Author: michael Page 12 of 63

The Raiders of Bloodwood

By

On 19th February 2023

In Book Reviews

I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Descent: Journeys in the Dark book The Raiders of Bloodwood by Davide Mana, published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.

So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.

I am going to try my best to not let these things cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.

What’s is Descent: Journeys in the Dark

Simply put Descent: Journeys in the Dark is good old fashioned dungeon crawler whose linage goes all the way back to Heroquest.

Based very much on the Doom board game published by Fantasy Flight Games, you can see influences from across the gaming hobby, with bits from Space Hulk and Lord of the Rings being identifiable.

It’s set in the world of Terrinoth, a setting shared with Runewars, Runeage and a few other games and RPGs published by Fantasty Flight Games.

It’s a high fantasy universe and you will recognise many of the tropes and races seen in other similar fantasy style settings. It’s not particularly unique, but it is fairly well developed and interesting.

Descent is the dungeon crawler game in that universe, with one player being the evil overlord of the dungeon and the others taking in the roles of the hero’s.

For a dungeon crawler, let’s be honest it’s one of the best out there, and the only reason it’s not in my collection is that Lindsay and Megan aren’t as enthusiastic about high fantasy as I am!

The Story

In this epic tale, the Uthuk Y’llan are sweeping across the realms of Terrinoth, killing, burning and destroying all in their path.

This demonic powered horde of killers is lead by a murderous Beastmaster, who has a plan, a plan to take the forest of Bloodwood and control the mysterious source of power at its heart, so that he can destroy Terrinoth and bring all the world under his control.

But fleeing the destruction of their home city, a pair of humans, an orc and a catfolk, band together, and with the aid of an elven hunter, are thrust into an adventure to save the Bloodwood and by extension the world.

Traveling from the world they know, into the realms of the elves, this misfit band, will see wonders and horrors, and have to dig deep into themselves and fight the monsters that are the Uthuk Y’llan.

Conculsuion

This is a classic, adventure story, the kind of adventure you no doubt have played around a table with D20s with bottles of Pepsi and bowls of Wotsits as a nipper!

And that is why this story is so good, because it just hits that sweet spot of nostalgia and with fantastic writing, it really brings to life the words on the page. I really did feel pulled into the story and found myself putting off sleep to just read another chapter!

The characters, get quite a bit of padding out, with perhaps not the deepest of backstories, but enough so that you get a real feel for them.

Whilst the synopsis talks about them having to overcome their differences, I found that they seemed to become friends rather quickly, helping each other and being comrades to people they met when thrown in the mud together.

They only briefly feel safe, and the story moves along at a brisk pace, just like your RPG sessions.

The characters are all really interesting, but I did finds myself enjoying the elderly teacher Emery most, his almost childlike wonder, as for the first time in his life he finds himself travelling in the wild and seeing things he had only read about in books was really cool.

I really hope we get to meet these characters again.

This is a wonderful book and I am gonna give it 4.5 stars out of 5.

I do worry that some people will see my reviews for Aconyte as overly positive, but to be honest, apart from one stinker, all their books have been amazing!

The Raiders of Bloodwood is out now as a paperback, ebook and audiobook!

The Magus Conspiracy

By

On 18th February 2023

In Book Reviews

I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Assassins Creed book The Magus Conspiracy by the wonderful Kate Heartfield, published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.

So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.

I am going to try my best to not let that cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.

So let’s crack on with a review then!

What is Assassin Creed

Assassins Creed is an adventure game franchise published by Ubisoft (One of my Edge of Empire Co-hosts used to work there as well I should probably mention), and depicts a millennia-old conflict between the Assassins, who fight to preserve free will, and the Templars who desire to bring around peace by controlling people.

The games take place throughout various historical periods, the original 2007 game being set in the era of the 3rd Crusades, and the latest game Assassins Creed Valhalla, set in the Viking Invasion of Britain, and the next game Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be set in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age.

The Story

This book takes place over about a decade before Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, starting in 1851 with the passing of Ada Lovelace, the genius daughter of Lord Byron. Confessing to her friend, the 19 year old acrobat Pierrette Arnaud, her concerns over technology and ideas she may have passed onto a shadowy mysterious correspondent, known only as the Magus.

Meanwhile, Adas childhood friend Simeon Price, is shipwreaked when the troopship, HMS Birkenhead, carrying him and his regiment to the Cape Colony runs aground. After being saved by a mysterious cloaked stranger, he decides to take the strangers advice, and desert from the army, and seek out a new brotherhood in Vienna.

When Ada finally passes away, she leaves Pierrette with instructions to seek out Simeon, having received word that he survived, believing that he may be able to undo what she has done and stop the Magus.

And thus our characters are thrown into a decade spanning adventure, as they encounter the Assassin’s and learn that Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted.

Conclusion

Look, I am always gonna look on an Assassin’s Creed book with a fairly high opinion as its one of my favourite video game IPs, I am currently replaying Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, so I may be a bit biased in that regard.

The Magus Conspiracy weaves through a period of history that in the UK, we kind of look back on as being fairly stable and an era of massive industrial revolution, but on the continent it was an age of upheaval, revolution and brutal repression.

This particular story, as with many Assassin’s Creed games, takes us through historic events, such as the 1853 attempted assassination of Emperor Franz Joseph and the Orsini Affair and has us encounter historic characters, such as Julius Jacob von Haynau, the Habsburg Tiger, John Ruskin and Lizzie Siddal.

This book feels like a love letter to the period and gives us a fantastic trip through parts of Europe as events such as the unification of Italy are in full swing, the Crimean war is underway and Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself as Napoleon III.

Crack is this book, stands on its own quite well, knowing a bit about the games, will help ease you in, but its easy enough to grasp the key concepts.

The characters are nicely well rounded and feel like whole people, and I am very much looking forward to the publication of the rest of the trilogy, to encounter them some more.

Now the Magus, well, I clocked who he was pretty quickly, which was a bit of a shame, but sometimes that’s just the way things need to work, after all, I was holding more facts than the characters were.

There is plenty of action here, and I loved the little decision that Pierrette made that meshes up with the real history and is an obvious place for a sequel!

I came away from this book, kinda hoping that Ubisoft do something with the characters and put them in a game, oh and meeting Ethan Frye and Jayadeep Mir again was a nice little treat!

Easy 5 out of 5 Stars!

The Magus Conspiracy is out now as a paperback, ebook and audiobook!

Daybreak Legacy

By

On 15th February 2023

In Book Reviews

I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Watch Dogs novel, Daybreak Legacy by Stewart Hotston, published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.

So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.

I am going to try my best to not let that cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.

What is Watch Dogs

Watch Dogs is an action-adventure game franchise, published by Ubisoft, and there have been three games published since 2014, the most recent being Watch Dogs Legion, published in late 2020.

Watch Dogs feature protagonists who are hackers working against criminal underworlds, corrupt companies and rival hackers.

The Story

Daybreak brings the story back to London and picks up in the aftermath of Watch Dogs Legion, and sees Olly and Ro from Day Zero doing work in London to protect people from the predations of criminal gangs, con men and the newly restored Metropolitan Police.

But their activities bring them to the attention of a new group, and they end up on the run after having their IDs changed, setting the authorities on to them and those they love.

Their friendly AI, Bagley, soon discovers that this new group may have an AI of their own, who is interfering in the business of the city. Changing hospital appointments, bumping people up the housing lists, little nudges that could have knock on effects for others who are in need.

Teaming up with Nowt and the hacktivist collective 404, Olly and Ro need to discover the aims of the new AI, and discover is Project Daybreak, truly is dead.

Conclusion

Ok, I am gonna start with the negatives, a couple of little things, that just bugged me, because its set in London, but these little inconsistencies, really spoiled the immersion.

When a characters weight is discussed, they give it only in lb, which isn’t something a British person would really do, they would give it in either kg or st, and it really was quite jarring.

And on a couple of occasions, the Tube is called the Metro, again, just not something that any Brit and especially a Londoner would do.

Sorry to start with the negatives, but they were only a couple of instances, but they really did, immediately stop my immersion in the story and I tried to figure out what the characters would refer to those in that way.

Anyway on to the good stuff, this isn’t a super high octane story filled with action, now you might think that’s not great for video game tie-in fiction, but actually, I think it worked rather well.

There is a fair bit of great action, but its in appropriate places, and works really well.

This book is a great examination of the moral and philosophical questions around the development of AI, and how they would impact on our society. Not AI as in machine learning and large language models such as ChatGPT we have today, but rather true AI that can think, imagine and make decisions all on its own.

The novel feels very appropriate as we moved into an era in which machine learning is accelerating and we will see it start to replace some roles in our society as we are forced once more to adapt to new technology.

The discussions had between the characters about the nature of life, and at what point can or should be accept the decisions of AI, and whether or not AI could become a master, if we give it too much power and control.

The conclusion felt more Star Trek than a video game, with the characters all seeking a peaceful outcome, rather than choosing violence.

The story is very interesting, very though provoking, very much so considering its source material, its deeper than it has any business being!

I have to award this book 4 out of 5 stars, and I very highly recommend it.

Daybreak Legacy is out now as a Paperback, eBook and Audiobook

Went To Suffolk

By

On 12th February 2023

In Blog

Last weekend, we took a flying visit to my parents in Suffolk.

We hadn’t been in nearly 3 1/2 years as a result of the Pandemic and it was nice to head down again, even if it was only brief.

It coincided with my brothers birthday, and he wanted to go to Cambridge for the day, so thats what we did, and we ate at an all you can eat buffet, which was interesting whilst on my current medication!

But it was a nice trip and I am looking forward to my next visit for my brothers wedding in April.

What I Am Modelling

I finished up the Ultramarines Lieutenants, all eight of them!

And then I painted up the Kâhl for the Leagues of Votann.

Plus an Einhyr Champuon too.

I then finished up a Broodlord for 2023 Resolutions Combat Patrol

Followed by a Lictor

After that I painted a Burnaby Battlestar Carrier for my UCM Fleet.

Plus the Titania Cruisers from the starter set!

Then I painted the Skink Priest for Warhammer Quest, which completes the heroes!

Alongside the Starblood Stalkers.

So what’s up next!

  1. Battle Sisters Squad x 10
  2. Ogroid Thaumaturge
  3. Killaboss x 2 & Stabgrot
  4. Drukhari Succubus & Wyches x 10
  5. Necron Tomb Blades x 6
  6. Imperial Fists Kratos
  7. Imperial Inquisitors x 3
  8. Kainan’s Reapers
  9. Blood Ravens Firestrike Servo Turret x 2
  10. Drukhari Reavers x 6

What I Am Reading

Making slow progress in Daybreak Legacy by Stewart Hotston still should have it finished in a day or two.

I listened to The Stones of Venice by Paul Magrs which is a great little story, and its always fun to hear Eight and Charley having lots of fun!

I am currently listening to Apocalypse by Josh Reynolds.

What Video Games I Am Playing

I completed Assassin’s Creed 2 in Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection

And now I am working on Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, which was a game I really enjoyed when I first played it!

I played a little bit of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, not much but a bit.

What I Am Creating

I published an unboxing video of the new Dropfleet Commander 2 Player Starter Set.

What I Am Winning

Won a copy of Dodge the Ball for PlayStation on Sunday

I also won a Parker pen from Octopus Office Supplies

And I won a copy of 11-11 Memories Retold from Bandi Namco.

And some cross stitch pafter a from The World of Cross Stitching, which have been given to my sister in law!

What I Am Buying

I bought a copy of the new Dropfleet Commander Stater Set from an old ATC friend who now sells models on eBay, as Extra Fox Games!

At Warhammer World I got a top up of paints and an Ultramarines dice bag!

And my missing Firestrike Servo Turrets from Forbidden Planet arrived!

I also bought myself the Celebrating Black Creators and Characters Humble Bundle, which snagged me Mafia III: Definitive Edition, Shadow Man Remastered, Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn, Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl, An Airport for Aliens Run by Dogs, Swimsanity, Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death and Semblance.

I also purchased Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Mafia II: Definitive Edition as it was super cheap on Green Man Games.

And ew my AirPods were so dirty, I ordered a tool to help clean them, and the amount of earwax I pulled out almost made me throw up!

I also purchased the last Land Raider Proteus I needed for my Imperial Fists list for the March event!

I also grabbed some Invader ATVs from Forbidden Planet, some for my Blood Ravens and the others for my Ultramarines.

Angron and Pippin

By

On 2nd February 2023

In Blog

We got rabbits, they are adopted from a rescue and so far are acting cute, but I know they are up to something.

I am sure these little gits are planning trouble, just know it!

They are brothers and are named Pippin and Angron Eater of Cables, and yeah, they are gonna be little shits!

Ok to be fair they are hella cute and when they snuggle up and cuddle it’s heckin adorable, but still, they are up to something!

What I Am Modelling

I painted up a squad of Templar Brethren and their Land Raider Proteus transport.

The Land Raider was finished first.

Followed by the Tenplar Brethern thenselves.

After that I painted up the Hobgrot Slittaz for my Orruk Warclans army, really hoping these guys might see use in a Chaos Dwarves army one day!

The Leagues of Votann Kâhl & Einhyr Champion have got to wait a little bit as I need a specific shade, and I am topping up paint in the 6th.

So I then moved on and painted The Crimson Court.!

I got the Lieutenants for the Ultramarines on the painting desk now!

So whats coming up next?

  1. Silver Tower Skink Priest & Starblood Stalkers
  2. Leagues of Votann Kâhl & Einhyr Champion
  3. Ultramarines Lieutenants x 8
  4. Battle Sisters Squad x 10
  5. Ogroid Thaumaturge
  6. Killaboss x 2 & Stab Grot
  7. Drukhari Wyches x 10 & Succubus
  8. Necron Tomb Blades x 6
  9. Imperial Fists Kratos
  10. Inquisitors x 3

What I Am Reading

My review of The Veiled Masters by Tim Pratt can be read here.

And I published a review of Garro: Knight of Grey on Edge of Empire, here.

I listened to Sword of Orion by Nicholas Briggs, which was a bit fun, nice to hear the Eighth Doctor take on the Cybermen.

I finished The Flower Path by Josh Reybolds and you can read a review here.

I am now reading Daybreak Legacy by Stewart Hotson.

What Tabletop Games I Am Playing

On Sunday evening I played a game of Carcassonne: Winter Edition, I came second, Megan played her usual excellent field game!

What Video Games I Am Playing

Started on Assassin’s Creed The Ezio Collection again to get that completed, streaming it as planned.

So I managed to get in 6 sessions, which are also on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/0WqKFY5LTHk
https://youtu.be/a2HlMrQzR2E
https://youtu.be/Yqz-9-ATQ58
https://youtu.be/zdMLbi0tfbM
https://youtu.be/zTTICrNeJLw
https://youtu.be/Xf6mOgDvvEg

Goldeneye 007 finally hit Gamepass on Friday and of course it’s now downloaded to both the Series S and Series X!

Had a quick play on Friday and oh my it’s good!

What I am Creating

We published the very first episode of Edge of Empire for 2023 on Saturday!

And on Monday, I published the first Battle Report of 2023, a match up between the Ultramarines and the T’au Empire.

What I Am Winning

I won a copy of The Jumping Muffin Turbo on Thursday!

And a book I won arrived, not my cup of tea, but will go in the Christmas present box.

And I won a copy of The Bat Quiz too.

And I won Woodle Tree 2 Deluxe on Saturday!

I also won a Bunch of Butts, not sure where from but, it’s gonna be something to give away next Christmas.

What I Am Spending

Had to replace my Vortex mixer as the one I bought in October just died, so Amazon replaced it with the same one.

Resolutions Update – January 2023

By

On 1st February 2023

In Blog

Okay so let’s see how far I have gotten in my first month in regards to the resolutions I made for 2023.

Build & Paint a 2000 Points Army of Drukhari – 0% Complete

I started this one by building the first unit of Wyches, Succubus and Helions for the Wych Cult detachment.

The first stage of the army is to build a Wych Cult, and this is the first 500ish points as a Combat Patrol.

Everything bar the Raider is built and primed and ready to paint!

+ HQ +

Succubus:
. Agoniser & Archite Glaive

+ Troops +

Wyches:
. Hekatrix: Agoniser, Splinter Pistol
. 6x Wych: 6x Hekatarii Blade, 6x Plasma Grenades, 6x Splinter Pistol
. Wych w/ Hydra Gauntlets: Hydra Gauntlets
. Wych w/ Razorflails: Razorflails
. Wych w/ Shardnet and Impaler: Shardnet and Impaler

+ Fast Attack +

Hellions:
. Helliarch: Hellglaive, Phantasm Grenade Launcher
. 4x Hellion: 4x Hellglaive, 4x Splinter Pods

Reavers: Grav-talon
. Arena Champion: Splinter Rifle
. Reaver
. Reaver with special weapon (up to 1 for 3 models): Heat Lance

+ Dedicated Transport +

Raider: Chain-snares, Dark Lance

Build & Paint a 500 Points Combat Patrol of Genestealer Cultists – o% Complete

I built the army in its entirety this month, I had to buy a second Mining Laser and Webber for the Neophyte Cultists.

But this is the list I am building.

+ HQ +

Acolyte Iconward: Warlord

+ Troops +

Acolyte Hybrids
. 2x Acolyte Hybrid: 2x Autopistol, 2x Blasting Charges, 2x Cult Claws and Knife, 2x Frag Grenades
. Acolyte Hybrid (Heavy Weapon): Heavy Rock Saw
. Acolyte Hybrid (Icon): Cult Icon
. Acolyte Leader: Autopistol, Cult Claws and Knife

Neophyte Hybrids
. 4x Neophyte Hybrid: 4x Autogun, 4x Autopistol, 4x Blasting Charges, 4x Frag Grenades
. Neophyte Hybrid (Icon): Autogun, Cult Icon
. 2x Neophyte Hybrid (Mining): 2x Autopistol, 2x Blasting Charges, 2x Frag Grenades, 2x Mining Laser
. 2x Neophyte Hybrid (Webber): 2x Autopistol, 2x Blasting Charges, 2x Frag Grenades, 2x Webber
. Neophyte Leader: 2x Autopistol, Power Pick

+ Elites +

Hybrid Metamorphs
. 4x Hybrid Metamorph (Autopistol): 4x Autopistol, 4x Blasting Charges, 4x Frag Grenades, 4x Metamorph Mutations
. Hybrid Metamorph (Icon): Cult Icon
. Metamorph Leader: Autopistol, Metamorph Mutations

Kelermorph

Everything is built and just needs priming and painting, it might be something I attempt all in one go!

Build & Paint a 500 Points Combat Patrol of Tyranids – 0% Complete

I build a Broodlord, that’s it!

Bring my Primaris Ultramarines to 2000 Points – 27.75% Complete

This month I painted up an Intercessor Squad and I finalised the list that I am aiming for!

+ HQ +

Primaris Lieutenant
. Neo-volkite pistol, Master-crafted power sword and Storm Shield: Neo-volkite pistol

Uriel Ventris: Warlord

+ Troops +

Assault Intercessor Squad
. 9x Assault Intercessor: 9x Astartes Chainsword, 9x Frag & Krak grenades, 9x Heavy Bolt Pistol
. Assault Intercessor Sgt: Astartes Chainsword, Heavy Bolt Pistol

Infiltrator Squad: Helix gauntlet
. 9x Infiltrator: 9x Bolt pistol, 9x Frag & Krak grenades, 9x Marksman bolt carbine
. Infiltrator Sergeant

Intercessor Squad: Bolt rifle
. 4x Intercessor: 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Frag & Krak grenades
. Intercessor Sergeant

Intercessor Squad: Bolt rifle
. 4x Intercessor: 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Frag & Krak grenades
. Intercessor Sergeant

+ Elites +

Bladeguard Ancient

Bladeguard Veteran Squad
. 2x Bladeguard Veteran: 2x Frag & Krak grenades, 2x Heavy Bolt Pistol, 2x Master-crafted power sword, 2x Storm Shield
. Bladeguard Veteran Sergeant: Heavy Bolt Pistol

Redemptor Dreadnought: 2x Fragstorm Grenade Launchers, Heavy flamer, Heavy Onslaught Gatling Cannon

+ Fast Attack +

Outrider Squad: Outrider Sgt
. 2x Outrider: 2x Astartes Chainsword, 2x Frag & Krak grenades, 2x Heavy Bolt Pistol, 2x Twin Bolt rifle

Suppressor Squad
. 2x Suppressor: 2x Accelerator autocannon, 2x Bolt pistol, 2x Frag & Krak grenades
. Suppressor Sergeant

+ Heavy Support +

Eliminator Squad: Bolt sniper rifle
. Eliminator Sergeant: Bolt sniper rifle
. 2x Eliminators: 2x Bolt pistol, 2x Camo cloak, 2x Frag & Krak grenades

Eradicator Squad: Melta rifle
. 2x Eradicator: 2x Bolt pistol
. Eradicator Sgt

Repulsor: 2x Storm Bolters, Auto Launchers, Heavy Onslaught Gatling Cannon, Icarus Rocket Pod, Onslaught Gatling Cannon, Twin lascannon

So this means I need to paint:-

  • Assault Intercessor Squad x 10
  • Bladeguard Ancient
  • Bladeguard Veterans x 3
  • Outriders x 3
  • Eliminator Squad x 3
  • Eradicator Squad x 3
  • Repulsor
  • Primaris Lieutenant

Get my Weight to Under 100kg & Sustain it Below That

My weight as of publication is 115kg.

I have tried to do a couple days a week of exercise using the VR headset to gamerfy it, starting with Synth-Ryders and BeatSabre, but never really got that done, so do better next month!

Publish One Battle Report a Month – 8.33% Complete

I published the first battle report, a combat patrol game between the T’au Empire and Ultramarines.

It was published by the skin of my teeth, but it got done!

You can watch it on YouTube and see the show notes here!

Stream Twice a Week – 7.69% Complete

Ugh

We did upgrade my painting face camera to an Elgato Facecam which is an excellent piece of kit!

But the first few weeks were a struggle and I had to basically cram it all into the last week and a bit, mostly with Assassin’s Creed 2

Complete my 2023 VideoGameGeek Video Game Challenge – 0% Complete

I have completed 14.4 hours on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

I have gotten up to Sequence 11 complete on Assassin’s Creed 2 in Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection

Read 40 Books – 10% Complete

This month I have read the following books

Get Edge of Empire Running Like a Well Oiled Machine

So far so good, the first show went out and was really good, the show notes were great and it was all done in good time!

We even successfully introduced a pre-show, exclusively for our Patreons, in which they can hear us *swear*!!!

A Bimonthly RPG Night With the Polycule – 0% Complete

Need to schedule one for February!

Combat Patrol Battle Report – T’au Empire vs Ultramarines

By

On 31st January 2023

In Battle Reports

On the planet of Grendasha Tertius, a war has been raging for the past few months as a force of the Ultramarines IVth company lead by Captain Uriel Ventris have invaded the once prosperous world to take it back from the T’au Empire for the Imperium of Man.

Leading a patrol into a devastated forge complex just outside the capital, Captain Ventris comes across a small task force of Tau lead by Sub-Commander El’Myamoto, the infamous Darkstrider.

Facing off across the ruins of the forge, the two sides open fire and begin a battle for dominance!

Army Lists

T’au Enpire

Sept Choice: T'au Sept

+ HQ +

Darkstrider

+ Troops +

Strike Team
. Fire Warrior Shas'ui: Pulse Rifle
. 9x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Rifle: 9x Pulse Pistol, 9x Pulse Rifle
. Gun Drone
. Shield Drone
. Support Turret w/ Missile pod: Missile Pod

+ Elites +

Stealth Battlesuits
. Gun Drone
. Marker Drone
. 2x Stealth Shas'ui w/ Burst Cannon: 2x Burst Cannon
. Stealth Shas'vre: Drone Controller, Fusion Blaster

+ Fast Attack +

Pathfinder Team
. Grav-inhibitor Drone
. 5x Pathfinder: 5x Markerlight, 5x Pulse Carbine, 5x Pulse Pistol
. Pathfinder Shas'ui
. Pathfinder w/ Drone Controller: Drone Controller
. 2x Pathfinder w/ Ion Rifle: 2x Ion Rifle, 2x Pulse Pistol
. Pathfinder w/ Rail Rifle: Rail Rifle
. Pulse Accelerator Drone
. Recon Drone

Piranhas
. Piranha: Piranha Burst Cannon
. . 2x Gun Drones
. . . 2x Gun Drone: 4x Pulse Carbine

Ultramarines

+ HQ +

Uriel Ventris

+ Troops +

Intercessor Squad: Bolt rifle
. 4x Intercessor: 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Frag & Krak grenades
. Intercessor Sergeant: Power sword

+ Elites +

Redemptor Dreadnought: 2x Fragstorm Grenade Launchers, Heavy flamer, Heavy Onslaught Gatling Cannon

+ Fast Attack +

Suppressor Squad
. 2x Suppressor: 2x Accelerator autocannon, 2x Bolt pistol, 2x Frag & Krak grenades
. Suppressor Sergeant

The Flower Path

By

On 30th January 2023

In Book Reviews

I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Legend of the Five Rings book The Flower Path by Josh Reynolds, published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.

So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.

I am going to try my best to not let that cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.

So let’s crack on with a review then!

What is Legend of the Five Rings

L5R as it’s often known is a fantasy setting for a series of card games and RPGs originally published by AEG, but now taken care of by Fantasy Flight.

It’s set in the empire of Rokugan which is heavily feudal Japan influenced, with a bit of other East Asian influences, like China and Korea thrown in as well.

It’s a fantasy setting with the usual fantasy tropes of goblins and rat men, but also oni and kitsune too.

The Story

This is the third of the Daidoji Shin mysteries and returns to the City of the Rich Frog as the theatre troupe Shin became patron of in the first book, face their opening night at the brand new Firefox Theatre, built to be the finest theatre outside of the Imperial Capital to Shin’s exacting specifications.

In his efforts to ensure success, Shin has recruited the most famous actress in all of Rokugan, Noma Etsuko, to lead the troupe since its original lead actress has left after the events of the first book.

But she doesn’t make fast friends, rather she makes many enemies amongst the cast and crew of the troupe, many of whom curse the day she joined them.

But as the curtain rises, and she walks the Flower Path of the Firefox Theatre for the first time, she collapses on stage, and subsequently dies backstage.

Knowing the killer must still be in the theatre, Shin seeks to uncover the mystery of her death as it soon becomes clear, that she had enemeies beyond the cast.

The clock is ticking and can Shin find the killer, before the show ends!

Conclusion

This is a bit of a slow start, there is a huge cast, and there is a big need to establish exactly how hated the victim is, so there is a lot of exposition as the great and good of The City of The Rich Frog descend upon the theatre for the first performance.

Yeah the initial start is a bit slow, but its overall well paced and very entertaining.

Daidoji Shin is a wonderful character, a Rokugan Sherlock Holmes but with his own distinctive qualities.

I would really recommend reading the first two books first, but thats not a bad thing because both Poison River and Death’s Kiss are excellent books!

It might not appeal to all readers, this is a book that I think would struggle to stand on its own as so much of the cast made appearances in the first two books and this story kind of expects you to have a lot of background knowledge already.

Anyway I loved this book and cannot wait for Three Oaths, the next in the series!

5 out of 5 Stars

The Flower Path is out now as a paperback, eBook and audiobook!

The Veiled Masters

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On 29th January 2023

In Book Reviews

I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Twilight Imperium book The Veiled Masters by Tim Pratt, published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.

So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.

I am going to try my best to not let that cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.

What is Twilight Imperium

Twilight Imperium is a much beloved strategy board game published by Fantasy Flight Games that’s currently in its 4th Edition.

First thing to know, it’s very long, my pal Drew, one of the owners of the amazing Meeple Perk, tells me it’s an 8 hour game as a minimum!

Secondly it’s an epic space opera, set in the power vacuum left behind by the decline and collapse of the Lazax Empire, as various races and factions vie for dominance and to become the new galactic superpower.

The Story

In this story we return to much of the recurring cast that Tim has developed over his previous two books, The Fractured Void, and Necropolis Empire, starting with Federation of Sol agent Amina Azad as she rescues a Hacan diplomat being held on suspicion of the murder of a close friend of his.

Very quickly other factions are drawn into the investigation specifically Captain Dampierre of the Barony of Letnev and Felix Duval of the Mentak Coalition.

Soon a vast galaxy wide conspiracy is unveiled, with secret unknown forces seeking to destabilise the major factions and plunge them into war.

Conclusion

I was really looking forward to this book and it did not disapoint, Tim Pratt writes a wonderful space opera and makes the world feel so full and alive, taking snippets from the game and building them into deep and meaningful lore that feels so fantastically well estabalished.

This book isn’t dependent on reading the previous two entries, but you are missing out if you haven’t.

This story is really good and the story is extremely intriguing a real page turner and the morally ambiguous characters add so much realism to the story, with there being no straight up good guys, with everyone having their own agenda.

This book is one I would highly recommend for sci-fi fans, and is so much more than simple tie-in fiction, but is really the kind of thing, I could see nominated for a Hugo award.

To be honest, if Aconyte don’t win a Hugo in the next decade, I would be very surprised!

I have to give this amazing book, 5 out of 5 stars!

The Veiled Masters is out now as a paperback, eBook and audiobook!

Prepping for Rabbits

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On 24th January 2023

In Blog

Megan spoke to me and Lindsay the other week about how she has been feeling since we moved, anyway long and short we are adopting a pair of rabbits!

Currently known as Harvey and Hudson, they are being renamed Perrigrin Took and Angron Eater of Cables!

So this past week and a bit has been taken up with the task of rabbit proofing, rabbits are utter hoodlums and will chew any fucking thing.

So all the cables are being sheathed in protective coverings, the board game units are getting doors for the bottom shelves and a couple of extension cables are going into boxes.

Tomorrow Megans mum is coming round and the cage will be built!

I like bunnies, but they are pains in the bum, just so bloody naughty!

What I Am Modelling

I started the week by painting the Lord Castellan for Shadows Over Hammerhal and his trusty Gryph-Hound.

Followed by the Darkoath Warchief, I love the whole Darkoath aesthetic and I tell you, if they ever made a whole army of Darkoath, I would be on it like a tramp on chips!

After this it was the Excelsior Warpriest and his mini Gryph-Hound.

After that came a trio of Aelves, a Loremaster, Sorceress and a Black Ark Fleetmaster.

After this came the last two Silver Tower heroes, the Mistweaver Siah and the Tenebrael Shard.

And I got the Grey Seer painted up!

All I am left with now for Warhammer Quest in terms of Heroes is a Skink Priest, but I need a few paints for that, so it’s gonna wait a week or too.

I then quickly painted up a trio of Havana Destroyers for the UCM fleet.

And finally I got finished a Blood Angels Repulsor!

So what’s coming up next week?

  1. WHQ Skink Priest
  2. Templar Brethren x 10 & Land Raider Proteus
  3. Hobgrot Slittaz x 20
  4. Leagues of Votann Kâhl and Einhyr Champion
  5. The Crimson Court
  6. Ultramarines Lieutenants x 8
  7. Battle Sisters Squad x 10
  8. Ogroid Thaumaturge
  9. Killaboss x 2 & Stab Grot
  10. Drukhari Wyches x 10 & Succubus

What I Am Reading

Finished up The Veiled Masters by Tim Pratt, expect a review in the next couple of days.

I also read and finished Garro: Knight of Grey by Jim Swallow which was really good, if a bit bittersweet, a review will come this week!

And now I am onto The Flower Path by Josh Reynolds, a book I have been looking forward to for a while!

In terms of audiobooks, I listened to Sanguinius: The Great Angel by Chris Wraight.

What Tabletop Games I Am Playing

Played a game of Horus Heresy against Graham on Tuesday, it was a close game and I must admit my Dreadnought killing his Sicaran Punishers was beautiful!

A lot of it came down to my army having a lot of units which just gave up kill points and Graham managing to grab First Blood.

What Video Games Am I Playing

A little bit of The Witcher 3 and that’s it.

What I Am Winning

Another piece of shovelware, I know they are crap but the dopamine hit from winning is cool, anyway now I have The Jumping Muffin for PlayStation.

I also won a copy of Assetto Corsa Competizione for the PS5, which was nice, and certainly not shovelware!

And on Friday I won a copy of Eternal Threads on Steam!

Won my first book since the return to comping, My (Extra) Ordinary Life by Rebecca Ryan.

Not my cup of tea, but right up Megan’s street!

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