Hi everybody,
Well it's now been almost a year since this started:
http://www.40konline.com/index.php?topic=176107.0And as we head into 2010 we felt it was time to do it all over again!!
As a gaming group we had a huge amount of fun with Tale of Four Gamers 2009 but as you can see we didn't actually ever finish it!
I never finished painting my Ultramarines and we never caught up with the games so never had a final result.
The idea of the challenge was also to kick start and motivate us to all have a fully finished painted army that we could all build upon for the rest of the year.
For some of us (Yan's IG and Stuart's Grey Knights) this did happen, but some of us (myself and Ben) had a solid and intense 6 months of painting and then did nothing for the rest of the year (although Ben did at least finish his beautiful but deadly CSM army!).
So this year there will be some fairly major changes to the way we conduct the challenge, but the basic idea remains the same.
To build and paint a new army and have lots of fun along the way, and to keep a PLOG of our progress so that others can watch as we struggle to do so!
We also have a new recruit to the challenge, as our gaming group has got a little bigger so this year there will be 5 armies instead of 4 (damn I should change the title to Battle of the 5 armies...), as we welcome Alex back to our group.
So the challengers are:
Myself (Chris Parsons) - Imperial Guard Macragge PDF
Ben (lijah_cuu) - Renegade/Traitor Guard
Stuart (Kototoma) - Craftworld Eldar or possibly Necrons
Yan (Dakota) – Necrons
Alex (Albion) - Mechanised IG
The Format:
We learnt a lot last year.
Mainly that some of us paint a lot faster than others, and that you should really stick to your army list before going off on a painting spree (and in my case that you really should check your maths so that you don't suddenly find yourself over a hundred points short with nothing painted half way through the challenge!)
We also learnt that as 4 thirty-something men with wives, kids, mad girlfriends, complicated social lives and a full time job each that gaming and painting solidly for 6 months takes its toll!
For some of us painting a 1500 point army in 6 months was a doddle (damn you!), but for others it was just unrealistic.
Therefore for this challenge there is no set points limit!
We can each paint an army from 1000 - 2000 pts. Points differences between armies will be settled with strategems or handicaps.
Rather than painting a set 250pts per month we will each "pledge" to paint something for our army.
This can be whatever we like as long as we believe it is realistic, and will only receive points if we fulfil our pledge. In other words the minis are fully painted, based and have decals / markings etc.
This will allow the slower painters amongst the group to not lose points, and the more intensive modellers to build large imposing armies.
It was also very difficult to squeeze in enough games for the challenge, and this time we will be playing as part of a campaign so we will either game twice a month, or only as banners move into opposing territories.
We will create a map and divide it into 50 hexes.
Each player will start with 3 hexes each as their territory and will each have 1 x Landing Pad as their base.
Each month players will be able to move around the map and fight battles with each other and the winner at the end of the challenge will be the player who controls the most territory.
Scoring:Each month players will be awarded points for the following:
Painting Pledge completed - 5 points.
Game won - 3 points
Game Drawn - 2 points
Game Lost - 1 point
Rather than dictating the final score these points will be saved up and can be spent throughout the campaign.
These will be known as Campaign Points.
Spending Campaign Points:Each month players will be able to spend any Campaign Points they have accrued.
1 point - move 1 hex. Ending your move in an occupied Hex will result in a Battle. Moving through an Occupied Hex but not ending there will result in a possible loss of points on that banner.
3 points - create new banner (500pts) - Landing Pad Required
1 point - increase banner pointage by 100pts - Landing Pad Required
3 points - move to any occupied friendly player hex if Landing Pad still intact
10 points - Build Landing Pad
There are also plans to be able to convert Campaign Points into General Points which will give advantages during battles.
These will be spent secretly before each game and should provide some interesting twists!
As yet the General Points idea is Yan’s so I will let him expand further on these.
Players will start with 1 Banner each (500pts), which begins in the Landing Pad Hex of their territory.
New banners can be created by spending Campaign Points, but no Banner may be increased by more than 300pts per month. This means that each army can grow by a maximum of 300pts per month, and will allow those of us who don’t want to build massive armies not get too left behind.
New Banners will start on a landing Pad Hex of their player's choice (assuming they have more than one).
There will also be a special Landing Pad mission should players wish to hinder their opponents' means of expanding their territories.
We will also be using the Campaign rules in the BRB to give veteran upgrades to particularly outstanding units throughout the Campaign.
Incentive.This time around there will also be another reason for players to work that little bit harder in the form of an incentive.
Each of the Gamers will pay £5 per month into the “Club Kitty”.
This will give us a kitty of £25 per month over 6-8 months (we are considering running this tale for 8 months so that we can guarantee finishing it).
At the end of challenge the player controlling the most territory will be the winner.
The winner will walk away with either a Battleforce of his choice or £50 of vouchers to be spent on gaming goodness (I am hoping £50 of Wayland Vouchers!
).
The remaining cash will be spent on scenery for the group so that we can add variety to our games, and also so that next year we can incorporate Plaet Strike and Cities of Death scenarios in our challenge.
The PLOGThe project log will hopefully be updated on a weekly basis with Battle reports, Work in Progress pics of our armies and other Campaign related news!
I will endeavour to keep this as up to date as possible, work permitting but we welcome as much feedback, army ideas and other criticism as possible.
Let battle commence!The initial idea was to start this Tale on January 1st, and finish it some time in August.
However in all the excitement we have all started a little bit early (and because I am such a slow painter it gives me a fighting chance!).
Therefore the start date will be December 1st, with the first game being played on 1st February (or nearest Saturday).
For the first game players are required to have completed 1 x HQ and 2 Troops choices up to a maximum of 500pts.
Armies will then be able to increase up to a maximum of 300pts per month as detailed in the Campaign Rules.
Banners must contain units already painted and assembled, but otherwise may be constructed as each player sees fit, but full disclosure will be required and lists must be kept up to date and legible.
Hopefully this will be a lot of fun,I am looking forward to it and let's hope this time we get it finished!
Cheers for looking, feedback and suggestions on the campaign system would also be appreciated as we haven't done this before.