The Tales From Westruna blog is now live

The title says it all, the blog that will be supporting the books is now up. At present it has the Art Gallery, Contact Page, Current Book Progress Tracker and Release Schedule up. 

Also a small preview of the Wanderers Tale is also up, the link to the blog is below:

http://talesfromwestruna.blogspot.co.nz

The Book Information Post

There has been some interest in my upcoming book release. So i thought i would put together a post with the aim of providing some general information about the book, the setting and the overall plan. 

The Book
The Book is called the Wander's Tale Esmor, and it is an adventure book. Simiply put it follows two young adults as they try to reach a place called Mymt Lagoon in a Kingdom called Esmor. The reason they are dong this is simply to see the Lagoon. 

Though i am a fan of the Fantasy genre i do get a bit tired of how high the stakes are set in fantasy books. Often main characters have to contend with vast threats, and failure means the end of their world as they know it, and sometimes the literal end of the world.  While i don't mind those kind of stories i feel that for them to be effective readers must be given a reason to care about the world at stake, and given that this is the first book in the setting readers will have no reason to care at all. 

In my previous post about this i mentioned that i was dissatisfied with my current job, and i was able to draw inspiration from that for this book. Esme, a young female mage in training, feels fed up with  being told to constantly study and train in order to become a mage. She has never  set foot outside the city she was born but is told constantly of what lies beyond the city walls, for Esmor (the name of the region) is a vast, mostly unexplored and wild land. One day she decides sod it, she doesn't care about studying any more and decides to go to Mymt Lagoon, a lake in the far east of Esmor. 

This who idea came from my dissatisfaction with my job, and the fact that i can see dense bush, hills, and snow capped mountains from where i work. It wasn't an uncommon desire for me too look out the widow, see those snow capped mountains and wish that i could just get up and walk there. I was able to take this desire and make a book from it, and hopefully in doing so accurately express that desire in a way that is interesting to read. 

The book will be released on Kindle for Ebooks and via a website called Createspace for those who prefer physical copies. Links to both will be posted to this blog on November 21st. 

The Setting
I have mentioned the name "Esmor" and so is should explain the setting. Esmor is the name given to one of the five regions, and the human kingdom located in that region, of a continent called Unith on a planet named Westruna.  The other four regions are called: The Heartward Isles, The Northlands, Rulun and Drackmoor. Unith wont be the only content but i thought it best to start of simple and expand when i need too. The same goes for the races, which are :Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Orcs. 

On top of this there is a place called the Skittering Dark; the name given to the vast network of Tunnels, caves and caverns the run underneath Westruna's surface. The Skittering Dark is not a place anyone of stable sanity would go willingly.

I am hesitant to provide anything more than only the barest of descriptions for the setting, as i prefer people to learn about it from reading the books.  I am not a fan of unnecessary exposition so there is room for readers to figure things out for themselves.

The Plan
I plan on trying to get one book and one short story out per year. The short story will be related too the previous book and will be free, with the aim of building audience goodwill and expanding the setting.

After the Wanders Tale, and the short story Her, will come a book called The First War. While the Wanders Tale is a more light hearted adventure book the First War is a book of war. It covers the first war ever waged on Unith and is already looking to be a far longer book than the Wanders Tale. 

On top of this i have a Blog, Facebook Page and email address set up for the books. None of them are live yet but on release day the Tales From Westruna Facebook Page, Blog and Email address will go live. The FB page and Blog will have information about upcoming books, a release schedule, a progress tracker for the current book and commissioned artwork for the setting to help people get a better idea of what Westruna looks like.

The release schedule and progress tracker are part of my desire to be as transparent as possible. Often you will be waiting for news on upcoming book only to get periodic updates from the author, or you will want to know what comes next after a series has finished only to no announcement on the matter for some time, and the release schedule and progress tracker are my ways of countering this. 

Thats all for now. This blog will remain up through out as my separate Wargames Blog, and i hope to return to doing content for it ASAP.  Until netx time.
Rex

The Dice Odyssey on Hold

There has been a distinct lack of content on this blog for the past few months. This is mainly because i have been diverting all my free time to writing my own series of Fantasy novels.

I have always had a love for the fantasy genre, and after job dissatisfaction reached its limits i decided to start writing my own fantasy books with the aim to one day become a full time author. My first book is nearing completion and i hope to have it published by December 1st this year, with other books to follow.

This is why this blog has been forgotten as of late,  all the time i would spend working it has gone to my book and setting. I hope that, once the first book is published, i will have some time to come back and do more narrative battle reports and similar content, but that wont be until December/January. Until next time.
Rex

Final Hour of The Apocalypse Ruins Kickstarter

The Apocalypse Ruins Kickstarter, produced by Printable Scenery, is in its last 60 minutes and has passed 100k. For those who don’t know the Kickstarter gives you files which you can use with your 3d printer to create your own wargaming and Table Top RPG terrain.

While this Kickstarter has already broken every expectation and they could easily reach 103 or even 105K at the rate they are going. If you have ever wanted to back this KS, now is the time, you can find the link to to Kickstarter here

The 9th Age Vs Kings of War: Army Building and Rules at a Glance

While I have yet to play a game of 9th Age i have been looking at it closely to see if it is anything like WHFB 8th edition, a game that i greatly enjoyed. I have however watched a game of 9th Age, and will be playing a game next week, and what i will say is from what i have seen my hopes are high, it looked like 8th edition with tweaks, not the tweaks you would expect from a ETC group either. These tweaks seem to improve the game and make it better. I have had a chance to look at the army lists for many of the races in the game and so the main point of this post is to focus on the army building options of 9th Age and compare them to the main competitor, Kings of War.

I was lucky in that of the two full army books the 9th age team have produced so far one was the Wood Elves, so imagine my surprise and delight when i opened the PDF and saw this.

The (Diverted) Path to Call to Arms: Elf Space Pirates

Progress on the Autumn Elves was non existent this weekend as all my time and effort was diverted to completing my Warhammer 40k Army, Eldar Corsairs. This sudden change was due to me being asked to get the army ready for a show game, and since its mostly done i thought i may as well post the pictures of it for all to see.

The Corsair Prince

The Path to Call to Arms: Long Weekend Edtion

Despite having a Four Day Weekend progress on the army was slow, this is solely down to The Witcher 3, a Fantasy RPG video game, getting a new expansion on May 31st, however some work was done. All the Characters for the army are completed and work as been started on the first regiment.

The Path to Call to Arms: Herder of All Trees

Work has progressed on the Autumn Elves this weekend with a now decided upon Colour scheme for the Glade Stalkers as well as the assembly and painting of my Meirce Miniatures Tree Herder.  

The Tree Herder was always the planned enter piece of the army and i am happy that, after being painted, he fulfills that role nicely. 

Paid in Full: KoW Narrative Battle Report

Part One Here

Yevin Wynwarin sat astride his spectral mount as the column of troops moved on by. They weren’t the most professional army the Asrai every mustered for war and in truth what was currently marching past him was whatever spare troops they had in Winterdell Hall. Three days back a messenger from Taegen Wynwarin’s host had showed up at the Hall’s gate, exhausted and bearing grim news from his brother, his army had been bested by the humans who had also recovered the Waystone Fragments Taegen had been sent to retrieve. Upon hearing this Yevin railed what troops he could gather on short notice and set out at a forced march in the direction the messenger had said Taegen went. That had all been five days ago and he had still to catch up with his brother.

It was a testament to how deep he was lost in thought that he didn’t hear the sound of footsteps coming closer and was startled when a voice said.

“Yevin, I have something”

He turned and saw his mage Oacenth looking at him with an amused expression on his face.

“What” Yevin snapped at the mage, partly out of irritation at the mage’s amusement but mostly due to his embarrassment at being so lost in thought.

“I don’t often catch a Wynwarin by surprise, I was just savouring the moment”

“Are you done”

“Almost”

“Oacenth…..”

“I found their trail”

This stopped Yevin’s next words dead on his tongue. A moment passed before he asked.

“Where, and how?”

“We are on the right trail” He affirmed “I know this because at least one person leading that host was thinking. The Green Lady left a trail only those who practice Asrai Spell weaving could follow, whats more we are only a day behind them”

Yevin’s annoyance at the mage’s slight against his brother vanished at those words.

“When, today?”

“Yes” he replied “Whats more a steady pace will suffice”

“Can we take another day of forced march?”

“Yes” Oacenth replied with some reluctance. “But I cant vouch for our fighting condition when we arrive”

“But I can” Yevin said, with confidence ringing in his voice. “They are my troops, I trained many of them myself, they can do it”

Oacenth nodded “I will give the order”

As he hurried off to the head of the column Yevin smiled grimly to himself, removed his antlered helm from his mount’s saddle and donned it. It had become a symbol of his family, one that he and his brother had started and so when Taegen first saw him at the head of his relief force it would be with his helm on, sunlight reflecting off the iron antlers and atop his spectral mount. And then the Wynwarin brothers would rout these humans, together as one.

Haera, leader of the relief forces’ Wildwood Rangers regiments had just set the pace for her units as she heard the sounds of heavy paws behind her and turned to see lord Yevin come up behind her on top of his mount. As he drew up to her he spoke.

“Warden, did Oacenth give you the news?”

“He did sir” she replied

“Good, I have a task for you and the Rangers you command. When we reach my brother’s host I want you to stay close to him. His messenger had nothing good to say about the state of his remaining forces or his own condition. Guard him Haera, it is all I ask”

“It will be done my lord”

“Good, I thank you”

“Sir”

“Yes”

“Are the rumours true, was the Hunt banished?”

At this Yevin paused before dismounting and motioning her in close.

“I tell you this because you are among my most trusted officers, only Oacenth has been told before now. Yes it is true, the Humans managed to banish the hunt.”
She stared into the eye slits of his mask, all the unspoken implications of that sentence flowing between them like a fast moving stream. After a long pause she spoke.

“Sir, nothing will happen to your brother. This I swear upon my Oath as Ranger”

“Thank you Haera, your words reassure me greatly”

She saluted as he turned, remounted and rode on ahead. In truth his words had done far more harm then he could have ever known. To her the Hunt was sacred second only to Isha and Kurnous themselves and for mere humans to have, have banished them was the greatest blasphemy they could have committed. As she began marching her she could feel the rage building inside her, Yevin had nothing to fear, the humans however had no idea what was coming for them.

By the time Yevin saw his brother’s host they were down from the snowy mountain glades and into the hilly plains that edged the human’s domain. Yevin might have been impressed that so battered a army had managed to pursue its victorious opponent so far but three things stopped that. First was the ragged state of his brother’s army which was far worse than he had been lead to believe. Secondly was the sight of the fully resupplied and reinforce human army that faced his brother’s force across the hilly terrain and thirdly was the sight of not three but seven Waystone Fragments scattered across the ground throughout the battlefield. This last point would have puzzled Yevin if not his entire being had been focused on reaching his brother.

Printable Scenery's Apocalypse Ruins Kickstarter

Disclamier: I know both Matt and Nick, the people behind the Apocalypse Ruins Kickstarter. They are my friends and as such any argument i make as to why you should support this Kickstarter would be suspect, after all my bias is clear. So i wont make any arguments, instead i will simply show you some of the terrain produced thus far by 3D Printable Terrain.

The Path to Call to Arms: Autumn Elves

What with Call to Arms 2016 coming up in August i deiced to prepare new army for the event, or in this case a new take on a old army. 

One of my few grips with KoW is that there is a lack of variety in the army lists, and that while the Elf list is good it doesn't feel like a WHFB Wood Elf list, despite some units that definitely fit the army.  So i decide to take the few units from the Elf list hat could be labeled as Wood Elf units and i made a list from them, the army list that i created is what i would expect from a n army of lightly armoured Elves who fight in primarily Forest or Wooded terrain. 

1 Horde of Kindred Archers w/ Heart Seeking Chant

3 Glade Stalker Regiments

2 Hunters of the Wilds Troops

1 Green Lady's Wild Guard w/ Brew of Strength

1 Treeherder

1 Masterhunter w/ Sabre Toothed Pussy Cat

1 Elf Mage w/ Inspiring Talisman, Fireball (10) and Bane Chant (2)

1 Green Lady

The Resolve of Humans: KoW Narrative Battle Report

The wind moaned through the tops of the trees and brought with it a breeze that slide through the trunks and swirled the snow on the ground. A figure stood next to a large shape at the top of a slope that looked down on a mountain glade. Off in the distance past the naturally formed glade was an another clearing in the forest, this one man made and home to a large human army. The camp was as obvious an infected wound on pale skin and the glow from campfires painted the nearby trees in an orange light. The lone figure let out a slight sigh as he observed the camp and wondered about the humans huddled around those fires. Why were they so eager to reject their natural roots and try to banish the cold? Was not it natural for the high places of this world to be cold, and was that not doubly true in times of winter? True there were few even among his own people who go bare skin in these conditions but even the most fragile among them would not seek to burn wood and branch just to fend off nature, and if there were those among them who could not survive them they died for this was way things worked in nature, the endless cycle of life, death and rebirth. But no, humans rejected all this and did all they could to survive and this thought caused the figure to turn his antlered head and spit onto the ground. At this movement the large shape raised its wedge shaped head looked the figure.

“It is nothing old friend” said the figure in a slightly deep, musical voice. “I was merely thinking on the nature of humans and those thoughts left a sour taste in my mouth”.

At this the head seemed to dip slightly in a gesture of agreement and the antlered figure gave a light laugh and said. “Come, we must discuss with the others how tomorrows battle will be fought”. With that the figure grasped hold of a jutting protrusion just behind the shape’s head and vaulted onto its neck, the shape then stretched out in full to reveal its full draconic form. With a roar the dragon leapt from the ledge glided down through the glade and over the human camp. As the sound of panicked voices rose to meet it the dragon beat its wings once, twice and was soon far past the camp and turned back the way it had come, flying in the direction of its own lines. 

Spellweaver Uldreiyn Carzana stood on a small hill near the Wood Elf camp and looked at the figure standing across from him. The Green Lady, for that was the only name she had ever given him, stood with her back to him with arms clasped at the small of her back and her gaze looking out over the camp towards the mountain glade where the battle would be fought on the morrow.  She was average height for a elf, and average in a lot of other ways as well except for the small antlers that emerged from her raven black hair on the sides of her head. If it weren’t for those then she could have been mistaken for any elf, but those antlers not only marked her out from the crowd they also her symbol of what she was. For the Green Lady was the envoy of nature itself, she was personified nature of the Wood Elves, their twin halves given flesh with one being elven and the other being of the wild.  He was startled out of his reive when she said.

“He is coming”

At once a large dark shaped passed over the hill to be followed a moment later by a slight tremor through the hill and then footsteps. Striding onto the hill and into their sight came the figure of Taegen Wynwarin, his long black hair falling in a disorganized mess down his bare back. He came to stand before the two of them and withdrew the antlered great helm from his head, holding it under his left arm as he addressed them.

“They are there, resting. I could see their camp from well across the glade and make out their sentries just back inside their treeline”

“Humans” sorted Uldreiyn in disgust “Clumsy, brutish and obvious. Tomorrow we will defeat them”

“Arrogance is the general’s bane Spellweaver” Said the Green Lady “Though they may be lesser to us in many ways they still pose a threat. If not, then how else did they come to occupy so much of the land and press on our boarders?”

“Breeding my lady” he replied “And those damm dwarves teaching them the secrets of forging”

She tilted her head slightly at this, gave a faint smile and replied “Perhaps”. Then turning back to Taegen she asked.

“Did you see Waystones?”

“I did” He replied “And for all their failings no doubt the humans have seen them as well. There will be a battle, neither side will allow the other to make off with those fragments without one”

He unsheathed his knife and squatted down. “We will favour the left flank and the central hill” He drew a quick sketch of hill and its surroundings in the snow. “Uldreiyn you will be in command of the forces near the hill, My Lady you will command our Eternal Guard units”. At their nods he went on.

“I will command the Hunt from the top of the hill. I will only commit myself, Ohan and the Hunt when battle is joined and the Human’s attention is focused on our units. The Hunt’s appearance will shatter their resolve and terrify any human units who see them in fight. After that we will have them”

He stood and brushed away his sketch with his boot. “I agree with you both”. At their quizzical looks he carried on “The humans are inferior to the Asrai in many ways but we must not underestimate them. We will win this battle but I would prefer that as many of our kin live through it as possible” At their nods he donned his helmet, the metal a perfect fit to his head and face.“Rest well, we march at first light”

At this he strode back to the waiting form of the dragon and vaulted up behind its head. Once he was seated the dragon took to the air and soon both dragon and rider were lost to the night. As he turned to go the Green Lady spoke.

“Their Resolve Spellweaver, of all the things you may doubt them on never question their resolve". As he walked down the hill he replied.

“How can they have resolve when they are dead, my Lady”

Why Narrative Battle Reports Matter and the Golden D6

For a while now the only type of battle reports i have been willing to write have been Narrative Battle Reports as i found i liked the story telling potential of battle reports far more than reporting on what happened in the game from a rules point of view. Also it gives me a excuses to create stories in settings that i have come to cherish.

Although GW may think they are done with i still have many tales to tell of battles and wars in the WHFB World

Another reason why i do Narrative battle reports over standard battle reports is that there is a trend online to brush aside the lore and settings of war games in favour of pure rules analysis, when was time you saw lore mentioned in a codex/army review? This issues is addressed in a far more elegant and detailed post on the blog "The Good, the Bad and the Insulting and i recommend anyone reading this post to go and give it read. By writing narrative battle reports i hope to rekindle interesting in the lore and settings of the wargames we play, because lets face it its the settings and lore that makes the factions and armies we like and don't like.




At current count i have published 10 narrative battle reports:




Cowardly Elves: Warhammer Fantasy

The Forrest Must be Fed: Warhammer Fantasy 

A Pyrrhic Victory: Warhammer Fantasy 

Let Xenos Kill Xenos: Warhammer 40k

Feet First: Firestorm Planetfall

Operation Blindstrike Part 1: Firestorm Armada

Operation Blindstrike Part 2: Firestorm Planetfall 

For Dramos: Firestorm Armada

A Lesson in Soldiering: Firestorm Planetfall

The Hunt Begins: Warhammer 40k

And i have plans for many more ranging across a variety of different settings and scales.  In addition to this i am now also writing Narrative Battle reports for the Online Hobby Magazine The Golden D6. My relationship with this magazine and its editor started when "The Forrest Must Be Fed" was republished in issue one. If anyone is interested in checking out issue one or any subsequent issue you can follow the link in the side bar or this one.

I do have more narrative battle reports in the works so if you have enjoyed the ones i have produced so far then you are in luck. Until next time.

Rex

The Mantica Story: The God War

Gather round friends gather round and listen to the tale of our fair realm. Last where i left off the powerful elven mage Calisor had been instructed  by the Celestians Oskan to build a enchanted mirror to aid the elf in winning the heart of his love Elinathora of the Primovantor. However in aiding the mage Oskan warned Calisor not to allow Elinathora to view past when the golden bird sings. Now my friends see what comes of ignoring such a cryptic warning.

Forest Shamblers prior to The God War

The Greenest of Ladies: Kings of War Tactica

One of my favorite units in the Elf Army is the Green Lady, and so i am surprised that i don't see her appear in more Elf lists. The amount of support she can give your army is well worth the modest cost of 200 points. Admittedly of the bat she looks like a unit to pass on but upon closer examination she becomes a auto include, for me at the least.

The Lady in question

Heal is a powerful spell in Kings of War. For those who don't know Heal is a spell that, for each successful "hit" on a friendly unit reduces the amount of damage that unit has suffered  by 1, and Elves get a additional bonus because the Elite rule effects this roll so you can re-roll Heal rolls of 1. The Green Lady makes this even better by having a Heal Value of 8, one of the highest in the game. On top this she can fly meaning your Heal spell has a effective range of 22 inches which should cover all but your most far flung units. 

The Mantica Story: The Beginning

Mantica is the name given to the planet where Kings of War is set. All the factions, magic items, special characters and units belong to that world. As a WHFB player when i first made the move over to KOW i didn't pay much heed to the setting as i was still trying to cling to the Warhammer World pre End Times. Now, many months on, i have decided to take a good look at the lore of my new favorite Wargame.

Mantica

Rediscovering Motivation

It has been quite some time since my last post to this blog, and the main reason for that was lack of motivation. After WHFB was ended and the abomination, also know as Age of Sigmar, took its place my desire to blog dwindled. Even after discovering KOW i didn't feel the need to post about and was content to simply just play the game.

What changed my mind was the creation of a solid KOW community in my local area. In the Greater Wellington region of New Zealand Kings of War has emerged as the THE massed regiment table top fantasy war game and a few new blogs have popped up to discuss the game, all authored by local wargamers (Jerkhammer and Council of War specifically). All that, combined with KOW rising to become my number 1 wargame, has motivated me to restart this whole blogging thing again.

So what can you expect going forward?

- Narrative Battle Reports: I love writing Narrative Battle reports and as i am currently getting  in at least 2 games of KOW in a week it shouldn't be hard to find materiel to work with, plus it gives me a chance to explore the lore of Mantica, the setting of Kings of War.

-Tactics: With about 150 games of KOW (yes, i play that often) i feel like i now understand the age, the units and play styles well enough to start doing tactical articles for KOW.

-Model Reviews: Having seen the as yet unreleased Salamander Models for KOW i really want to do a full Mantic Model KOW army. Until then i will be looking at Mantic Kits that catch me eye and do a full review for them.

-Hobby Updates: What with my Elves almost done its time to start a new army, so why not document the new armies progress online on this very blog.

-Lore Posts: The setting of KOW (Mantica) hasn't got a decent look at so far, which is a shame because their is potential in that setting. Being the huge Fantasy Fan that i am i will be doing a series of posts looking at the lore of Mantica and the background of its many factions.

-Occasional GW Updates: Even thought i don't play their games or care for the lore anymore i still cast a eye their way to see what they are doing and to see if they have even taken the first step to redeeming themselves in my eyes (they haven't yet). There will be no rage this time, only a strong undertone of disappointment.

The above list only covers the things that i can think of right now and i am sure that i will be posting about more that whats listed above. Until next time.
Rex