Blackstone Fortress – Broggan Brother Proxies
Here’s a poor picture of quick paint jobs on some proxies for the retinue characters the Broggan Brothers in Blackstone Fortress. These guys are House Bharteth – Law Enforcement Ogre/Ogryns I was going back and forth between those and these. I went with the House Bharthen models because I liked their look just a bit more. Some passable free options are here, and here.
Follow-up on mini painting priorities
Back in November I revamped my hobby priorities. No more hoarding unassembled models… So now, six months later, I have a bunch of assembled, unpainted models. Which, I actually feel better about that a bunch of stuff still in the box. I can touch and see them, even throw them into a game if I want (sure, that doesn’t happen much, unpainted minis! Eww!). Since I just finished painting everything (except for a few expansion stragglers) for Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower, I don’t have any really pressing hobby demands. So here’s my updated, current priority list: Games workshop display pieces I have a number of nice GW minis that aren’t necessarily ones I’d use in a game. They are however, very cool, in my opinion. These are the minis I’d be sad if I never painted, even if they’re not particularly “useful”. Gotrek, Felix, Grombrindal, and Jakkob Bugmansson XI. Double…
What I’d like to see in the next Warhammer Quest
I think it’s universally agreed that the most magical part of Warhammer Quest 1995 is the Roleplay Book. That’s what I’d really like to see in the next iteration of Warhammer Quest. Since the ’95 version, the game has shrunk. Monster, treasure, actions, and adventure types have been reduced. And that’s OK for the most part. But eventually the beauty of running a GM-less game that nearly rivals a full roleplaying experience has slipped away. I’d really like to see a Roleplay-like book make a comeback. The Soulbound Ulfenkarn source book is somewhat along those lines. It provides a lot of flavor and adventure prompts. I’ve flipped through my copy, it’s very cool. Game Master (GM) needed though. One of the best parts about Warhammer Quest 1995 is that everyone can be a hero, no GM required. And, I’d say that we’re due a new installment: We’re currently in the…
Underappreciated YouTube channels
There’s no shortage of gaming content on YouTube. Here are some of my favorites: https://www.youtube.com/@52Miniatures https://www.youtube.com/@RandomMakingEncounters https://www.youtube.com/@magicdicemanufacturing https://www.youtube.com/@MattsHobbyHour https://www.youtube.com/@hammerthebacklog https://www.youtube.com/@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring https://www.youtube.com/@TheBattlinBarrowGaming https://youtube.com/@thedungeondive
New priorities
I’m trying out a new hobby priority: No More Unassembled Models! My M.O. has been: I’m thinking about cutting out a lot of middle and get models ready to paint or play more quickly. I’m not sure how much value there is for me to have unassembled models that I can’t do anything with except hoard like dragon treasure. In fact, maybe that’s what I’ll call pre-usable models. Dragon Treasure. A dragon can’t spend gold, drink out of jeweled goblets, or wear filigreed armor. And I can’t play a game with models on sprue, or unbased lead. So I kicked it off without really thinking about it this past October. I had two spooky unassembled Blitz Bowl teams that, checks-watch, I’ve had for years! Time is literally flying. I asked myself: do I assemble both now or save one for next year? In my generally morbid mindset, I replied: What…
Blackstone Fortress Additional GW Models
This is the single greatest reddit comment ever and I’m saving this post for posterity. Minis beyond the box expansions… byu/forlorn_bandersnatch inBlackstonefortress It looks like you’ve listed all of the ones that I know about. There are 3 army-of-one characters: deathwatch watch master, eversor assassin, and solitaire 5 retinue characters: Jokaero weaponsmith, (2) Broggan brothers, Skarburn zapdakka, and Penitent 707 2 new enemy types: master of possession, greater possessed The models that GW used for each of the ‘Extra’ characters: The Jokaero weaponsmith, Deathwatch watch master, eversor assassin, and Solitaire are all as-is models from their own stand alone kits for 40k. Penitent 707 is one of the three Arco-flagellants from the Sisters of Battle limited edition box set, which are different from the models in the stand alone Arco-flagellant box set. That being said, any Arco-flagellant model should do – it’s not like any of them have a number…
3D Print Skarburn Zapdakka for Blackstone Fortress
One of the fun things about Blackstone Fortress is that you can have NPCs tag along. Now this is something I haven’t worked into a game yet, but I really want to give Skarburn Zapdakka a try. A brief blurb about Retinue Characters is available here: https://www.warhammer-community.com/2019/12/03/blackstone-fortress-building-your-retinuegw-homepage-post-1 If you can get your hands on old White Dwarf Magazines, or the 2019 Blackstone Fortress Annual, you’ll have all the details. You play a mission to “unlock” the new characters, then they can hop into your outer space adventures. Skarburn Zapdakka appeared in the October 2019 White Dwarf. I’m sure GW a Flash Git model can be procured, but there aren’t many available for less than $30 US. Though I do really like the “Flash Git with Targeting Squig“. So instead of dropping real money on a real model, I went with an amazing 3D print from Lost_Heresy: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/ork-big-shoota I think it…
Combat Arena!
We got a new (old) game on the table last night: Combat Arena. It’s the sci-fi successor to Gorechosen. Blackstone Fortress fans will recognize the Escalation heroes. However, this game was released in limited locations. Mainly available from Barnes & Noble in North America. We only had two players, looking forward to getting a full 4 player game going sometime. My favorite thing about the game is that if something bad happens to you, generally something else good happens. It makes the competitive (rather than cooperative) nature of the game less harsh if you take a dozen wounds!
Check out this awesome UR-025
From reddit, painted by bunface123.
Blackstone fortress terrain
Also check out Cursed City Terrain. One of the keystone differences between Blackstone Fortress and other Warhammer Quest game family is that combat employs cover. To indicate cover, lines are printed on the game tiles. Here’s a video that explains it. The gentleman in the video is non-coincidentally the designer of most of the terrain that I use. I REALLY like using the terrain. Without it, I guarantee I would forget about cover effects every single time. I really need those vertical elements for me to notice them. I haven’t inventoried every single tile so there may be an enormous map that requires more terrain than I have. I’ll deal with that if it comes up. Me – 2023 The tiles have three themes: tessellating geometrics, rocky crystals, and sci-fi elements. I’m not particular about when I use them, and many are tile-specific. There are also some blocking hex elements…