The beginnings of the Throng.

Current painted lineup...

6 Ironbreakers
5 Thunderers
1 Warrior

Skyrim Update I

So, skyrim.

7 hours in the last 2 weeks... (I should get Raptr, or something if I want to keep this gaming blog up just for the amount played alone)

I am now level 14. Mostly in Destruction and Conjuration; I tend to blow things to bits with fireballs then prod them with bound weapons (with a mind to capture souls as soon as I figure that all out).

I sided with the Empire! And that decision was rewarded as I tend not to like what I hear about the Rebel leader over time. Though this may or may not be propaganda created to and for the imperialist overlords I now massacre 'true Nords' on a daily basis.

My Thane is still with me. As she has been from pretty much the start. I'm yet to really use her in any complex way, she just follows me around and acts as a pet who can carry things in the long run. It seems a shame that this mechanic hasn't been either expanded very well or hasn't been explained. Maybe I am missing something. when I get the urge I may have a look online and see what others have said. Also I am happy to take views in the comments below.

Current plans.

1) Rid Skyrim of the rebel skum.
2) Go to Winterhold and train with the mages.
3) .... Nothing yet.....

Skyrim

For Christmas I received Skyrim.

It's great... Nothing New there. It seems as though everyone who has played the game likes it.

I can see why. It has flaws, bugs and crashes galore. But wasn't that the case for all those wonderful games in your gaming-youth that you love and cherish in your memory? Well, yes. And if you think otherwise you are probably fooling yourself. Gaming has always been - if nothing else - an exercise in enjoyment punctuated by regular crippling bouts of frustration. (Or in some cases, frustration punctuated with all too brief periods of enjoyment). I can remember getting Star Wars Galaxies on the day of release. Enjoying everything about it... except the fact that my computer forced me to look at the ground when in cities if I wanted to... Well... Move.

Still. My memory of Star Wars Galaxies was a good one.

Skyrim ain't nowhere near as craptastic as the experience I had of Star Wars Galaxies. I have had my fair share of crashes; something like 6 in, as Steam tells me in it's 'achievements' section' 13 hours of gameplay. I have had one wincingly frustrating bug; when sent to a dungeon with a specialised task to run through closing gates REALLY QUICKLY.. The game acted like the doors were permanently closed until the bug was realised and the game restarted - 20 minutes wasted. But still, the game has promise and is full of enjoyment.

So far my Wizard-Swordsman-Good Talkin'-Alchemist-Bloke Karath has a house, has travelled across half of Skyrim encountering interesting people, monsters and loot. He has the ability to wield seemingly immense power but at the same time be challengingly fragile. The is so much in this world that he (or is that I) can explore and more importantly WANT to explore. That I don't know what on earth I am doing here typing this blog post.

Expect pics and thoughts as they come on here in the near future.

Painting: Breaking Into The Hobby, Part 1

Because I am lazy.. tired... and running out of time. Here is a great post for all those people out there interested in starting a wargaming hobby.

"Painting: Breaking Into The Hobby, Part 1: "So, you've just picked up that shiny new box of miniatures, and you're ready to start painting them, but you aren't really sure what this whole "painting miniatures" thing is all about in the first place. You may have some questions that are holding you back - "What paints do I use? What do I have to do to prep my miniatures? What kind of brushes do I need?" - and so on. No need to fret, my fellow hobbyist, that's what this guide is for."

"

Painting again!

Ok, I was never all that good at painting all those years ago. I tried, and from what I can tell from my later attempts (i.e. a force of 8 white lions) I was starting to get the basic ideas right, but never seemed to do anything that achieved... Well, something worthy of pride.

Enter my first attempts for 5-6 years... Some Dwarf Ironbreakers!

I purposefully chose to start with the rank and file members of this unit so if I made a total hash of it they could be hidden somewhere to the back of the unit to be removed from the tabletop in shame as the initial casualities of any game. But in the end they were... well, satisfactory. Quality control of some areas could have improved somewhat (as can be seen on the shield of the single pic) but the overall effect is good enough I think.

These were done at the beginning of last week, I enjoyed it so much I totally lost track of time! Next up its either going to be basing a load of slayers (which are almost painted, again by someone else) but just need that one finishing touch, or the command group of this Ironbreaker unit.

And it starts again.

"Right, time to stop messing around Anthony. Its time you got back into tabletop war gaming." Said the voice in my head.

This voice seemed unable or unwilling to respond to pleads of "But, its too expensive!" and "But, that part of my life is over, I don't want to go back." It persisted. And I cracked open the old box (Games Workshop delivery box, circa 1994) and arrayed the small pitiful, largely unpainted host I had with me in Heald Green.

From 20th October 2010

Ha!

So here is the line up.

3 Drunken Dwarfs (unpainted, and undercoated in white, which was the style at the time)

1 Lord (unpainted)

1 Cannon (unpainted)

12 Warriors including command (mostly unpainted)

10 Thunderers including command ( mostly unpainted)

9 Ironbreakers including command (unpainted)

11 Miners including command (unpainted)

1 Runepriest (exceptionally painted... by someone else. A story for another time.)

1 Pony and cart (unpainted)

...And some High Elves, prancing around like they were southern pansies from somewhere around the Southampton region.

I have more... In the world. But no idea where. So this is it. The start. Lets see how the painting and collecting will go.

Considering the state of my painting area... Probably not too well!

From 20th October 2010