2201 - This Week in Hobby
I really like Warhammer, post apocalyptic RPGs, and a book about IRL lightsaber duels.
I Really Like Warhammer
Like... Really like. 40K, Age of Sigmar, Kill Team. The worlds, the people, the stories. "Grimdark" appeals to the same part of my brain that naturally gravitates to dystopian fiction, the part of my brain that always wanted to see the coyote catch that stupid bird.
The mechanical crunch is everything I used to like about Magic: The Gathering, and none of what I found frustrating. It's a game that unapologetically asks for an entire Sunday afternoon to shift plastic around a table. It's a slow boat in an age of jet skis. Also that boat is filled with murderers. Also the jet skis are monsters. Also there's a monster under the water. Also the water is on fire.
Basically what I'm saying is that it's a Lake of Eternal Fire and Also Other Kinds of Suffering, yet somehow it's got a 4.6 out of 5 on Yelp. You look at the pictures and it's all smiling kids and beautiful sunsets and occasionally someone being eaten but they're smiling the entire time it's happening. It doesn't make any sense, and it doesn't have to.
It's a place that I love inhabiting. Not physically. Mentally. I'm not saying I want to have my skin flensed by a space elf. What I love are the kinds of stories I can tell about the people and the places and the armies locked in an eternal pointless struggle among the stars. Also timeless Egyptian space robots.
Occasionally I'm guilty of trying to spread this love slash curse slash affliction slash joy to my friends. I think that if you really love something, if it brings you joy, you should do everything you can to spread it to the people you hold dear. Maybe they'll bounce off it like so many bullets off the chitinous exoskeleton of a space bug. That's okay. Nobody has to like the things I like. But when you and a friend really like something together? That's the crucible where memories are forged.
Shiny Trash
Games Workshop
Knock knock hello, it is 1998 calling. Currently available made-to-order through the 3rd the classic Black Templars vs Dark Eldar box contains 10 space marines, 20 dark eldar warriors, a land speeder, and a heaping dose of nostalgia. https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/warhammer-40000-3rd-ed-miniatures-box-mto-2021
The hype train is now leaving the station for a refresh of the Craftworlds Eldar and a long-overdue refresh of Chaos Space Marines. They'll be packed together in a box set of mostly-refreshed miniatures. A release date hasn't been announced, but likely mid-January.
TTRPGs
Do you like post-apocalyptia? Do you like mechs? I mean obviously the answer is yes. I don't know why I'm asking. It's possible that you'll be interested in Salvage Union, by Leyline Press. The kickstarter strikes me as sort of a "hey, what if we ruined the planet with global warming and then had to live a hard-scrabble life wandering the wastes in our city-mechs?" If that sounds like your jam, you've got about a week to give it a peek. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/leyline-press/salvage-union
Have you ever wanted to be the wizard lovingly painted on the side of a van? What if he's riding a motorcycle? And also trying to recapture the escaped princes of hell and it's the 80s? Yeah me too. Hell Night promises to be all that, presented in a lovingly-illustrated art book with a system-agnostic setting and approach. They've got "Black Comedy," "Ultra Violence," and "Deep Lore" in bold, so I know I'm interested. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gavrielquiroga/hell-night
Board Games
Do you like Japan? Do you like trains? Do you like board games about trains and also incredibly detailed stock market simulations? Again, I don't know why I'm asking so many obvious questions. 18XX games are... Well. It's called the 18XX "genre" for a reason. It's not so much one game, as a style of games. If it sounds like something that might be your jam, you can take a peek at the kickstarter for Shikoku 1889, but don't sit on this one as there's only a few days left. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/joshuastarr/shikoku-1889
Programming Notes
I'm going to try publishing on Monday and see how it goes. That means we missed 2152 and jumped directly to 2201.
Fiction Friday won't be every Friday, but as and when I have something to share that's where I'll share it.
I've decided that I'd rather highlight the independent creators that are still tied to Kickstarter than try to take any complex philosophical stand about NFTs. I understand if you feel like you don't want to use the platform.
This is my first attempt at a new, organized format for the newsletter. What do you think? Let me know in the comments!
In Other News
Not strictly related to the things I usually talk about, but highly adjacent. A manual of techniques for LED Saber Combat, which Definitely Isn't Basically Light Saber Duels from Star Wars But IRL OMG You Guys. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/793775580/the-academy-of-the-illuminated-saber