AdeptiCon 2012 Development

Colossals Diorama by Privateer Press: Final Update

2012-04-17T17:05:00.001-05:00

As we come into the final stretch leading up to AdeptiCon, what is a diorama involving a train heist without a train?

The Trollbloods certainly picked the wrong train to hijack, as this one is packed full of Winter Guard escorting a pair of Conquests. Worse yet for the Trollblooods, with the train stopped on the tracks, the Khadoran forces can easily prep and deploy their colossals directly into the fray.

The boxcar is admittedly somewhat plain. Essentially a box on wheels, the Khadoran military aesthetic is not known for ornamentation. Simple and reliable are the watchwords here, with exposed timber and riveted metal bracings being the primary aesthetic. The boxcar was assembled and partially painted since the open doors allowed the interior to be seen. It is far easier to paint without the roof, rather than trying to squeeze a hand, brush, and paint through a tiny door.

The transport flatbed holds the Conquest as well as stowed materials and tools needed on campaign. The stowed Conquest was converted into a neutral pose by taking an extra left leg and mixing pieces of a left and right leg to achieve a squatting position.

The second Conquest has already been offloaded, leaving behind the chains used to secure the colossal as it is being transported.

The train engine was envisioned as a hybrid of a real train and a Khadoran military bunker. The boiler section was built around a 7” section of a tube leftover from a roll of vinyl, then skinned with thin plasticard to get the appearance of curved metal plates. The cow catcher (and by cow, we mean the pieces that used to be a cow) in the front was made with the scratch-builder’s two standbys: math and swearing. A paper version was made first as a proof of concept and as a way to visualize the angles and shapes. However, making sloped plates meet at angles with a consistent line at the top and bottom was far more maddening than initially realized.

The engine was built primarily with various thicknesses of plasticard, cut, bent, and drilled into submission. However, a few parts were done with some shortcuts. Ben Misenar digitally designed the wheels in a mere fraction of the time it would take to do just one by hand. Once we had 3D prints of the wheels, it was a simple matter to make molds and cast as many wheels as needed for the project. The forward section of the boiler is a dose of resin poured into the bottom of a spray can, and the smokestacks are empty paint bottles. A few pieces of brass and aluminum tubing and some copper pellets completed the shopping list, and now we have a brand new train engine!

This will be the last blog post concerning the diorama, so be sure to come by the Magnolia room at AdeptiCon to see the finished piece!

Building The Tower of Orthanc - Part II

2012-04-16T21:13:00.000-05:00

Back for its fourth year, the AdeptiCon Lord of the Rings tournaments give players the chance to test their skills against each other throughout Middle-earth. Yet not all is battle and iron...witness the power of Orthanc!

This beautiful model will be on display in the Cypress room all weekend long, come look...yet gaze not overly long...

Welcome back to another installment of, Building Orthanc. If you were wondering, why lower whacker drive has not been finished, it is because the construction crews have been working on Orthanc... This will be the final update before its premier unveiling at AdeptiCon, Friday April 20th.

I give you the completed tower before it faces the paint brush. I can proudly say, not counting Lego versions, that this will be the 4th built recreation of this movie icon according to a definitive Google search.

The balcony can fit a standard 25mm based model, perfect for overseeing an army before it marches to war. Thankfully the entire piece is big enough that the spikes, spires, and edges will not get in the way of moving models or baggy sleeves. Bonus points awarded for climbing a model to the top.

The top 10 inch section was cut so that it is removable and can be transported and stored easily.

This pinnacle of blue foam measures in at a final 42.5 inches tall with close to 1000 individual pieces cut and glued. At this point Plastruct should give me stock options...

"Together, my lord Sauron, we shall rule this Middle-earth. The old world will burn in the fires of industry. Forests will fall. A new order will rise. We will drive the machine of war with the sword and the spear and the iron fist of the Orc." The Two Towers

To complete the fire and ash of Isengard, here is a sneak peek at some additional terrain for the final tournament table. I hope you can all stop by and check it out in person as well as all the other great terrain for the Lord of The Rings Events. I cannot wait to see some games with this terrain; I think it will be a real treat for all fans.

- Jeremy Williams
Lord of the Rings Championships Tournament Organizer

Enter the AdeptiConstruct!

2012-04-14T00:06:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed something missing in all of the news leading up to the tenth anniversary of AdeptiCon...what exactly is the exclusive swag bag model? Almost two years in the making, the AdeptiConstruct was originally envisioned by artist extraordinaire Nicolás Giacondino for AdeptiCon 2011, but a lack of time and proper resources prevented it from being completed. Shortly thereafter, it was realized that the AdeptiConstruct would in fact make the perfect model to help us celebrate ten years of dice and destruction...production began in haste!

Standing roughly 5 inches tall, the AdeptiConstruct has arrived! The first 1000 preregistered attendees with an AdeptiCon 2012 Weekend Badge will receive this monstrosity in their swag bag! Chilithium Fusion Cell not included.


Sculpted by The Ravages of Time \| Painted by Tom Schadle

Click to enlarge photos.

Colossals Diorama by Privateer Press: Update

2012-03-30T20:13:00.003-05:00

The Privateer Press Colossals Diorama will be on display all weekend long at AdeptiCon 2012. You will find this beast residing in the Magnolia Room along with endless hours upon hours of intense Warmachine and Hordes gaming. Stop by at any point to witness this truly colossal project in all it's glory!

Since our last update, the hobby team has been working on the stunning diorama display, and they have the photos to prove it. While Stuart Spengler set up the final touches for the main board and has started to lay down paint, Leo Carson completed the Khadoran Village, and Meg Maples lent her invaluable assistance to get the armies painted to the finest quality. This is a no-holds-barred confluence of effort, and we hope it shows.

Click on the image to the right to see a work-in-progress shot of the table being painted. The major ground features have been blocked and water effects have just been laid over the riverbed.

The Khadoran village is fully painted and ready to be demolished by cantankerous Dire Trolls. See how these buildings were made on the Privateer Press Hobby Blog.

For a job of this proportion, no tool is quite so efficient as the airbrush for achieving a smooth, consistent basecoat. For the Trollbloods, the models were separated into two categories: mostly skin and mostly leather. The former was based with Trollblood Base, the latter with Bootstrap Leather. The Khadorans were based with Khador Red Base. A layer of zenithal highlighting was then applied over the initial coats.

Here we see the Trollblood forces painted by Leo Carson and Meg Maples. Once completed, this diorama will feature a total of eight (!) huge-based models and hundreds of points of infantry, beasts, and warjacks. In order to get the models to stand without bases, each model has a pin painstakingly inserted through its foot.

Here’s the new plastic Blitzer being backed up by several War Wagons.

That’s all for this time! Keep checking back for more updates.

Colossals Diorama by Privateer Press at AdeptiCon 2012!

2012-03-08T12:00:00.032-06:00

For the last two years Privateer Press has unveiled a new diorama at AdeptiCon that illustrates an iconic event from the WARMACHINE and HORDES world. When preparing for AdeptiCon 2012, we knew we wanted to feature perhaps the most exciting models we’ve yet produced: the mighty colossals.

This project began life, as many Privateer projects do, within the hallowed walls of our conference room. While there was no end of exciting possibilities discussed, two items in particular determined the final concept. First, we wanted to feature a climatic battle between WARMACHINE and HORDES factions. Second, we decided the central theme should revolve around a great train heist. After much deliberation over the details, these two ideas were shaped into a rough plan. This year’s AdeptiCon diorama features a Trollblood army, fronted by the mighty gargantuan Mountain Kings, assaulting a Khadoran supply train as it transports two of the hulking Khadoran Conquest colossals through a rugged mountain pass.

With this concept firmly in mind our hobby team, led by Stuart Spengler, began the construction process. First, Stuart created a rough small-scale mock-up of the scene as it had been described in the initial planning meeting. The mockup allowed Studio Manager Ron Kruzie and Creative Director Ed Bourelle the chance to review the overall composition of the scene in three dimensions. After some small adjustments, it was time for real construction to begin!

The board is composed of high-density insulation foam. Stuart began with a 4´ x 4´ base and then built up the rugged mountain terrain with several layers of foam.

Utilizing all manner of sharp tools, Stuart and his assistant Leo Carson-DePasquale carved stone faces into the foam. As appropriate when using multiple bladed instruments to wreak havoc, this task was driven by the use of blaring heavy metal music.

Once they had completed the basic cliff shapes, the hobby team began the long process of detailing the carvings with liberal amounts of filler, sand, and other construction materials. This is also when they started building the rail system, using plasticard and balsa wood.

Keep an eye out for updates on this epic project, and be sure to stop by the Privateer Press events area at this year’s AdeptiCon to see the fully completed diorama!

- Privateer Press Staff

Themes Explained: An Inside Look at Killzone Design #3

2012-03-07T13:54:00.003-06:00

Reposted from A Gentleman's Ones (02.27.12).

As stated previously, this series is designed to offer a peek behind the curtain, and to illuminate our collective thinking about the current state of Special Operations: Killzone as we run up to AdeptiCon.

Themes: During the process of revising the old, ambitious, but challenging version of Killzone in this last year, we stumbled square into a problem that, to my mind at least, seems utterly indicative of the tension fundamental to the fun and fluff v public stresses imposed on the peculiar nature of Special Operations in the 41st millennium. Killzone is, unerringly, a fluffy game –positively inviting characterful attention to individual teams, sportily indulging the desire to craft carefully small numbers of models, and yet also working extremely well when brought into the greater public sphere. Those basic impulses do not always sit well next to one another. Check the internet if you doubt me.

Also please note that I did not mention the word “competitive” above for a good reason. To be clear, Killzone can never be competitive as such. I mean, we have rewoven a game notorious for its intuitive approach to “balance” and then asked enthusiasts to play said game in a manner it was absolutely never intended. When played in the basement with your mates, these issues should never be a problem, see any Standard Bearer column to confirm; however, in the setting of a public event like AdeptiCon (even among players fully aware that they are playing a system in a manner it was never originally intended, nor designed to withstand) there are stresses of balance and propriety looming like an 8 foot bio-engineered monstrosity in the corner.


Blood Angel Assault Marines move into position.		Chaos Raptors countermove to protect the objective.

Themes, then, represent this tension writ boldly –as they attempt not only to partake sportingly in an already threadbare system but also to make it even more wildly evocative and, well, rich in vitamin fluff. Put simply, a “themed” Special Operations force ignores one of the “Standard Restrictions” discussed in the last post, and there are four basic themes:

Armored Might: This theme allows you to ignore the standard restriction and to field additional models with 2+ Armor saves in your team.
Death From Above: This theme allows you to ignore the standard restriction and to field additional Jump Infantry models in your team.
Behemoths: This theme allows you to field a Special Operations team composed entirely of models with 3 wounds. ouch.
Swift As The Wind: This theme allows you to field additional models that are Bikes, Jetbikes, or Cavalry/Beasts in your Special Operations Group (you must pick which exactly). Furthermore, any Bike or Jetbike model may add the Skilled Rider USR for an additional 5 points per model.

Any one of these comes off pretty saucy at 250 points.


Space Wolf Terminators prepare to enter the fray!		A Blood Angel Assault Team flanks the objective building.

Initially, we worked out a series of costs and counterweights designed to offset the effect that breaking restrictions (if even only slightly) might have for a particular team. It was a morass. Every step we made to offset a broken theme caused another problem somewhere else down the line. We were sinking in this soup. The solution we found is wonderfully simple in its brilliance. We called it the “in for a penny, in for a pound” mechanism.

In short, if one wants to further break the game mechanism by opting for team that breaks a standard restriction designed to introduce a bit of balance, then one most embrace that break fully. For example, my “Armored Might” themed SW team has more than two 2+ saves… thus the entire team must have 2+ saves. While that might sound like a wild boon, it is also a very costly and serious impediment. In a 250-point team, I can bring about 6 models to the table. That’s rough, particularly as we have stretched mission objectives in manner that really taxes a team’s resources. Playing this team is extraordinarily tense, as their elite nature stands directly in the forefront, and I feel the cost of each model with each and every roll of the dice. Great stuff, really, and just the thing. At the end of the day, I can’t power game this list because its greatest strength is also a rather telling handicap.

Likewise while playtesting, we were most concerned by the “Death from Above" theme, in which the entire team must be Jump Infantry. We were concerned that this might swing the game too dramatically; again however, we very quickly discovered –on the back of three consecutive maulings- that the boon is also an impediment. In other words, teams that rely entirely on “jump” also forfeit a broad number of other weapons options that make the team organization a very fickle monster in the field.

All of which is to say that the themes work exactly as they should, and that “balance” as an issue therein seems to have a kind of self-correcting equilibrium when a boon becomes a burden as well.

What a wonderful thing.

Find out more about Special Operations: Killzone at AdeptiCon 2012 over at b. smoove's blog, A Gentleman's Ones.

Building The Tower of Orthanc - Part I

2012-03-02T12:06:00.001-06:00

One day while sitting around, a faint voice crawled over the ground. Not down the chimney, not quite like a mouse, but a booming whisper that soon shook the whole house. This tell tale heart could not be forgot.

A look in the kitchen, a look by the TV, but no source could be found for this mysterious clamor. A creak of the door, and a look in my room, where a dull glow shown through the gloom. A slab of black lay on the desk, menacing and brooding, hummed the muffled voice.

A lift of the lid, and that dark palantir opened. A dark burning eye that grabbed my innards. I saw a tower of white, with a dead white sign, it read Westin; erupt with red flame. And from that thick smoke, the Dark Lord Jamie Welling did spoke, “Build me a tower, worthy of AdeptiCon...”

That brings us at to the project at hand; the great construction of our time. With Jamie’s words echoing in stone, I warmed up my foam cutter and set to creating a tone with that great big blue foam; and the forging of the two towers.

Build me a tower, worthy of AdeptiCon...

This being the first of a series of terrain articles that will feature this dark tower and its hard journey to the brutal table tops of AdeptiCon’s Lord of the Rings tournaments. So whether you are a Rings player, first time attendee, or AdeptiCon veteran, I hope you enjoy the photos and stop by that weekend to see the tower in action.


A beautiful model of Orthanc.		Orthanc - Games Workshop Style.

I went about looking for some inspiration and only found a couple actual models of the movies tower of Orthanc. One being seen above, from lotrscenerybuilder.org, basically an awesome Weta Workshop replica, and the other a Games Workshop store model.

I quickly realized that I had two options with this project; 1) Buy a new car to fit a 5 foot tall model, or 2) make the model smaller. So with amateur Microsoft paint skills I went about shrinking Orthanc to a more manageable level.

I knew that this had to stay big in eye appeal yet still be playable for a tournament setting. So I set on a nice round number of 3 feet for the central core and side towers. The hardest part by far was achieving the tapered obelisk design. Having only a classic woodlands scenic foam cutter, I built wooden frame panels that I could then make crisp, even cuts.

I have built many terrain items over the years and have developed my own concept on the future of skirmish terrain, height. This third area of design is often sacrificed for better storage, playability, etc on the table. I believe that to keep taking terrain farther and better, this frontier of making the realism grander and larger is required. Think Warhammer 40K tables with 10 storied, half-ruined buildings or the mines of Moria with so 3-4 cave/tunnel height variations and levels for battling. Not being the biggest Star Trek fan in the world, but that awesome chess board they play on sums up my inspiration.


The tower takes shape.		Another view of the tower structure.

The base measures around seventeen inches square, while large, it will make for a fun table top setting. It can also serve as an eye blocker if your opponent is having a bad hair day.

With the core built, the next step was the most iconic part of this tower, the spires. I knew they had to be one piece each and razor sharp, no bumps or divots. Thankfully I got these squared away on a table jig saw before moving to Chicago; as well as sanding them down to nice points.


The top of Orthanc as depicted in the movie.		The top of Orthanc as depicted at AdeptiCon!

With the shrunk down version of my tower, I am able to separate it into 4 sections of 8 inch paneling to wrap my head around better. With that, this is the first 8 inches of the towers paneling and the frame work for the next section.


The base of the tower.		The entrance to Orthanc!

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for next time when I tackle the spiked buttresses of the higher panels. An unexpected turn might occur too, when I think about cutting off the top 16 inches for easier transportation, storing, and painting.

If you can’t wait, check out my blog, Chef of War for lots of other terrain projects.

- Jeremy Williams
Lord of the Rings Championships Tournament Organizer

Telling Better Stories, Period

2012-03-01T14:04:00.002-06:00

This year, I open the Warhammer 40K Combat Patrol update with a statement for everyone to think about and comment on. Every Warhammer 40K player has a story about that one time...

Aside from any story involving a Shokk Attack gun, most players can recall at least one game where a model defied the dice gods and proved that no unit is to be overlooked. This is what I hope the AdeptiCon Warhammer 40K Combat Patrol tournament embodies.

Five year ago, Combat Patrol began as a free-form tournament at AdeptiCon. A handful of players banded together to enjoy a series of games, while avoiding the infamous ‘Gladiator’ event. Loosely based off the 40K in 40 Minutes format, a tournament event was born that focused on small scale actions in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The rules were heavily exclusive on units, focusing on troops and less on the super heavy tanks of the 41st Millennium.

The Next Era of Combat Patrol
For better or worse, the Combat Patrol event needed to align with new rules and codex alterations, while preserving the original nature of the event. Based off of attendee feedback, this year marks the removal of much of that restriction seen in the past. These changes are meant to balance the basic codex options when played with in the confines of the Combat Patrol missions (4x4 table and a 400-point army restriction).

What is New?
2+ saves, limited psychic powers and monstrous creatures, oh my! Quantum shield, shock prowls and reinforced rams are also allowed with modifications (they can only upgrade an armor facing to maximum of 12).

What is the Same?
The maximum armor value cap of 11 on non-troop transport (12 for dedicated). 2 wound maximum on non-troops and non-swarms. No HQ requirement. No unique or special characters.

AdpetiCon is just around the corner...can’t wait to hear the stories from all 180 Combat Patrol attendees this year!

Download: AdeptiCon 2012 Warhammer 40K Combat Patrol Rules

- Tyler (Chubs)
Warhammer 40K Combat Patrol Tournament Organizer

Team Building: An Inside Look at Killzone Design #2

2012-02-28T11:35:00.001-06:00

Reposted from A Gentleman's Ones (02.24.12).

This series of posts, apart from getting the gears engaged as we spin into AdeptiCon and the Killzone events featured therein, is designed to offer insight into the machinations that formed Killzone into the hearty and robust mechanism that it is currently. More than simple promotion of the game itself, this series hopes to present a kind of RaI blueprint for how we got from the broad (and largely unmanageable) Kill Teams dynamic suggested in previous 40K editions and loosely suggested in the contemporary Battle Missions book, to last year’s Special Operations: Killzone ruleset, and finally to the extraordinarily fun, rounded dynamic that we have conjured for AdeptiCon this year.

This first installment covers some ground that might already be familiar to enthusiasts of Joe and Skarvald’s timely and sporting blog (Wolves for the Wolf God. Go check it out if you are unfamiliar), but the topic is worth visiting once more. Although the series might cover some expected territory, the idea –simply- is to discuss what on earth we were thinking.

For those of you not versed or familiar, there are a number of basic restrictions that act as the foundation for a standard team -250 points. These restrictions are essential and act as the leveling skeleton upon which all teams are built. There are a few simple guidelines that I will not discuss here for practicality’s sake –so please have a gander at the larger ruleset for the whole picture.

This first set of restrictions act almost exactly as they did in the original version last year.


Imperial Guard Stormtroopers take cover from Orks.		Space Marine Scouts protect an critical objective.

Standard Restrictions: a team may select a limited number of models with the following attributes:

0-2 models with a 2+ armor save
0-2 models with 3 wounds
0-2 models with 3+ invulnerable saves
0-2 models with Jump Infantry designation
0-2 models with Bike/Jetbike, and/or Cavalry/Beasts designation

So a valid team could have two Chaos Terminators, two Raptors, and two Chaos Bikers… and so on. This mechanism helps curb potential abuses and also keeps the spirit of Special Operations teams appropriately aligned –genuinely spec ops stuff, prepared for all situations. Likewise, these characteristics stack, so a TH/SS Terminator fills both a 2+ armor save and a 3+ invulnerable slot.

That solved the basic problem of potentially imbalanced team structures, but there was another lingering issue with armaments and upgrades. Thus the inspiration for a second set of restrictions intended to remedy a very complicated and troublesome problem; we wrung our hands about this one for weeks and weeks and weeks during the revision process. Previously, we had suggested that there could only be a limited number of weapons upgrades for participants in any given “squad”; however, this left quite a few armies with basic troops choices that already enjoyed a kind of MEQ upgrade equivalent (looking at you Eldar Fire Dragons). Without heavy redaction to each and every weapon option in each and every codex, our first stab at remedy would be ineffectual.

I think Joe gets credit for this one.


Sapce Marine Scouts take up position near a bulkhead.		An Imperial Guard Operations Team advances towards an objective.

Weapon Restrictions: Killzone teams identify four basic type of non-standard and limited weapons. In any mission, a team may field the following number of non-standard weaponry:

0-3 Template - designated Template
0-3 Incisive - with AP2 or lower
0-3 Suppressive - with 3 or more shots
0-3 Heavy weapons - designated Heavy.

Once again, these characteristics stack, so a Lascannon fills both an Incisive and a Heavy slot. Likewise, models with variable weapons and weapon types count 1 for each available or potential characteristic (thus a Chaos Obliterator tallies 1 Template, 1 Incisive, and 1 Heavy regardless).

In this manner, we have addressed the kind of weapon on the table, and thus circumvented the weapon upgrade consideration entirely. The basic pricing of a basic weapon for any given race still operates in relation to all the others (for better and for worse), and in the same gesture potentially formidable weaponry takes the proverbial knee before upsetting all semblance of balance at such a limited points value. Result.

With those basic guidelines, you have the heart of the matter.

Find out more about Special Operations: Killzone at AdeptiCon 2012 over at b. smoove's blog, A Gentleman's Ones.

Inquiries From the Underhive

2012-02-27T15:54:00.003-06:00

I received an interesting question via email today in regards to Redemptionist gangs in the tournament. Specifically:

I know that you cannot recruit new fighters as per the tournament rules. But Redemptionists have this special rule:

The death of the faithful only serves to fuel the belief of the devout and may attract new Devotees to join a gang. So as Redemptionists fall others take their place. After a game in which a Redemptionist of any type dies (11-16 on the serious injury chart) roll a D6 for each member of the gang who died. On a 4+ the gang gains a Devotee armed with a knife for free. Additional equipment may be given to the new Devotee using the gangs stash or income.

Does that rule still apply or not?

That's a really great question and one I haven't been faced with before. So now I'm faced with a difficult ruling to make in regards to this issue.

On the one hand, I can see how this fits with both the established Redemptionist fluff and the prevailing "horde strategy" of many players. The title of the rule in question is "A Gathering of the Redeemed", which assumes the mob holds some form of macabre revival in an effort to recruit more followers after one of their previous fighters dies. It's an interesting rule even outside the tournament setting, as it allows the Redemptionist player the ability to utilize their biggest strength - keeping a large contingent of fighters on the board in the late stages of campaigns, when most other gang's manpower is depleted through injuries, capture and deaths.

On the other hand, I can easily see how this could be viewed as unfair in a tournament that limits recruitment. First, it can be seen as a backdoor recruitment process, circumventing the overall rules set. Second, an unscrupulous player can exploit this rule to their decided advantage.

Redemptionist players running a Mob benefit greatly from this rule, as their Leadership score is based on the highest Ld model + the number of friendly fighters on the table. In this way, it's easy for the Redemptionist player to keep both a high model count and a high Ld, when most gangs would have a smaller model count and, occasionally, less Ld (if their Leader is killed).

It's a tough call...In the spirit of fairness, I'm willing to make a compromise. The "A Gathering of the Redeemed" rule is amended for the tournament, as follows:

The death of the faithful only serves to fuel the belief of the devout and may attract new Devotees to join a gang. So as Redemptionists fall others take their place. After a game in which a Redemptionist of any type dies (11-16 on the serious injury chart), roll a D6 for each member of the gang who died. On a 5+ the gang gains a Devotee armed with a knife for free. Additional equipment may be given to the new Devotee using the gangs' stash, so long as it conforms to the Devotee's weapons limitations.

The maximum number of Devotees who may be recruited in this fashion is limited to (2) two for the entire tournament.

I hope all players are satisfied by this ruling. If not, feel free to write me a sternly-worded email peppered with aspersions to my general character and ancestry!

Also, here are some FAQs:

The rules state that bonus credits may be spent on two (2) Rare and/or four (4) Common items. Is this a choice between 2 Rare and 4 Common or a combination of both?

Players may purchase any combination of add'l items, so long as they do not exceed the total of either Rare or Common items.

Does purchasing items "at full cost" mean that an item with a variable price costs its base price PLUS the maximum variable cost?

Yes.

Can items be left in the Gang Stash for later use?

Yes, but be aware that equipping a model with something from your Stash later in the tournament must conform to the WYSIWYG rule.

My gang is allowed to purchase items from either the normal Trading Post or the Outlaw Trading post. Can I by add'l items from just one or both?

You can buy any combination from either Trading Post, so long as you do not exceed the 2 Rare/4 Common item limitation.

- Jeremy Olsen, Necromunda Tournament Organizer
http://empireofghosts.blogspot.com

Concept, Theme and Competition in the Warhammer 40K Friendly

2012-02-25T18:26:00.002-06:00

There have recently been some questions about army list expectations for the 40K "Friendly" event. Hopefully this communication helps clarify the style of gaming this event promotes. What follows are several examples that are intended as a stylistic synopsis not a checklist of available options. By no means should you feel obligated to include or account for everything in this document, and at the same time understand that this event itself is looking for more diversity or variety than a traditional tournament list might include. As you consider your choices here is one great question to ask, "Am I including these units because of their ability to perform in games or is it because of another reason?"

Many players love a good story. Some examples include; the heroic last stand of a space marine sergeant, tragic death of an inquisitor, doom of an entire planet, or even the twisted plans of the dread powers of chaos. These stories form the very foundation of the Warhammer 40,000 universe. They appear in army codices, novels from Black Library, and even in short stories from GW. These flavorful event descriptions are one way to fuel your creativity when creating your army. For example, the Space Wolves Codex details the backgrounds of each of the 13 Great Companies, some of which are further described throughout the book. This can be a great jumping off point when developing an army. Take this simple quote regarding Kjarl Grimblood:

His Great Company favors a great many flame weapons, boasting no fewer than twelve Land Raider Redeemers. So it is that his Grey Hunters have a special right of passage—once a grey hunter has killed his prey with flame, he has earned the right to paint his face with blood before each battle. - Games Workshop Codex Space Wolves Page 17

These few lines give a wealth of insight into a list theme; it might include a Land Raider Redeemer, not all of them, but maybe one or two. It also suggests that some of Grey Hunters be equipped with flamers, and those that are could have a unique marking, red helmets or open helmets with red face paintings. Having a good theme can make an army unique and incredibly fun.

However, there remains a distinct difference between theme and concept. An army concept is something simple, and often very broad in nature. For example, "I want tons of tanks in my army", or "I want a hoard of Orks running around", or "I want to spawn wave after wave of bugs". Each of these represents a generalization about the composition of an army. Theme takes a concept to a deeper level and flushes out the details and backstory of the army. Detailing where your army originates from, how they train, their fighting method, motivations, leaders, and other personalities that might be included. Flushing out some of these details and then designing your army gives it character that is substantive. This represents an important distinction in list creation; the theme is defined and then units are chosen to fit the framework outlined by the theme. Often times many new players and tournament veterans alike sift through the vast amounts of information available to them and use articles on unit effectiveness, tactical prowess and point efficiency to determine their list composition. They might then craft a nifty back story to explain why their Ork Hoard is being marshaled by a mech-boy instead of a ferocious Warboss. In reality, the list doesn’t include a Warboss because of the perceived point inefficiency in that particular unit choice.

A note on Characters, these alluring options can quickly summarize your theme with their inclusion. A chaos army painted black may be bland, but add in Abaddon and a unit of terminator body guards and suddenly everyone knows what your list is about. Adding a character can be a great option but should also make sense for your list. If you want to play with Ultramarines, then does Vulkan really make sense or belong? Or would Yarrick and Commander Pask take the field together? From a more general sense does your choice for a leader match the theme of your army? Choosing multiple pyskers to lead an army that hates psykers can be effective, but from a theme perspective is counterintuitive.

Characters can go beyond just the HQ units that you choose; naming sergeants or squad leaders is a great way to give your list a bit of extra flavor. Calling on your named Shas Ui to hold his troops before making that critical leadership check is a great way to add suspense and excitement to a game. Just as in sports we look to our icons in the time of greatest need, give your plastic soldiers someone to look up to and see what great things they can do.

Another example would be taking units because they have awesome models, great background, or appeal to you as a player. There might not be an all encompassing "theme" to the army but that does not mean you cannot make a list that interests you. Again the question arises, "Am I including these units because of their ability to perform in games or is it because of another reason?" The majority of players already know a list full of Chimera’s, veterans, and melta-guns makes for an effective list. What about all those units rarely seen on the Warhammer 40,000 battlefied? Starting a "fun" list off with 20 possessed, 3 Carnifex’s, 15 Blood Claws, or even a Blood Angels Captain can shake things up and put the fun back in the game. Every codex has a ton of unit options for you to take. The Friendly event strongly encourages unit diversity and variety.

Hopefully this provides some clearer direction on what the Friendly event is trying to inspire. Just like Whose Line Is It Anyway, the "friendly" is a fun based event with no overall winner, and the points don't really matter. There will be games played with objectives and there will be "winners" and "losers" but this is more about relaxing with some people and playing some games of toy soldiers while enjoying a beverage of your choice. It’s not about trying to find out who is the best at playing for fun. There will be crazy things going on some may be fair, and others might just be there to help everyone relax. As always, specific questions can be directed to info@adepticon.org.

Regards,
The AdeptiCon 2012 Warhammer 40K Friendly Staff
Chris Mehrstedt and Tony Coutley

Death Area: An Inside Look at Killzone Design #1

2012-01-19T10:32:00.001-06:00

Reposted from Wolves For the Wolf God (01.09.12).

As promised, here is the first article about our involvement in Special Operations: Killzone. At the moment we are not sure about the length of the series, but expect at least two more. Hopefully by reading these articles you will be able to see Killzone for what it is and what it has been during the transition from v2.0 to v3.0. The entire Killzone team is very proud and extremely excited to bring you the new edition of Special Operations: Killzone and with the following articles we hope to share our excitement with you as well as the process of reshaping Killzone into what it is now.

Article #1 is going to cover the story of how Joe and I become part of the Killzone crew, some of the general changes we had to make and the challenges we had to face with v2.0 after AdeptiCon 2011 was over.

Enjoy!

Frozencore Joe: For those of you who are familiar with the rules for Special Operations: Killzone, you may have noticed quite a few changes over the course of the past couple months. Those of you who don't know about Killzone should stop everything else they are doing right now and look up the rules. It's OK, I can wait for you to get back.

The more observant among you may notice that the file says version 3.0, though the truth is we have undergone many more iterations than just 3. Over the past two months large areas of the game have been worked and reworked, and dozens of subtle tweaks have been made to give a better Killzone experience.

Skarvald the Troll-faced: That’s right, Joe. What a long, strange trip it’s been! Has it really been 2 months.. Christ, how time flies.. I suppose that when you are really busy it kind of doesn’t seem like you’re running out of time.

With every Skype conversation and play-testing we had so many things to discuss, fix and play-test... It’s been hectic, to say the list. But now we are done. What say we start with some of the issue that we had to fix since Killzone’s first debut at AdeptiCon 2011?

Frozencore Joe: Sure thing; my involvement with Killzone started about a year ago when Brian asked me if I could help him run this game for AdeptiCon. I wasn’t to sure exactly what it was about, but I soon fell in love with the skirmish-style game-play. The basic idea of Killzone back then was small scale skirmish battles that tell a rich narrative story, and that is something we have tried to keep on and enhance in the new rules.

Frozencore Joe's Deathwatch Team!

As the games at AdeptiCon 2011 went on I started to pick up on some issues that the core game had, that honestly hadn’t been foreseen. With such a competitive crowd at AdeptiCon the loose narrative style of the rules were easily exploited.

Running the event was both fun and a little draining (I plan to have some hand sanitizer this year), as I had to make a few rulings on things that hadn’t quite been addressed yet. Fixing abuses, and patching up all the holes in the army creation were the two main priorities for all of us, right after AdeptiCon 2011. After that, though, things kind of lay dormant for a while until recently, which is when the two of us really got involved! Both Vlad and I were apart of the Heroes of Armageddon project, where we helped Brian build some spectacular tables for the Chicago Games Day. We both expressed our desire to help him again in the future, and a few months later we were called into service once more. For me, this would be my 3rd set of tables with that gentleman, and I just could not say no.


Skarvald the Troll-faced and Frozencore Joe ogling the Heroes of Armageddon tables!		In all it's glory! The Heroes of Armageddon table!

Skarvald the Troll-faced: To be fair, Brian didn’t even have to ask. We were both very eager to help out in any way we could. That we got to be a part of the Killzone experience was just an added bonus. Even after playing a single game of it as a ringer at AdeptiCon I was utterly hooked! HOW could I say no? I played a single game with Joe’s Deathwatch Marines and I have yet to have more fun playing a Warhammer 40,000 game!

After AdeptiCon I got to spend some more time with Brian while we were working on his insane tables for the Heroes of Armageddon Games Day event and when we were done I offered to help with Killzone.

I was cautious at first, of course, because I was really hoping to play at the AdeptiCon 2012 Team Tournament for a third year in a roll, but when the tickets sold out faster than a Space Marine fails his armor save I had nothing to do. It was almost like a sign, you know?

The rest is a blur of play-testing, Skype, phone conversations and many, many e-mails. But it was all in the name of Killzone, which was well worth it.

Big Jim deserves a lot of credit here, gents. He started Killzone from literally nothing and with almost no help created the foundation of something glorious. However, Killzone is a very ambitious undertaking and one should not have to do all the work. Things had quieted down a little after AdeptiCon and especially after Games Day and the game didn’t have any major updates ever since its first debut. Fortunately for us we were able to use the knowledge we gathered from Killzone tournament and knew that the game had many, many loopholes. But that’s bound to happen when people have an incentive and competitiveness is at hand.

Frozencore Joe: I’m a little anxious to see what happens this time around. As the man on the floor from last year all I can say is, “We tried so hard this time I swear!”

Skarvald the Troll-faced: Well, *I* certainly tried! :P One of the first things that changed was the dual point system for all the gear and skills. Basically each upgrade had a different cost depending on different stats. I personally liked it, but it was VERY prone to abuse. We actually went back and forth a few times until we eventually settled on a universal value for all models. It’s just hard to artificially come up with the correct points and some upgrades were always preferred by certain armies, while others were simply ignored. Our general policy is that all generic upgrades are at least a few points more expensive than the Codex variants. For example, assault grenades are 3 points, even though in Codex: Orks “stikk boms” are just 1 point. One of the biggest changes points-wise was the Crack Shot skill which doubled, becoming 10 points. This skill was literally on every model at AdeptiCon and quickly lead to some abuses. We also played along with the maximum points a model could be, to limit min-maxed builds of unkillable Assassin with a bunch of saves. We limited skills to one per column, per model. We wanted people to field many models with different skills and gear, not identical clones or powerhouses on steroids... which is why I suggested that gear be split into General and Limited Issue categories. The best items were then limited to 2 per team in order add some variety and encourage some more creative thinking. What else did we change, Joe?

Frozencore Joe: As long as we are talking about list building I might as well mention something else that went through many changes over the past few months, Themes.

In Killzone there are restriction on how many of each type special unit you can have, to prevent things from getting too crazy in a normal special operation team. There had always been this idea of dedicating you force to a particular theme, like all jump packs, allowing you to break the normal 0-2 restriction so long as the vast majority of your team was that type. Between last years AdeptiCon, and a month of play-testing or so afterwards we found that the original method of paying a few extra points for the ability to break the restriction was prone to min-max list building. To try an curb the possible abuses themes then went to paying extra points per model, with the first two being at normal cost.

This ended up working in a way, there were fewer people who were willing to buy more than they would normally be allowed, because the premium you paid started to add up quickly.

What we found was that instead of sticking to a theme of “a bunch a terminators banding together” we ended up with people just buying 1 or maybe 2 more and then continuing with the rest of the list like normal. It wasn’t so much of a “themed” special operation team so much as “I can pay points to break the rules” special operations team. I didn’t particularly like this method because it actually ended up limiting people who wanted to completely stick to a theme, while rewarding those who wanted to just min-max even further. Themes continued to be a learning process for a few more iterations as the 75% of your force being in the theme came and went, and then we had our break-though which oddly enough had nothing to do with list creation at all. The whole idea of themes finally came together when we changed how the missions worked and how long games of Killzone actually lasted. We will talk more about that in the next article, but the basic idea is that games were much shorter, and there was a lot more to do in that short period of time. I noticed that with expensive lists you really lacked the models to be able to accomplish all of your goals in a particular game. Having a force of terminators, while tough, also hindered your ability to complete all of your objectives. Some missions were extremely difficult to the point of being impossible should you even lose a single model. I suggested that we test the idea of themes requiring no additional cost, because when it came to Terminators/bikes/3 wound models paying a premium on guys combined with the already low count made winning doubly hard. Even having jump packs (who we were most worried about), with their natural speed for objective grabbing, ended up being limited on weapon options to deal with all the opponents they might face. So after some input from the other guys and a few weeks of play-testing “all of X” type lists we settled on allowing someone to break the restriction for free, but the cost ended up being that EVERY model needed to be of the same type. Hopefully this will allow players to have a nice theme, should they want to be a little different, but it limits the min-maxing of having multiple different model types.

- Skarvald the Troll-faced, Killzone Servitor

Battletech: Tactical to Strategic

2012-01-12T15:32:00.000-06:00

When people generally think of Battletech, big fighting robots probably jumps to mind first. Then come the thoughts of playing the game on a dining room table (or in my case, tray tables). People have played Battletech, and still do, on just about every conceivable surface. Why? Because its a great pickup game, just open the box and off you go. It's a great formula for quick fun and its one that works all the way up to big conventions, Origins, GenCon, even AdeptiCon.

On the other hand, there is a limit to the variety that that system brings. We've all played the megagames, two teams with vast quantities of units fighting each other over some nominal objective. And there's a variety of things you can do with that, but they're all tactical. Winning that game, meeting that scenario's objective, or just killing some more Imperial Guards, Waffen-SS, Elves, or Uruk-hai, they all begin when the game starts and end when the GM calls time. Battletech has been no different and it has worked well. But what if you wanted to do more?

Well that's what we're offering AdeptiCon 2012. We're taking Battletech to the next level. Over the past few years Battletech has seen a great deal of depth added to the system, strategic rules have been created, and options presented for playing more than a "play and forget" game. We're not talking about Campaign for North Africa level of detail here, but it is a layer that convention games have so far not built upon. So what will you see at AdeptiCon 2012? You're going to see interlinking: what you do on Table 1 is going to have an affect upon what happens at Table 2. Yes, that means teamwork and strategy are going to play bigger roles. You're going to see repairs and damaged units. You aren't going to be able to just assume that as long as a mech is alive you're going to get it back all pristine in the next round. You're going to see support units, maybe artillery, maybe air strikes.

Will it work, will we be able to merge the tactical and the strategic? We've spent hours discussing and debating how you play a game of Battletech and make it matter for more than just the few hours you're playing. We've grappled with how you ensure that what happens in the morning session doesn't predetermine the evening session before the evening session even begins. These are the questions we've grappled with and we look forward to showing the answers to those questions in April at our Counterattack on Kessel event.

-Alex Kaempen
Catalyst Game Labs Agent #314

Warhammer Fantasy: The Times They Are A-changin'

2011-12-07T14:35:00.000-06:00

Let's get right to it and cover two of the biggest questions/concerns received from the community at large about the Warhammer Fantasy Battles events at AdeptiCon 2012!

First off, we have a very big announcement! The single most common question we have received from the community is about the legality of the Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos book from Forge World. I am happy to say, that after careful consideration, we have decided to allow it. As of today, all units, Special Characters, and army lists from the Forge World book Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos will be legal options at AdeptiCon 2012! This includes the newest Chaos Dwarfs army list - a triumphant return indeed! Please note that you cannot mix Chaos Dwarfs/Demons of Chaos/Warriors of Chaos in a single army, as that follows the Alliance rules.

This decision was a lengthy one, as we wanted to have ample time to review the rules and make sure they were appropriate for our events. After much deliberation we have decided that they most certainly are! Like with every other army book, please make sure that if you fielding anything from Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos you bring a copy of the book with you and make it available to your opponents at all times. Most players have a general idea of what typical Warhammer Fantasy Battles units are capable of, but as this is a specialty book, we want to make sure that you have a copy for your opponent’s reference. This announcement also means that we will no longer be using the IndyGT Dwarfs of Chaos list for AdeptiCon 2012. I know Kevin Coleman and his team put quite a great deal of effort/work into that wonderful book, but for the sake of consistency, we will be using the Legion of Azgorh rules going forward.

The second topic is something a little more game related, and is always a hot topic of discussion. We have received a few emails from concerned attendees about the inclusion of Special Characters in some of the AdeptiCon 2012 events. Last year, at the time we drafted the rules, and we did not feel comfortable putting Special Characters into the mix with so little experience with 8th Edition. The concern was that unknown balance issues could be ridiculous and game ruining in certain situations. With more experience under our belts, we honestly see no reason to disallow them. It is the opinion of the organizers that composition is truly in the books now (although we’ll give you the 6th/7th edition power creep, that’s kinda hard to fight) and we should be embracing all parts of the game - along the same lines as allowing Wood Elves their additional forest. On a personal note, I run several other tournaments besides AdeptiCon and attend even more. All those that I have attended recently have allowed Special Characters and to be honest, Special Characters just aren’t that special. I’ve seen Teclis go 0-5 even with a good general and Bugman with no Anvil go 4-1. So this year, Special Characters are in for all AdeptiCon 2012 Warhammer Fantasy Battles events except the Team Tournament. If this decision impacts the general environment of the event in a negative way, nothing says we can’t change it for 2013 - but we at least want to give it the old college try. If the inclusion of Special Characters affects your decision on whether or not to participate, then by all means please vote with your feet! We would certainly like to have each and every one of you in attendance, but as a player you should not be forced to play in an environment that you do not agree with. That said, I do ask that you give it a chance, you may even like it!

- Alex Gonzalez, WFB Coordinator

Warhammer Fantasy Battles in the 2012

2011-12-05T13:41:00.000-06:00

It's that time of the year again! AdeptiCon 2011 was another record setting year for Warhammer Fantasy Battles, and this year promises to be even better! Additionally this is AdeptiCon's ten-year anniversary, so if you haven't registered already...what are you waiting for!

Cutting right to the chase...what are we changing? This is a convention for gamers, by gamers, so the feedback you provided last year is what we are using to shape the future of the Warhammer Fantasy Battles events. The It's How You Use It tournaments will be returning on Friday and will now be comprised of three longer rounds instead of the four shorter rounds from last year. In response to feedback you gave us last year, we will also be adding more time between each of the games. Now that we have a little more experience under our belts with 8th edition Warhammer Fantasy Battles, our scenarios will be more inventive and better paced for the scale of the tournaments. We will also be working to increase our staff numbers and complete paint judging in a timely fashion.

Speaking of staff, we are looking for a few good men and women to help with the events this year. We have organizers, but we are in need of paint judges, rules judges, and general help. If you and your friends are interested in helping in any capacity, please <a href="http://www.adepticon.org/?page_id=5">contact us</a>. I know everyone wants to play in these events, but we could definitely use more volunteers over the course of the weekend.

That’s about it for right now. The Warhammer Fantasy Battles draft rules have been posted. Look for another article soon discussing a few other event changes and tweaks. I hope to see new and familiar faces this year, and that this year will be the best yet!

- Alex Gonzalez, WFB Coordinator

Tournament Terrain Design Contest

2011-10-28T16:20:00.002-05:00

This year, as part of the 10th Anniversary of AdeptiCon, we are proud to announce the AdeptiCon Terrain contest! At its core, the contest is simple and straight forward. We are looking for a few talented people to showcase their creativity when it comes to designing terrain. This is a chance to show off your best work and pick up some great prizes in the process!

We will accept designs for single elements (see below), full terrain pieces, and completely themed terrain sets. Winners will not only get the satisfaction of knowing that thousands of gamers will enjoy playing on their terrain, but AdeptiCon will reward the best submissions with AdeptiCon Weekend Badges, prizes from our sponsors, event vouchers, and cool swag!

1st Place: $100.00 in retail product of your choice from any one of our AdeptiCon sponsors, an AdeptiCon Weekend Badge and we will pick up the tab for one hotel night on the AdeptiCon weekend at the Westin.
2nd Place: $75.00 in retail product of your choice from any one of our AdeptiCon sponsors and an AdeptiCon Weekend Badge.
3rd Place: $50 in retail product of your choice from any one of our AdeptiCon sponsors and an AdeptiCon Weekend Badge.

Entries that do not qualify for one of the top prizes, but are still usable will receive an AdeptiCon 2012 Weekend Badge.

What to do? Those interested in participating should design a piece, an element or even a whole terrain set. We will judge your submissions based on the following criteria:

Consistency with Existing AdeptiCon Terrain: You can design additional elements for existing sets in which case we would consider how well they mesh with the existing terrain, or start completely new themes in which case you should follow the AdeptiCon modular design style. Our typical 40K table consists of 8 “terrain pieces” and has 25%-40% of the table coverage. See the following links for examples of our existing terrain sets: City Fight Terrain, Necron-themed Terrain, Hills, Trees and Ruins, Construction Examples
Playability: AdeptiCon terrain should not only look great, but it should provide a great play experience. All terrain pieces for a 4x6 foot table should meet or exceed the 25% requirement and terrain sets/elements should be designed fairly with gameplay in mind.
Durability: AdeptiCon terrain will take a beating. Terrain should not only be designed to withstand hundreds of games, but it should be designed to survive storage and transport. Terrain also should be easily repaired if damaged.
Storability: AdeptiCon terrain elements are stored in totes that are roughly 20” h x 20” w x 32” d. Terrain elements should easily fit into this type of container.
Replication: Each of the AdeptiCon terrain sets consist of 10-15 tables, as such, we need to be able to replicate your designs quickly and affordably. Consider the following:
- Easily acquired and affordable materials (MDF, plasticard, foamboard)
- Castable with resin or other materials.
- Designs that can be laser cut.

Entries should be submitted by email no later than January 9th, 2012. If you have any additional questions, or want to submit your entry through the post, get in touch.
All entries must provide:

Documentation of the construction process (instructions)
Complete list of materials used
Photos of the construction process as necessary
Photos of a finished prototype

Basically, we should be able to look at your documentation and with the materials listed reproduce the prototype in a reasonable manner.

Hints: We need additional terrain ideas for all of our existing terrain sets, as well as fully develop additional full terrain set ideas. It’s the concepts, the themes, color palette and in some cases the building that we need your ideas for. Some of possible ideas for new themes include but are certainly not limited to:

"Chemical Field” theme, including things like large chemical tanks, tube sections, chemical pits, industrial field elements, etc.
“Chaos Wastes” elements similar to what you might find in the “Eye of Terror”.
40K race specific elements/themes (Tau, Dark Eldar, Tyranid and the like).

Celebrating Ten Years of Miniature Wargaming Awesomeness!

2011-07-27T15:51:00.000-05:00

We've come a long way in the last decade, from our humble beginnings as a regional convention with 150 attendees, to an extravaganza drawing over 1500 attendees from across the globe. Regardless of whether you've been with us from the start, joined along the way, or have yet to experience the excitement, passion, and excellence of AdeptiCon, this is the year that you won't want to miss! Pre-registration will open in October. Clear your schedules and start making travel plans, because AdeptiCon 2012 promises to be the premier celebration of the miniature wargaming hobby.

What: AdeptiCon 2012! Ten Year Anniversary!
When: April 19th - 22nd, 2012
Where: Westin Lombard Yorktown Center (Lombard, Illinois)
Make Your Hotel Reservations Now!

Check back over the next several months as additional news becomes available concerning the convention, pre-registration, specific events, special guests and more!

Warhammer 40K Championships Live Coverage Details

2011-03-26T20:33:00.000-05:00

With AdeptiCon nearly upon us, we wanted to walk you through what we have been doing to prepare for The Independent Characters coverage of the AdeptiCon 2011 Warhammer 40K Championships finals.

On Sunday we will begin our pre-game Show at 9:00am CST. We will be talking about our experiences at the event up until this point and airing video interviews with notables in the Warhammer 40K internet community, convention staff, Black Library authors, and other surprise guests!

Around 12:15pm CST, just as round 3 in the finals is getting underway, we will begin our in-depth coverage of the final two tables of the AdeptiCon 2011 Warhammer 40K Championships - live! We will be broadcasting live from multiple angles, including directly overhead both tables to bring you all the action up close and personal!

We hope to provide you with pre-game interviews of the four players involved in the final rounds, as well as a post-game wrap up. The winner of the AdeptiCon 2011 Warhammer 40K Championships will be at one of these two tables! You will be able to watch the entire thing on Ustream by visiting The Independent Characters Ustream channel (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-independent-characters) or by clicking on the link on the right. Additionally you will be able to interact with other fans and the hosts of the show live via chat throughout the event!

We will be running one more test broadcast on Sunday March 27th at 11am PST if you would like to see what we are up to! You can find out more information on The Independent Characters website.

Carl and Geoff
The Independent Characters

Warhammer 40K Championships Mission Objectives

2011-03-24T23:40:00.000-05:00

After the release of the Warhammer 40K Championships Primer missions, we received some incredibly constructive feedback concerning the scenarios as a whole, and in particular some of the individual mission objectives. This feedback, as well as the results of several primer missions over the Winter, gave us a general idea of what people want to see out of this new format.

The final mission objectives for the AdeptiCon 2011 Warhammer 40K Championships can be found here. Additionally they are also attached at the end of the Warhammer 40K Championships rules and the primer missions. They are presented in alphabetical order and not in Scenario format. The exact combination of mission objectives, deployment options and any special rules will be revealed the day of the event. Additionally, at least two of the following mission objectives will be repeated throughout the day.

Too Many Tables: Tackling Terrain

2011-03-09T23:07:00.004-06:00

Over the past three years, we have been hard at work rebuilding, retooling and adding to our existing terrain collection. Make no mistakes, this is a massive project that has consumed thousands of volunteer hours and has been responsible for numerous hobby knife accidents! All told, we have produced 150+ Warhammer 40K tables, 70+ Warhammer Fantasy tables and a whole host of additional tables for other events like Warhammer Ancients, Warmachine/Hordes and Lord of the Rings.

Our Warhammer 40K tables span a range of thematic settings, from frozen ice worlds to Necron homeworlds, each table has been crafted to have a distinct feel, while still maintaining a coherent approach in terms of the types of terrain present and total table coverage. Each table contains 6 to 8 pieces of terrain and each piece is built in a modular fashion so the terrain flats can take additional elements like trees, rocks, alien cacti and crystals.

The terrain project for AdeptiCon 2011 involves fleshing out our existing terrain sets, adding some additional elements to terrain flats, repairing any damage suffered and adding some significant line-of-sight blocking features to every Warhammer 40K table.

The crew responsible for this monstrous effort hails out of Springfield, IL. Capital City Games has been leading the terrain charge for almost three straight years now, and they are without question an invaluable part of the AdeptiCon experience. Not only do they volunteer a massive amount of time and effort, they also provide the space needed to take on a project of this size. Eternal gratitude gentleman, eternal gratitude.

Enough with the talk, here are some photos! You can see more images of the terrain effort, as well as photos from our past events, in the AdeptiCon Photo Gallery.

Click to view larger images.

Old Stuff Day: Smells Like Team Spirit [2006]

2011-03-02T09:45:00.004-06:00

In observance of Old Stuff Day, I thought I would repost this great 2006 Road to AdeptiCon article by Leslie Pratt discussing the finer details of team tournaments at AdeptiCon.

The team tournament concept takes our favorite game formats and makes them better by adding a key element – friends. What game doesn’t get better when you get to pair up with 1-3 of your closest friends to take on the world? In this article, we will explore the team tournament format and discuss ways to add "team spirit" to your team – to mold you into a single force rather than just adding more people to the game. And while it’s nice to know that there’s someone putting an army on the table who’s NOT trying to kill you, it makes the experience a lot more fun if you actually feel and act like a team.

The great thing about team spirit is that at AdeptiCon, it’s not only encouraged, but actually rewarded – there are several awards just based on team spirit and team theme. So get out there, act like a team, and let your freak flag fly!

Team Theme

Strategy aside, there’s more to army selection than finding four painted armies and showing up at the tournament. Find a reason for your forces to fight together, even if they’re not from the same army book. “We hate Elves” is a legitimate team theme for Undead pairing up with Orks. But the team theme extends farther than what army you’re playing – it defines the character of your team and many other elements that can give your team a strong team spirit. I’m talking about your team name, your display base, your accessories, everything. And while those things don’t necessarily have to spring from which army you’re playing, it’s the most obvious place to start looking for inspiration.

Team Name

What’s in a name? Your team name is probably the first thing about your team that your opponents will notice – most likely when game pairings are announced at the start of the round. Put some thought into your team name – come up with something your opponents will remember (so they can vote for you for best Sportsmanship later, maybe?). Try not to make it too long, or it will get abbreviated, although team Blessed Ladies of the Immaculate Deception (B.L.O.I.D.) has made their abbreviation into a trademark. Funny team names, and names with bad puns get cool points (from me, anyway). I think Tanks, But No Tanks has to be my all time favorite team name. If it identifies you, use it! Team Tall Guys With Glasses was fairly easy to pick out of a crowd last year. Your team name is how you identify yourselves to others – so put some thought into it. But please, whatever you choose, make it easy to spell...

Uniforms

Professional athletic teams, volunteer organizations, and even chess clubs have matching T-shirts or uniforms. It helps identify you as a member of a group. At a team tournament, this can be helpful in identifying your team to your opponents – especially if you put your names on your shirts. But it also makes you feel more like a team, which can make the game more fun. And it can’t hurt anything - even the Bad News Bears played better after they got team uniforms and started acting and playing like a team. Some things to keep in mind:

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to have a team uniform. The Oak Park Hitmen showed up with white shirts, black ties, and sunglasses – classy!
Be creative! The custom-crafted lizard headgear we wore as team Skinks Without Hats attracted a lot of attention last year in the Fantasy Team Tournament.
You don’t all have to dress alike: the members of Team TnA wore different colored shirts to match their individual armies.

Army Lists and Display Bases

If you put a lot of work into your team theme, why not carry that over to the other things that represent your army – namely, your army list and your display base. You hand your army list to all of your opponents – what better way to make a statement about your team? On team Fun With Chaos, we turned our army list into a coloring book and provided crayons to our opponents. Add your army list to your methods of team-expression and go wild.

Likewise, your display base (you should have one, if only because it makes things easier to carry) can express your team theme to your opponents. Make sure you work your team name in there somewhere so the judges know whose appearance score they’re scoring.

Accessories

The use of accessories is where the real team creativity comes out. Several teams have toted hand-painted team banners and icons, such as team Casus Belli’s giant Khorne Icon in the 40K team tournament of 2004. They shook their dice at it in a pre-game ritual, which really got our game off to an interesting start! (Not to mention my dice were cursed for months after that….) But it got both sides into the team spirit, and we had a great time playing them. These team accessories show that your team has it all together, and since you’ve got it, you’re flaunting it.

The Whole Package

When it comes to team theme, there’s no better example than team Casus Belli – they won Best Imperial Team in the 40K Team Tournament at AdeptiCon 2005. Casus Belli had it all – a great name, cool uniforms, a great display base, a beautifully painted banner – they even had a POSSE!

Keep a look out at AdeptiCon this year for these and other teams – they display the team spirit that is one of the many things that make the team tournaments at AdeptiCon such a great experience.

AdeptiCon Army Charity Raffle Drawing

2011-02-28T21:39:00.007-06:00

The inaugural AdeptiCon Charity Raffle will support Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Child's Play. 100% of the proceeds from this raffle will be split between both charities, with Kraft Foods providing a 100% match for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The AdeptiCon 2011 Charity Raffle is sponsored by AdeptiCon, Chaosmailorder.com, and GMM Studios. You can purchase raffle tickets in advance (available for pickup along with your Weekend Badge starting Thursday, March 31st at 8:00 pm) or onsite at the AdeptiCon registration desk for $1.00 each. You will receive a number of bonus tickets based on the total number of tickets you purchase.

So what is the big prize? The models for this Death Guard Chaos Space Marine Army have been provided by Chaosmailorder.com, AdeptiCon then supplemented this force with several Forge World conversion kits and Brandon over at GMM Studios put the finishing touches on this beautiful army.

You can find out more information about this charity raffle by following the jump or in the AdeptiCon 2011 Webcart. Pictures of the finished army can be found in the AdeptiCon Photo Gallery.

The drawing will be at 4:30 PM on Sunday, April 3, 2011 in the Westin Grand Ballroom just prior to the start of the Sunday Warhammer 40K awards. Your ticket must be present to win (although you do not).

Overall, both of these charities can benefit greatly from your contribution. Help us support them and you may be the proud owner of this awesome army.

The Rules of Engagement

2011-02-25T07:13:00.001-06:00

The AdeptiCon 2011 Conduct Policy simply states that good, if not stellar, sportsmanship is an absolute requirement at AdeptiCon. While certain events have scoring systems in place to deal with this aspect of the hobby, good sportsmanship is simply expected from all attendees of AdeptiCon. Throwing a fit, acting out against your opponent, incessantly arguing your position with a judge or any other manifestation of poor sportsmanship will not be tolerated.

A large part of wargaming is having respect for the concept of sportsmanship. Being a good sport is more than just having poise in the face of defeat, or victory for that matter! Every game, no matter how big or small, should be fun and enjoyable while promoting enthusiasm about the hobby. Sportsmanship probably seems like a no-brainer to most of us when it comes to tournament play. After all, we’re grown-ups pushing little toy soldiers across a table, right? However, in the heat of competition, our zealotry can sometimes get the best of us – so let’s take a moment to reflect on some of the finer points of being a good sport!

Rule #1 – Be Prepared

Good sportsmanship starts with being prepared for your game. When you walk up to a table, you should have all the supplies that you need: dice, tape measures, codices, rules books, etc. While opponents usually don’t mind loaning the occasional scatter die or auspex, it’s always better to have what you need on hand. It’s also good form to have extra copies of your army list available for your opponent to look at throughout the game, if applicable. Most of us have been preparing for AdeptiCon 2011 for several months – so do yourself a favor, double check your bags before heading down to Chicago and make sure all of your essentials are packed and ready to go.

Rule #2 – Know the Game

Not all of us are walking encyclopedias of gaming knowledge -- with all the different game systems out there and all of the rules to go with them, there will always be parts of a game we do not know or are not overly familiar with. However, you should have a rudimentary understanding of the game, and you should also know where to find answers if you have questions. This all goes back to being prepared for play. Even if you don’t know exactly how your opponent’s army works, you should know your own. Spend some time reviewing your army before the big day. This will help cut down on frustration over rules disputes during play, and it could help you avoid being labeled as a dishonest player.

Rule #3 – WYSIWYG: Not Just For Terrain

Let’s chat a little bit about lists. Many of the tournaments at AdeptiCon require players to provide a list of what they are playing with. I cannot stress this next sentence enough – I’ll even highlight: MAKE SURE YOUR LIST IS ACCURATE!

Your list should match your army down to the last knife or grenade. If your list says that Space Marine model has a lascannon he’d better not have a plasma gun in his hand. When armies and lists do not match it causes confusion, frustration and distrust among players. Once a list is submitted, it is what it is; you don’t get to change it halfway through the tournament. Point values should also be accurate. In an attempt to be professional and to ensure clarity, using t a program like Army Builder and printing off a list is always better than handwriting it.

Rule #4 – Don’t Be a Jackwagon [Part I]

Everyone has a little swagger when it comes to AdeptiCon. People literally come from all over the world to participate in the various melees that are hosted here. Verbal sparring is a fun part of competition, and to some extent, expected. The spirit of competition lends itself to moments of braggart and arrogance, usually in a congenial and friendly manner. Unfortunately, there are people out there who have a tendency to take themselves a little too seriously and let negative emotions override the true spirit of gaming, which should be having fun and being social, while maintaining a competitive arena.

Take this as your friendly reminder to NOT to be a jerk or a bully. Having a better grasp of the intricacies of the game does not give you the right to be rude or mean-spirited. You may not personally care if people like or dislike you, but you should care what kind of reputation you foster. Gaming communities are like small towns – bad word travels fast. You don’t have to become your opponent’s best friend, but don’t be a jackwagon either!

Rule #5 – Don’t Be a Jackwagon [Part II]

So you just lost your game…wait, scratch that…you just got tabled…in the 3rd turn! Feeling angry, right? No one likes to lose, especially when you’ve just spent months preparing for a convention. Losing to an opponent doesn’t necessarily make that person a jerk. Sometimes when people lose a hard fought game they like to take it out on their opponents by purposely giving low sportsmanship marks or scores. Being a poor loser is no better than being a poor winner. While these games are bound to happen, low marks or scores should be reserved for the worst of the worst. You should only ‘award’ low marks or scores in the direst of circumstances and they should be an evaluative negative on your opponent’s sportsmanship only, not a reflection on the final results of the game. Unless your opponent was a complete and total jerk throughout the entire game, giving out negative marks or low scores is simply not appropriate. Players need to separate their disappointment at losing from how they feel about their opponent’s behavior during the game.

Rules disputes are bound to occur at an event this large and varied in attendance. Rules judges are available to help arbitrate misunderstandings and answer questions about rules – that’s what they are there for! Rules judges are a resource you shouldn’t be afraid to use if needed.

Most of these nuggets should seem pretty obvious. After all, sportsmanship basically follows the Golden Rule…which we all learned in 1st grade! Being a good sport means having character, integrity and dignity. So let the games commence! The blood, sweat and tears will soon fall – just remember to shake hands and congratulate your opponent on a well-played game when it’s all said and done!

- Jennifer Mehrstedt, AdeptiCon Veteran and Volunteer

Questions In: Warhammer 40K Edition Part II

2011-01-17T10:10:00.006-06:00

AdeptiCon 2011 is rapidly approaching and Warhammer 40K players across the world are preparing their forces to do battle in the war-torn wastelands of the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center!

Questions continue to roll in as the days dwindle and the time for definitive choices draws near! The following queries primarily deal with the Warhammer 40K Team Tournament and how units, wargear and special abilities interact within the event and amongst Team Members. The Warhammer 40K Team Tournament is unlike any game of Warhammer 40K most players have participated in, so it isn’t any wonder that it generates the most confusion!

Keep the questions coming! As always, if you have a question regarding any aspect of AdeptiCon, please drop us a line!

Responses to additional Warhammer 40K questions can be found in this previous post.

Warhammer 40K General Questions

Are Allied units from the Daemonhunters and/or Witch Hunters books allowed?

Yes. The new Grey Knights codex will not be released in time for it to be legal at AdeptiCon 2011. Witch Hunter/Daemonhunter allies work just like they always have out of the printed codex following the "Using Witch Hunters/Daemonhunters as Allies" rules. There are a few additions in regards to the Team Tournament to keep in mind:

Parent Codex: A Team Member’s Parent Codex is the codex from which his/her compulsory HQ and Troop selections are purchased from. Example: An army with Imperial Guard compulsory selections that also includes Daemonhunter selections uses Codex: Imperial Guard as its Parent Codex.

and;

Note: Only Pure Imperial and pure Hybrid Teams can use Inquisitorial allies for other slots by following the "Using Witch Hunters as Allies" and "Using Daemonhunters as Allies" rules.

Do I need to paint all the possible spawn models in my army?

Ideally yes. Spawned creatures like Tyranid Termagants and Necron Scarab Swarms created by a Tomb Spider should be painted.

That said, you can recycle casualties (assuming you have any) in order to get the same model on the table twice.

Also, keep in mind that spawned creatures like this are not technically part of the army and therefore are not required to be set up during Appearance judging. So even if you didn't finish all of them, or get them to a completely finished state, they wouldn't count against you in terms of your Appearance score. If you did feel like including any of your spawn models for the judges you can - we leave that up to you.

So bottom line is, ideally they are painted. They are not part of the army and do not need to be placed on the table for paint judging unless you want to. Therefore, you could technically get away with half-finished spawn models at the convention without losing any points.

Warhammer 40K Team Tournament Questions

How is the assignment of Wolf Guard handled in the Warhammer 40K Team Tournament?

Wolf Guard are assigned prior to the start of the game. For the purposes of the Warhammer 40K Team Tournament, the game is defined after table assignments have been posted. This means you may share Wolf Guard with your current Space Wolves Coalition partner only and may not assign them to units on the other table.

If both players in a Coalition are fielding Death Company, do they still need to combine into one unit?

This question is in reference to the 2010 Warhammer 40K Team Tournament rules. Death company are handled differently in the new Blood Angles codex, thus that clarification has been stricken from the Team Tournament rules.

While 2 Team Members play together in a single entity called a Coalition, it is still comprised of two individual 1000-point forces.

Therefore, each Team Member can field 1 unit of Death Company as normal. This does make it possible for a maximum of 60 Death Company Marines (3+27 optional upgrades for each Team Member) to be involved in one Coalition. Although 30 Death Company Marines with Jump Packs is already more than 1000 points and are not Scoring Units...

Why was the ability to field multiple Forge World units removed from the Warhammer 40K Team Tournament?

There were a number of reasons driving this change:

1. The ability to spam certain units had a counterproductive effect on the direction of the event.

2. Imperial Armour units heavily favor Imperial Teams. By allowing unrestricted access to Imperial Armour units it creates an unfair advantage.

3. Imperial Armour unit rules are unfamiliar to a large portion of players and quite possibly even the judges at times. Last year we had the possibility of 440 or more Imperial Armour units in the event, this year we have limited that in order to make the event less arcane.

If all four Team Members are playing Imperial armies, there is no limit on Special Characters?

Correct. As long as your Team is comprised of all Imperial armies (Space Marine Variants, Imperial Guard or Daemonhunter/Witch Hunter allies) then each Team Member may field any number of Special Characters. The same holds true for all-Heretical and all-Xenos Teams. The only limitation is that your Team may not duplicate any single Special Character.

Does Team Member #1 still get a floating Force Organization option? Does it have to be an Imperial Armour Unit? What Force Organization slot does it need to come from?

The intention is for Team Member #1 to replace one of their normal Force Organization slots with a like slot from an Imperial Armour source.

There is no floating selection for that Team Member. Like last year, only 3 Team Members have the option of taking an extra unit. This year, the 4th member (or Team Member #1 in the rules packet) is the only player with access to Imperial Armour units. Example:

Team Member #1
1 HQ
0-1 Elites
1-3 Troops
0-1 Fast
0-1 Heavy
If Team Member #1 wishes to field an Imperial Armour unit, he is still bound by the above Force Organization, however, he may field one Imperial Armour unit in any of those slots. That unit takes up the appropriate Force Organization slot like normal. If the unit does not take up a Force Organization slot, you can still take it in addition to the above Force Organization, however that fulfills your one Imperial Armour unit allotment.

How are Sagas, Wargear and Psychic Powers handled in a pure Space Wolves Team? Are the restrictions applied to individual 1000-point armies or across the entire 4000 points?

1. Team Members must build a 1000-point force adhering to the Warhammer 40K Team Tournament Force Org and all restrictions within their given codex. So, for Space Wolves Team Members that means: No duplicate Sagas (unless one character is Special/Unique/Named), no duplicate wargear and no duplicate psychic powers within each 1000-point Team Member list.

2. These restrictions are per Team Member, not the overall Team.

3. Special/Unique/Named Characters that are taken by any Team Member and somehow modify the Force Org, affect ALL Team Members.

4. During Games: Wargear and abilities that affect your Coalition's forces do NOT stack.

Can you explain how the Brothers in Arms, Wargear and Special Abilities work between players in a Coalition. For example: How does a Big Mek's Kustom Force field affect the other players on my Team if one is also Ork, but the other two are say Tyranids and Eldar? Can Acute Sense be used on an Eldar unit?

Brother is Arms is defined as: For the purposes of the AdeptiCon Warhammer 40K Team Tournament, units purchased from the EXACT SAME CODEX are considered ‘Brothers in Arms’.

The Team Tournament rules state: Special Abilities (other than alterations to the Force Organization) that would affect an entire 'army' or 'friendly units' may affect both Team Members of a 2-player Coalition if their forces are considered to be 'Brothers in Arms', but will not affect forces in the other Coalition on a different table. Example: Vulcan's special ability counting all Melta, Flamer, and Thunder hammers, as master crafted would apply to any Coalition units purchased from Codex Space Marine. It would not apply to the other two Team Members playing on a different table, or units purchased from any other codex.

So - to your example: If both Team Members playing Orks are in the same Coalition and on the same table, then the Big Mek's Kustom Force Field will affect your Ork teammate and provide his units with cover saves. The Kustom Force Field has no bearing on the other table/coalition. The Kustom Force Field WILL NOT affect any Tyranid or Eldar units in a Coalition since they are not considered Brothers in Arms.

Your Swarm Lord question is the same deal. For the purposes of the Team Tournament, 'Friendly Units' are defined as units originating from the exact same codex, so Acute Senses can only benefit other Tyranid units in a Coalition.

Also - keep in mind: Wargear and abilities that affect your Coalition's forces DO NOT stack. That is to say, if two Kustom Force fields are overlapping on the same table, the units under both would still only receive one cover save.

Can each Team Member on a pure Blood Angels Team take a Chapter Banner and would units gain +2 attacks if they were range of both Chapter Banners in any given game?

Each Team Member that fields Sanguinary Guard or Honour Guard may purchase a Chapter Banner as normal, however you cannot benefit twice from the same piece of wargear. Wargear and abilities that affect your Coalition's forces DO NOT stack, so even if a unit was in range of two Chapter Banners, that unit would only receive +1 Attack.

Since Chapter Banners and Company Banners are different pieces of Wargear, an Honour Guard unit in close combat bearing a Company Banner and within range of a Chapter Banner would gain +1 Attack, re-roll failed Morale/Pinning tests and count as scoring one extra wound when calculating the assault result.

Can armies like the Black Templars or the Dark Angels purchase a Razorback from the Imperial Armour books?

No. Armies that have an entry for a specific unit in their codex must purchase that unit from their codex. Variant units as presented in Imperial Armour are generally ok, but make sure to check the AdeptiCon 2011 Allowable IA/Apoc Units Rules first.

This is not due to any possible issues of game balance, but rather because it would be horribly confusing to have some players using one set of rules (the codex Razorback) and other players using another set of rules (the Imperial Armour Razorback). Additionally it would even be possible for a player to field units from each source, creating even more confusion and the potential for abuse.

Not only would it be confusing to the players, but it would next to impossible for the judges to properly calculate if points were added correctly if there are multiple entries for the same unit, each with a different points values.

Is the Necron phase out number determined by the individual Team Member or per Coalition?

Pure-Necron Coalitions calculate their phase out number per Coalition at the beginning of the game.

Guadalcanal: The Tenaru

2011-01-11T14:29:00.000-06:00

In 1942, the war began to turn for the Allied forces. In Eastern Europe, the 9th Army braced for almost certain defeat at Stalingrad. The situation was similar for Rommel at El Alamein in North Africa. The US, red with revenge, took offensive action in the Pacific, beginning with the Solomon Islands.

Continuing in 1942, the 1st Marine Division took the island of Guadalcanal with little resistance. With Henderson Field secured, things were looking up for the US...until one of the worst possible things happened. The US Navy was defeated in Iron Bottom Sound at the Battle of Savo Island, severing the supply routes to the Marines on Guadalcanal. The Marines had no choice but to dig in for what was bound to be a very long campaign.

On the night of August 21, 1942, the movement of the Ichiki regiment was preceded by a native police officer who issued a warning that the Japanese marines were coming and wanted blood and victory. Over 1,000 men of the Ichiki regiment committed to a Banzai charge against Marine positions on the Tenaru River. Can the 1st Marine Division hold out and push back this Eastern horde? Uncle Sam needs your help! Follow men like Chicago Native Lew "Chuckler" Juergens, as they defend against the the Banzai attack!

Follow the jump for photos of this fantastic board! Tickets for this event are still available (Saturday, 7:00PM - 11:00PM).

The Guadalcanal board was assembled by the following members of the Central Illinois D-Day Society/Hotel Kompanie: Scott Curry, James Lemon, Dave Searing, and Dave Cleveland. Old Glory and Battlefront miniatures are being used.