The miniature-painting and war-gaming hobbies have been passions of mine for about 15 years now. Like many of you, I came to the hobby honestly through the Games Workshop portal initially - Necromunda, Warmaster, Mordheim, and eventually Warhammer 40k to be precise. About 10 years ago, I started making the move over to a new-fangled game by the name of Warmachine. This kept me going for a few years but it was when I discovered what I refer to as "Adventure Gaming" that my hobby really took off. Low model-count skirmish style games which emphasize story, campaign development, and world-building are what really light my fire these days. Although I am tempted by many different genres of war-gaming, I have, over the past number of years, managed to restrain my collecting and painting to these games and genres:
LEGENDS OF THE OLD WEST (Wild West Gaming)
LOTOW was my first foray into the adventure gaming genre. I embarked upon a mass building and painting project and, along with a couple of gaming buddies, we started to weave the ongoing tale of Assumption, Oklahoma. As we played this new style of game, we started noticing that we spent far more time than ever before talking in silly accents and laughing hysterically. It was during this period of discovery that my interest in (allegedly) more "serious" war games started to wane.
After spending years on the shelf, my group is currently right at the beginning of a new period of Old West gaming using the Legends of the Old West rules. New models have been ordered, new terrain is being painted, and shamefully-bad accents have been dusted off...
LOTOW was my first foray into the adventure gaming genre. I embarked upon a mass building and painting project and, along with a couple of gaming buddies, we started to weave the ongoing tale of Assumption, Oklahoma. As we played this new style of game, we started noticing that we spent far more time than ever before talking in silly accents and laughing hysterically. It was during this period of discovery that my interest in (allegedly) more "serious" war games started to wane.
After spending years on the shelf, my group is currently right at the beginning of a new period of Old West gaming using the Legends of the Old West rules. New models have been ordered, new terrain is being painted, and shamefully-bad accents have been dusted off...
CHAOS IN CARPATHIA (Gothic Horror Gaming)
After our fairly lengthy LOTOW Assumption campaign began winding up, I started looking towards other genres of adventure games to invest my time in. After a lot of consideration, I settled on Gothic Horror. I love the Victorian era, I love horror in general, and, after reading the Chaos in Carpathia ruleset, I was sold! At the time of this writing, my Gothic Horror project has been the largest scale war gaming project I've ever undertaken. In fact, my incomplete The Curse of the Dertflinghans campaign is still pinned near the top of the Lead Adventure Gothic Horror forum page. Since that time, my collection has grown to include an entire village with all the trappings, interior tiles for all buildings and underground locations, and over 100 painted Gothic Horror models.
In addition to the painting and terrain-making, I have, along with another horror lover in the group, created a full card-based campaign and scenario generation system for the game. It has been honed over the years and, if I do say so myself, I wouldn't consider playing Chaos in Carpathia without it.
After our fairly lengthy LOTOW Assumption campaign began winding up, I started looking towards other genres of adventure games to invest my time in. After a lot of consideration, I settled on Gothic Horror. I love the Victorian era, I love horror in general, and, after reading the Chaos in Carpathia ruleset, I was sold! At the time of this writing, my Gothic Horror project has been the largest scale war gaming project I've ever undertaken. In fact, my incomplete The Curse of the Dertflinghans campaign is still pinned near the top of the Lead Adventure Gothic Horror forum page. Since that time, my collection has grown to include an entire village with all the trappings, interior tiles for all buildings and underground locations, and over 100 painted Gothic Horror models.
In addition to the painting and terrain-making, I have, along with another horror lover in the group, created a full card-based campaign and scenario generation system for the game. It has been honed over the years and, if I do say so myself, I wouldn't consider playing Chaos in Carpathia without it.
PULP ALLEY (Pulp Adventure Gaming)
If you have an interest in Pulp gaming and you haven't played Pulp Alley, go buy it immediately and thank me later for enlightening you. David and Mila Phipps (affectionately known as Pulp Girl) really hit a home run with this simple yet addictive rule-set. A great part of the appeal is the fact that characters are created on the basis of abilities and, with no hard and fast equipment rules, you can use any miniature that inspires you. In my book, Pulp Alley wins the "Game that has NO limits on what miniatures can be represented on the table top" award. I will confess that I initially got into the game as an excuse to paint some Pulp miniatures from Artizan and Copplestone that I had been eyeing for years. However, it didn't take long to get sucked into the game for its own sake. Pulp Alley is still a fairly untapped gem in my group. We still have some models and terrain lying around waiting to be tackled.
If you have an interest in Pulp gaming and you haven't played Pulp Alley, go buy it immediately and thank me later for enlightening you. David and Mila Phipps (affectionately known as Pulp Girl) really hit a home run with this simple yet addictive rule-set. A great part of the appeal is the fact that characters are created on the basis of abilities and, with no hard and fast equipment rules, you can use any miniature that inspires you. In my book, Pulp Alley wins the "Game that has NO limits on what miniatures can be represented on the table top" award. I will confess that I initially got into the game as an excuse to paint some Pulp miniatures from Artizan and Copplestone that I had been eyeing for years. However, it didn't take long to get sucked into the game for its own sake. Pulp Alley is still a fairly untapped gem in my group. We still have some models and terrain lying around waiting to be tackled.
IMPETUS (Historical Mass-Battle War-gaming)
This game has been the one exception to the adventure gaming genre over the past 7 or 8 years. Impetus is a mass-battle game where one larger base (8cm frontage for 15mm miniatures) represents a unit. It's a very "clean" game with no figure removal or movement trays (which I love) and the ability to make each unit its own little diorama is a big part of the appeal. The rules are also very solid and straight-forward. Although it can be a little dicey, I find that the game most often goes the player with the most well-thought out deployment and battle plan.
I've painted Impetus armies in numerous scales - 6mm, 10mm, 15mm, and 28mm, but I find the 15mm scale and basing to be the most appealing. I currently own two completely painted 15mm armies based for Impetus - a medieval Armagnac force and a dark age Avar force. Impetus is the primary "competitive" war game in my gaming group.
This game has been the one exception to the adventure gaming genre over the past 7 or 8 years. Impetus is a mass-battle game where one larger base (8cm frontage for 15mm miniatures) represents a unit. It's a very "clean" game with no figure removal or movement trays (which I love) and the ability to make each unit its own little diorama is a big part of the appeal. The rules are also very solid and straight-forward. Although it can be a little dicey, I find that the game most often goes the player with the most well-thought out deployment and battle plan.
I've painted Impetus armies in numerous scales - 6mm, 10mm, 15mm, and 28mm, but I find the 15mm scale and basing to be the most appealing. I currently own two completely painted 15mm armies based for Impetus - a medieval Armagnac force and a dark age Avar force. Impetus is the primary "competitive" war game in my gaming group.
So, Is That It Then?
As I mentioned at the beginning of this ramble, I am tempted by MANY genres of war-gaming. However, I decided some years ago to limit my forays to a manageable number of projects. I get more satisfaction in the long run from having fewer projects that provide my friends and me with fully-developed gaming experiences. Don't get me wrong, there are times when I feel like going completely off the deep end and going head long into something brand new but, up to this point, with the occasional minor exception, I have managed to keep both my credit card and my sanity in check.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this ramble, I am tempted by MANY genres of war-gaming. However, I decided some years ago to limit my forays to a manageable number of projects. I get more satisfaction in the long run from having fewer projects that provide my friends and me with fully-developed gaming experiences. Don't get me wrong, there are times when I feel like going completely off the deep end and going head long into something brand new but, up to this point, with the occasional minor exception, I have managed to keep both my credit card and my sanity in check.
Geektactica... That Sounds Familiar...
Yes, I am that guy Jason (a.k.a. JET) who authored the previous blog site of the same name. It's still out there, right here in fact, forgotten and neglected. There are still lots of photos, articles, and memories residing there. However, I found that my blogging ground to a halt for two reasons.
First of all, I had set a very high standard. I'm not being boastful here. What I mean is, every post was a lengthy story or battle report with LOTS of photos and significant amounts of prose. As my life got busier (read: children) I found that I had less time and energy to take on these gargantuan posts so I eventually stopped posting entirely. I found myself wishing that I took more of a "many shorter, less involved posts" approach.
Secondly, I really got more and more fed up with the Blogger platform. The formatting inconsistencies and issues drove me to the point where I didn't want to blog any more. When the blogging bug bit again, I decided that, rather than try to salvage something old, I would instead try to create something on a blank canvas. And in the end, I would rather have a readership of 10 or 15 people who are really interested than a large (and likely outdated) list of Followers.
I hope you join me on this new journey and enjoy watching my hobby life unfold and develop.
Sincerely,
Jason
Yes, I am that guy Jason (a.k.a. JET) who authored the previous blog site of the same name. It's still out there, right here in fact, forgotten and neglected. There are still lots of photos, articles, and memories residing there. However, I found that my blogging ground to a halt for two reasons.
First of all, I had set a very high standard. I'm not being boastful here. What I mean is, every post was a lengthy story or battle report with LOTS of photos and significant amounts of prose. As my life got busier (read: children) I found that I had less time and energy to take on these gargantuan posts so I eventually stopped posting entirely. I found myself wishing that I took more of a "many shorter, less involved posts" approach.
Secondly, I really got more and more fed up with the Blogger platform. The formatting inconsistencies and issues drove me to the point where I didn't want to blog any more. When the blogging bug bit again, I decided that, rather than try to salvage something old, I would instead try to create something on a blank canvas. And in the end, I would rather have a readership of 10 or 15 people who are really interested than a large (and likely outdated) list of Followers.
I hope you join me on this new journey and enjoy watching my hobby life unfold and develop.
Sincerely,
Jason