point for our game masters to see each model available in the collection!  We can finally get this blog back on track for being a great place to see miniatures.

I also want to mention, our club has great rules writers.  As of now, the Wargate's ruleset for these miniature games will be the ONLY one we need concern ourselves with, as we are our own 'general assembly' as it were and support ourselves.  We'll be making all our rules addendums for the various games we use available online (hopefully in pdf format once most are done) as Kings of War and Hail Caesar! will need certain unit's information.  The final number of lists and force selections will be as numerous as our miniature boxes...

We have such freedom now to game as we wish without being on a rulebook treadmill.  My own enthusiasm for miniature gaming and the hobby in general has burned bright since this new revelation.  We are taking responsibility for the rules that are used at our tables, and will be a proper steward for fun and games.  Certainly, we can't go back to the way it was before.

D&D has been the cornerstone of this club since it's beginnings more than 20 years ago, so let this be a lesson to all of us.  Remember not to overlook resources that may have been there all along.  Anyway...don't let IP and product brand loyalty get you down.  There are alternatives.  Do your own game.  Use whatever is at hand, and don't get discouraged.

No Oath, No Spell Chronicle Begins!

Wow!

More than four years ago, we started a journey together.  We've done a lot of different games and settings, but historical games were a foreign entity to us until a few years ago.  Now I feel confident saying that Smokefall Ridge & The Indian Territory is one of our favorite campaign settings.

It's the blend of the wild west, The Twilight Zone, Tales from the Darkside, Tales from the Crypt, Outer Limits, etc...together with the wider World of Darkness mythos we all like.  However, when you blend all that with the added eeriness of the setting near our homes you get that sense of immersion that few other settings can match.  Tapping into this was the lucky strike of this game, and I can't tell you all how good it makes me feel that you have enjoyed your time with this one.  I worked hard on this one, and it has really paid off in terms of how everyone has truly become invested in the game and the ongoing story of the Settlements.

We had never done a wild west game, but from the very beginning it was something everyone was interested in.  Originally, it may have been out of my comfort zone, and when originally writing the setting I questioned my understanding and portrayal of several points.  Practice makes perfect though - and now I feel as home as Storyteller for the Territory as I do as Dungeon Master for Castle Greyhawk.  That's not a boast I could level at many other settings...Smokefall Ridge has become a real place for me.

 I'd like to thank everyone for allowing me to take the club into an area unfamiliar to it at the time.  I did my research however, and everyone's portrayals of their characters has added a lot to the sessions.  We don't often have time or inclination to roleplay in D&D like we do in WoD...the situations and approach to the game just don't lend themselves to that level of interaction.  However, I'd like to tell you guys how much I enjoy watching your characters interact with each other - the roleplay level in WoD, and the lines that are delivered by the troupe literally make this my favorite weekly black comedy.

Check out the Chronicle page for No Oath, No Spell, available on the nav-bar at the top of the page.  Season 1, 2016 lasts four months, until May 1st.  So, there's about three and a half months of play time for Smokefall Ridge before we complete a four and a half year story cycle.  Congratulations, Gatekeepers ... some of these characters may yet see the Honor Roll!

Gamesync 2016!

A Shot in the Dark, 1964

Greetings and Salutations!  A recent internet outage has kept me from adhering to the schedule so far this year, but now we seem to be back up and running after multiple visits from the polite internet people.  So, let's get on with it!  Today we're going to talk about 2016!

The biggest deal this year is that we have moved from four 3-month seasons to three 4-month seasons.  The main reason for this is to create longer roleplay seasons, and since we've focused on what can really be called three "theaters" this is a schedule that makes sense from a gaming perspective.  Each season will comprise multiple games, and the rulesets are subject to change each year.  For example,both Kings of War and Hail Caesar will both be used at some point to conduct fantasy battles in Dungeons & Dragons season.

One piece of this initiative is a concept we call "nesting".  A series of campaigns in different rulesets are tied together to form one large narrative each season.  This is something we've done in the past to lesser extent, but this time it's part of the mission statement.  In 2016, we'll have not only more rulesets played than ever before, but it will all be part of only three narratives.  This will help bind the games together and generate more excitement, as each session will count toward the overall narrative.

The details of each game will be noted as normal during the beginning of each season, but there will be no more huge milieu jumps for the foreseeable future.  Broadly speaking, there are now three categories the seasons will fall into.  The exact rulesets will change, but roleplaying and miniature battle games will be categorized as Historical, Sci-Fi and Fantasy...each of which comprises a season at the Wargate.  Each season's games will all be the same category and share the overall narrative, whatever the individual setting is.

2016's three seasons are mapped out as follows:

1. Historical
• World of Darkness
• Dead Man's Hand
2. Fantasy
• Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition
• Kings of War
• Attack Wing
3. Sci-Fi
• Star Wars D20 Revised
• X-Wing
• Armada
• Tomorrow's War

2017 will follow a similar pattern, and we intend to keep this model until further notice.  In addition, we are working with the larger community to amp up the organized play in Ada for all the Flight Path games we support, as well as D&D Encounters.  More information on that as it becomes available, but be advised that's on the agenda as well, effectively making a lot of our games yearlong events!  That's something we've regrettably had to forego in the previous years, but our new organization and event plan makes it all localized and easy to integrate into our current schedule.

Thank you for the last year's worth of awesome gaming!  It's time to kick 2016 off to a bangin' start!  Dragons, spaceships and cowboys...

Prepare for the Return of Pablo Strange!

Howdy!

We begin 2016's battle games with Dead Man's Hand, a nifty skirmish game we've talked about before on this site.  It will be a vicious fight, taking place in and around Smokefall Ridge.  The results of this campaign (and the World of Darkness rpg chronicle) will shape the future of the Territory for decades to come.

So what's all this about a strange Pablo?  A terrifying bandit roams the Territory, and the brave citizens and lawmen of that forsaken place have banded together to hunt him down and bring his posse to justice.  Check out the Dead Man's Hand section of the site!

The interesting bit of this campaign is the "bonus" rounds every month.  These will focus on narrative scenarios dovetailing with the World of Darkness games.  This is part of our "nesting" of the games this next year - which we will talk about more at a later date.

In addition, one of the first painting projects of the New Year will be to bring to life our Western miniature collection.  We've got a fine set of miniatures, and we'll be adding a few more before the season is out.  It won't take very long to finish the entire case, and we're for sure to add more Banditos to the box...Strange will have a large posse, dressed to kill!

2016 will start off with a bang - of a six-gun!

Galleries Redux

Astute perusal of this site would alert the reader to the fact that a few days ago, a lot of articles were gathered together under a new 'Galleries' section, accessible from the nav-bar above.  This has been a feature long requested, but we weren't sure how to implement.  There were a few considerations to keep in mind while we deliberated on this, but the end result was we put everything in there anyway.

You'll note some differences in both how things are labeled and (most notably) the variable quality of the photographs.  It's been several years since we started this and we've gone through about four cameras so far, but we obtained new equipment not long ago.  We considered starting the gallery from this point on, using the newer hi-res photos to make sure it all looked good.  In the end though, this wouldn't be right - everyone deserves to have their stuff shown, and putting it in the organization we have allows us to show a timeline of work.

The Galleries are now broken into four sections.  The first is the Terrain section, showing the terrain we've managed to catalog and eventually expanding to all past and current projects.  We've got a whole new table planned and the materials ready to go for "Grey World"!  The miniatures sections are now split between Historical, Sci-Fi and Fantasy to help categorize our seasonal games despite the rulesets we choose to use or the manufacturers we choose to purchase from.

Here's the thing - the Galleries are still seriously incomplete.  All the showcase blog articles from the last five years have been included, but what of all the stuff we've been doing that hasn't made it to the site yet?  We've done a ton of work that has yet to be photographed, mainly because we play a lot more games than we manage to catalog in this journal.  Now we'll have a showcase for the latest Gallery articles on permanent display.

We've almost perfected the process for turning out group projects in a reasonable time.  Format has been the largest concern over the last year as we buck the wargaming trends that have been in place for decades.  We've found our stride, however.  2015 will go down as a low point in blog activity for the Wargate for a lot of good reasons, all real-life related.  2016 is going to be an entirely different story, however...and we're looking forward to it with much gusto.

Return to Smokefall Ridge!

Only a few days have passed for our intrepid settlers since the conclusion of The Rough Edge of Night.  In those few days, the entire tone of the area seems to have shifted.  Folks are leaving the Territory...perhaps for no reason but Fear itself.

It has been four years since we played that chronicle, and it's been a "fan-favorite" ever since.  I have been determined that the sequel not let anyone down, and I hope this new set of stories delights and gives the frights to everyone who is going to play.  Sequels are always a challenge, but the Territory is ripe with all sorts of great seeds for chilling tales.

Going forward, the games will focus on a Twilight Zone-like mood and set of themes.  Investigation and innovation, not combat and exploration, will be the focus of the sessions.  While this is somewhat of a different gear than our normal Dungeons & Dragons games (murder-hobos) I hope it will be a welcome change.  The difficulty level of the mysteries have been adjusted as well, as I have somewhat of a reputation for plots too convoluted for tabletop gaming.

I should write a book.

As well as the World of Darkness game this season, we'll be adding in some skirmish action in the form of Dead Man's Hand.  This will expand the tales of the territory during the season, and we're going full on wild west!  In fact, the next TWO seasons will be spent in the Territory...plenty of time for awesome six-gun skirmish action.

So saddle up, vaqueros!  It's time to save the settlements from the dark legacies of the Territory.  Just remember - the days are short in Smokefall Ridge, and the nights seem to drag on forever.

Can You Feel the Hand...of the Empire?

It's finally time!

Star Wars has arrived, and with it has come all sorts of awesomeness.  This season, we present a nested campaign for the Galactic Civil War.  Star Wars Roleplaying Game D20 Revised forms the RPG basis for our campaign, but with X-Wing and our own new miniature battle game system thrown in there's going to be plenty of interplanetary mayhem to keep us occupied!  We've been looking forward to this for a while...and now that we've had the season opener, let me tell you - the club is jazzed up and having a blast already.

We're going to be developing the Wargate Battle Game (presently untitled) to do a lot of different things.  There is a basic ruleset that covers both skirmish and company level battles within an easy rules system.  We're going to run this through it's paces with what we're tentatively calling "realms" - and the first one to go full bore is Star Wars Uprising!  More on this to come, and we'll happily provide the text for our fans to use in their own games as it's developed.

Two new campaign sections have been added, one for the RPG and one for the nested battles.  We're planning on a lot of these type campaigns in the near future, and we're settling into the galaxy far, far away pretty hard.  I can already tell we're going to spend a lot of time on the hyperlanes, whisking to the Core Worlds to the Outer Rim and back again.

Just watch out.  Maybe there's no one named Solo or Skywalker around to help our heroes...but someone named Fett has been helping the Imperials hunt down the rogues near Roon.  On Game Day, we'll be eager to see what happens to this rather dashing looking fellow...

Heroes of the Sword Coast Campaign Open

Wondering what has been happening on the RPG front here at the Wargate??  Where is all the cool stuff??  Well, you know we've been playing Dungeons & Dragons, 5th Edition for a while now.  This season began January 1st, of course...so we've got a few weeks to catch you up on.

First off, the new system is fun.  There, I said it.  I like it, and I think most of us do.  If there's one thing about it that's bothering us is that it's not as complex as we're used to these games being.  That's alright - but when we're used to something being a certain way, it can be hard to not want to try to find out how the rules are changed.

We'll be posting the session updates in the next few weeks until we're caught up, as we've got a backlog of session notes.

For this campaign, Reverend Greg is taking us for a ride in the newly published dungeons for the newly published editions.  We're quite excited, and it's been a fun ride.

Come on out to the Forgotten Realms, guys!  Wrestle Owlbears with Betsy the Dragonborn!  Be reckless and bold, adventurer...and climb up in a tree if all else fails.

Head Into the Megaverse with Delta Front!

It's been a while since we had enough momentum to start a 2nd Schedule.  It feels good, even amidst all this new stuff and crazy activity, to be stepping up the game.  This next Tuesday, Palladium takes over the 2nd Schedule for a huge event that will last into 2016!

Into the Megaverse, Act I:  Delta Front is meant as an introduction to the Palladium system.  However, the awesome thing about this campaign will be it's inclusiveness.  In our inaugural sessions, we dive into the world of Ninjas & Superspies as imagined by our Gatekeepers.  These characters start out as international spies, but the campaign will develop into a great deal more - we have some serious surprises and events in store!  You can check out the Delta Front campaign page for the lowdown on the setting and scenarios, just click on the State of Play to the right.

We have a great many ways to incorporate far flung Wargate Regiments (formerly known as Wargate Chapters) into our narrative and establish their own within the world.  From Facebook posts and forum threads that players can interact with in their own time all the way to joining the Home Regiment for the live sessions via intarwebz masheens!  We'll be able to integrate your group in any (or all) of the following ways:

1. Online Operations
• Every week there will be a new scenario posted to a special RPG Play-by-Post thread.  Each Regiment will have a different objective within the scenario.
2. Facebook Leads
• Clues and Bonuses will be available to those following us on Facebook, including spontaneous bonus scenarios with a live GM on chat!
3. Video Conference during Live Session
• For the hardcore - get your mic, cam and conference software ready!  Tuesday nights at 6pm CST are live sessions!

For each Regiment that completes their operation, the group playing during the live sessions will receive various bonuses and penalties for the rest of the agency working toward their immediate goals.  Each operation will be posted on Wednesday, and will run until Monday night.  Tuesdays are live sessions, and the following Wednesdays your Regiments new assignment will be posted.  If you'd like your Regiment to participate, simply contact me in any fashion necessary and we'll get it set up.

So, let's get some participation going!  The first scenario begins with the live session this Tuesday (8.19.2014), and the operations for Regiments begin the following Wednesday.  Make sure your Regiment is signed up by this Sunday to make sure you have your custom operation ready to go!

Land on the Island of Lies!

It's finally here - the fabled Clan Strife has begun.  Check out the campaign page for the full story of Spring Dragon Island, and decide where you stand in the coming conflict.  So far, 3/4 of the Great Clans have staked a claim on the infamous island...and now, the struggle for supremacy begins.

We're keeping it relatively simple since we've not really put Ronin through the ringer yet, but we've spent the past few weeks taking an extensive look at the system.  Though the more expansive campaign system we're working on didn't make it into this season's skirmish game, expect to see more in the future.  After all - we've got plenty of models now!

We've been waiting long enough, so it's time to get those katana cracka-lackin'.  Or whatever.  We'll be rolling out rules on the Clan Strife blog during the season, so new units will become available - though it not all the clans will get special rules in time for this game.  That's fine - the campaign is to get you used to the Ronin ruleset, the baseline if you will.

Sharpen your wits and blades.  It's time to bring your warriors to the Island of Lies.  Yet, be forewarned - all is not as it seems upon Spring Dragon Island...

Wargate Campaign Rules vs. Rulebooks

It may seem as if the world is shaking, but for some of us the tremors have already passed.  We've embargoed GW for the same reason you'd break up with an abusive significant other.  We had an intervention and now GW is locked up in rehab.  Now, we're starting to realize that since we have so many intelligent folks with a lot of gaming experience between them there's no reason we should slave ourselves to the shoddy workmanship of certain game companies any longer.

So, this post is short and sweet.  Basically, we realized we don't have to use anyone's rules if they appear imbalanced or simply boring.  So, we've added an "official rules" section you'll be able to find by tag and collected on a new State of Play, aptly titled Wargate Rules.  Check those out to the right.

We've stated to catalog our "house" rules here for ease of use by our club chapters, and general accessibility for everyone.  Previously we kept this material in Battles Books, but those are limited to the physical copies each club possesses.  All house rules currently in effect will be placed on the new State of Play when it's season rolls around, so there will be some nice additions in there in a year or two.

We're not sure how far we want to take rules development - we certainly have always wanted to play games, rather than make our own.  Currently, our ambition extends to modifying existing systems to please our club members.  Our game rules are just as good as anything "tested" by billion-dollar companies.  However...you never know what the future might hold.  Just don't panic when the world starts to shake - it will probably be ok.

Dread Mandate Decreed!

Our first RPG campaign of 2014 kicked off last weekend!  We had a blast putting it all together, and tomorrow's Game Day is going to be off the hook!  You can check up on the current State of Play for Dread Mandate to the right!

This campaign will be a mix of investigative work and action.  It's Warhammer 40,000, so it has to be over the top.  Our miniature collection will be put to good use for this one, as well as a bunch of other never before seen material!  Now don't go looking for clues in hidden cases or shadowy nooks on the shelf...you might see something you can't unsee.

We'll focus primarily on the following sourcebooks:  The Inquisitor's Handbook, The Radical's Handbook, Disciples of the Dark Gods and Ascension.  A lot of alternate systems might be introduced from these books, so be prepared for the unexpected!  There will be a lot of room for progression in this campaign, and it will last a fairly long time - it's scheduled to run until late this year!

We're behind on filming Straight Sixes, but we're doing a segment tomorrow.  Be here no later than 1pm if you want in on this one!  We'll be publishing one more this month to account for our backlog, then we're back on track!  Hopefully the weather won't cut us off this weekend!  See you on Game Day!

Clan Strife and the Wargate

It's been a long, long road - but we've finally gotten to the point where Clan Strife is almost ready to launch as a seasonal game here at the Wargate.  I wanted to take a moment and delineate where the Wargate's coverage of our homebrew Legend of the Five Rings modification for Ronin (review available here) will fall, and what the other side of the blogspot will cover.  Both sites will feature Clan Strife material, and it will be exactly what you expect from both sites.

For one thing, Clan Strife has been linked to at the top of the page for over two years.  It will remain linked there for ease of access to club members.  It's not fully complete yet, but new units and rules will be cranked out at an alarming rate from here on in.

Here on the Wargate, we'll cover all of our club campaigns and projects.  The Clan Strife blogspot will serve as a living textbook that will update and change with the game.  There will be no opinion pieces on the Clan Strife blogspot, only developed rules for the game.

Island of Lies is the first game campaign we'll be covering, and it will be a doozy.  More on that next week, but for now - just know that the strife is coming.  Get your Rising Sun samurai models finished sometime in the next season for to feature here on the Wargate!  It's time to show off all those Wargames Factory models we've been building for so long.

I'm very excited everyone is on board for Legend of the Five Rings battles.  Even more, Skim will be running Legend of the Five Rings, 4th Edition as an RPG after Dark Heresy runs it's course.  The club should prepare for our proper dose of katanas, shuriken and shugenja this spring, because there's a wave of Japanese flavor rolling our way!

Airlift Into Demyansk!

Flames of War is burning bright here at the Wargate!  Going into it's second consecutive season, the WWII battle game has captured our imagination and hunger for knowledge.  The Eastern Front project has been very edifying, to say the least.  Now, we're going into The Demyansk Pocket to see what happens to our intrepid companies as they continue their tour of duty across Russia and Germany.

The real story of Demyansk begins with the encirclement of Kholm a month earlier.  Those interested in the actual events can begin their research here.  Though Russia historically won the war, in Demyansk the actual outcome is different.  Here, the Germans hold out for an entire year after our battle here is over.  Our regiments taking part in the battle around Demyansk will fight there - until Stavka reassigns them!

General Winter is a rule that's in effect for the campaign that simulates some of the effects of the extreme weather.  It makes it harder for certain actions to be accomplished, due to heavy snow, mud and the rugged Russian countryside.  This will add an element of urgency and danger to all maneuvers undertaken in what is sure to be a grudge-match campaign!

The State of Play is up!  We have some interesting stuff going on in the next few weeks as well, so make sure to stay up to date by visiting our FaceBook page!  We have a big meeting at noon on Sunday to discuss some new initiatives and this years' projects, so until then komrades - stay warm, stay alive, and I'll see you on Game Day!