The Gun Mage

I'm currently drafting up the next set of utility spells for the gun mage, hopefully covering the weaker points of the class. These are the lack of defensive powers to keep the gun mage alive and spells to improve their mobility. While people are big fans of Caine's blink-like powers, I'm leaving any teleports until the end of the paragon tier. Caine's power is supposed to be unique to him, to give it to everyone makes it rather mundane.
What I see happening in the paragon tier is the gun mage learning to be more mobile, so there will be a lot more shifting attached to the powers. One of the first utility powers in the paragon tier also allows the gun mage to create a phantom pistol for a round, which in turn allows them to get off that vital shot if they've been disarmed somehow. There will also be several powers that do not require a gun of course.
Paragon paths... Now here's a problem for me, I don't have a copy of NQ 16, where the gun mage prestige classes were presented. If someone can send me a copy of the relevant articles (or even just the descriptive fluff) so I can see how Privateer Press portray the Arcane Tempest and Amethyst Rose I would be greatly appreciative.

Gun Mage Updates

Just adding names and flavor text to the level 9 daily powers as I type this, they should be up later tonight once I finish these delicious noodles. Noodles are easily mankind's greatest invention after fire (for without fire, how would you cook your noodles?).

I'm in Ur Gobbernomicon Editing Ur Posts

Having finally figured out how to authenticate myself with the Gobbernomicon, I'm going to transfer all my 4e work there as well, just to be doubly sure it doesn't get lost. There's a few formatting issues but I'm sure I can figure those out with Burrowowl's help.

Of Kilts and Tartan

Went north to Aberdeen to get fitted for a kilt since a friend's wedding is coming up and I'm the back-up best man, in case the real best man falls of a cliff or something (it's being arranged as we speak). Strangely Daniel (henceforth referred to as Dannykins) has decided we're going top hats and tails now instead of kilts so it was a bit of a wasted trip - though I did get to see a bunch of my friends. Apparently they all play Warmachine and Hordes now (HUZZAH!).

Black Watch Tartan
I was looking forward to getting a kilt again having worn one at my Sixth Year Prom (that's the last year of secondary school in Scotland). The bloody sporran does tend to bang into the family jewels when you're ceilidh dancing unfortunately. You're supposed to move it along the cord/chain so it rests on your hip, but it never stays there.
Since we're going top hats and tails I have requested a purple velvet suit with suitable amounts of bling and possibly a cane. Dannykins has denied my request but I'm sure if I keep asking I will eventually wear down his willpower and he'll give in! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
He also wants me to run a one off role-play game, so I thought I'd either run the Longest Night from the Witchfire Trilogy or the first part of Black Sails, the adventure path I was writing before my hard drive died horribly.

Painting Trollbloods and Mercenaries

Amazingly enough I appear to have found the solution to my problems with painting Trollbloods - other than to stop painting them. Since Madrak was the first miniature I've painted in over 4 years I have been highlighting up from the darker base color. I tried this with my normal trollkin and trolls only to find their flesh was a total pain to do and turned out too dark and looked very plastic. Instead I've started to shade down from the color I want the highlights to be, using the base color and washes to achieve the effect I'm looking for while retaining the brightness I wanted. It's not perfect but it's a damn slight better than before - and really fast too.

There are several other things I've done, I've ditched all the brushes I bought from Games Workshop in favor of a cheap packet of brushes that were on sale for the same price as a single GW brush and my new brushes (of the TK-C brand) are incredibly superior in just about every way. I also picked up a few paint palettes and the trollblood set of P3 paints, of which I've used Underbelly Blue (mistaking it for Trollblood Highlight at the time, but it worked out nicely) and Trollblood Blue. Mixing these P3 colors with some Asurmen Blue wash from Games Workshop to thin them down and make the shading washes darker and hey presto! fast, easy troll flesh.

I've started to wonder about GW paints, since they're all I've really used before it was natural to go out and buy heaps and heaps of them along with all the GW modeling tools (we can't get the Privateer ones in Glasgow) - but since I discovered the art store and the P3 paints I think I would have been much better off investing my money there. Almost all the tools I've bought from GW I could have got from the art store for much cheaper, the exceptions appear to be the jeweller's saw and the files. So my advice to anyone thinking of stocking up on all the modeling and painting equipment: BUY IT FROM THE ART STORE FIRST. Use the gaming store to get what you can't get in the art store. Oh and GW paint brushes suck goats.

Another thing, painting warjacks is so stupidly easy, I could paint these things all day. My Magnus battle group is already 50% done, will need to start on Magnus himself shortly but he can't be that much harder. All I need is more renegades...

Privateer Press Announcement

Doug Seacat has made an announcement on the IK RPG forums about 4e and the IK RPG line:

There has been considerable speculation and expectations about the RPG line so I wanted to clarify the situation before GenCon. As our fans know the RPG line has won a number of awards over the last several years and has earned a dedicated following. We have great appreciation and fondness for the readers who have stuck by us despite the occasional long wait between these books. It has been gratifying to have the support of people who have eagerly devoured every scrap of setting information and RPG rules we could produce.

As you are aware, we put future book publications for the RPG line on-hold after we determined that 4th Edition was a reality. With the future status of 3.5 edition uncertain and not knowing the shape of 4th Edition we decided it would be a mistake to invest further time and resources on upcoming products. After evaluating our options we have decided not to adopt 4th Edition for the Iron Kingdoms. We will not be converting our material for the Full-Metal Fantasy line to that system. We will continue to provide periodic RPG articles in No Quarter Magazine for the foreseeable future. This will be the best place to find information pertinent to your Iron Kingdoms campaigns in the months ahead.

As we have additional news or information related to the RPG line or pertinent to our existing books, including those which are currently out of print, we will let you know either here or in No Quarter Magazine. We are definitely aware of the difficulties being faced by those seeking the out of print books in particular.

However, with the announced GSL revision I still have a tiny candle-flame of hope that the Iron Kingdoms will eventually go 4e. I'll keep plugging away at the gun mage and other projects, though Warmachine and Hordes are of growing interest to me - I discovered an old Magnus the Traitor battle box buried an old packing box, so I'm giving mercenaries a go while my trolls soak in paint stripper. Perhaps some day my sketchy arcane mechanik ideas will see the light of day!

The Savior Has Arrived

Tada! A working hard drive again, though I wasn't able to salvage anything from my old one unfortunately. At least I still have all these paper notes I took for the gun mage and some work on an arcane mechanik write-up that I'll never actually do. I'm mostly unhappy about losing Black Sails, the campaign path for IK 4e I was writing.

Speaking of 4e, it appears that my prayers have been answered: the GSL is being revised. We may even get to see a shiny new GSL at GenCon... maybe... Discussion of this momentous event and its relation to the Iron Kingdoms can be found in this forum thread.

With this extra free time I don't actually have I have discovered I absolutely hate painting trolls. I don't know why, I like painting Madrak, but painting normal trolls and trollkin just gives me a headache. Perhaps I'll just paint everything as albinos instead. I think I'm having such trouble because I can't seem to get the blue of their skin quite right or to a color I'm happy with. I think I might use the alternate color scheme for trolls from NQ15, where the trolls are more of a tan color. Time to get me some paint stripper.

My Hard Drive is Boned

Yep, my hard drive bit the biscuit today, returning both errors 7 and 4. Unfortunately I'm miles past the end of the warranty so I have to go buy a new drive instead of getting a free replacement from Dell. If you're wondering how I'm typing the post, I'm using my iPhone and a screen about four inches wide. Guess updates will have to wait until the new hard drive arrives.

Axe to Face, Part 2

Finally got hold of my mother's snazzy digital camera and managed to take five pictures of my Madrak Ironhide conversion before the battery ran out of juice. Four of those pictures I couldn't use because the camera flash actually reflects off his white skin so all you can see is a massive fuzzy blur where his head is.


As you can see the base has been completed and I've removed my horrible job with the tartan. Overall I'm quite happy with my Madrak and look forward to playing him tomorrow in my first Warmachine/Hordes game at Static Games in Glasgow. If anyone who reads this blog is going (hah, people read this blog? Who am I kidding?) look for the half-chinese stick figure mercilessly stomping things, that will be me.

Finish Him!

Many people who play in my D&D games could do so without the fear of having their characters horribly slaughtered by overwhelming odds. The fools! I have now discovered the coup de grace (pronounced: coo deh grah) and the brutalizing has begun. Logrul Beknar, the group's ogrun fighter, was pounced upon by some tharn ravagers and quickly downed early in the fight (shocking everyone, Logrul's refused to die or keel over on many occasions so far and he's a monster with that halberd). Everyone in the party seemed to think they could leave him for a round or two before going to administer aid. The fools!

What do the tharn do? They cut his heart out and ate it. Now that's a coup de grace. I did want to stomp on Logrul's head with a war beast of some sort, but the encounter didn't have any.

Luckily this was the last session for a while, so Sebs, the player who plays Logrul, has plenty of time to pick his next character and figure out how to fit him into the party. Even so, I look forward to more coup de grace.

Wallpaper and Me

Surprisingly I find myself back at my own flat at last after spending the weekend helping Anna (my sister) strip wallpaper off every wall in her new house while trying to keep my 1 year old nephew away from the clearly toxic spray we were using. Trying times were had by all.

Back to the gun mage schedule, now that I'm back at my flat I can actually post my updates at last... but the forums appear to be down. Destiny appears to dislike my gun mage updates. I'll check back in about one hour. Oh hey, they're up again already, update incoming!

Madrak is now fully painted, I ditched the tartan - it looked horrible - and reverted to just having a shaded green cloth instead. The guide to painting tartan in No Quarter isn't all it's made up to be, I'm sure if I could paint like the Brush Thralls, then it would look awesome, but I can't, so it just looks fugly and very amateurish. Now I shall move onto the axer and impalers from the battle box, though starting work on the pyre troll I bought today is tempting... but alas I don't have any yellow paint.