Straight from a new email from Games Workshop:
The Throne of Skulls is coming: Games Workshop's system for Grand Tournaments promising great games, friendly competition and the chance to enjoy the Games Workshop hobby: over to Jervis Johnson to tell you more.
Our Throne of Skulls Grand Tournaments are all about having a great time playing one of your favourite games. Over the years they have proved to be a huge success, and so we are now planning to run more of them, in more places round the world, than ever before. As part of this process we're updating the way we run our tournaments, to make it even easier for players to have the best time possible. Our aim is simply to get people together so they can play games, meet up with their mates and immerse themselves in the hobby for a day or two.
Tournaments are not just about fighting battles; there are lots of other things to do as well. They offer an unrivalled opportunity to make new friends and see some really great armies. You're sure to come away with some new ideas for your own collection, and hints and tips on how to achieve the best effects. There are usually plenty of other activities to take part in too. You'll find that a Throne of Skulls Grand Tournament is a fantastic way to celebrate all aspects of the Games Workshop hobby.
Look out for details of Throne of Skulls Grand Tournaments to be held in your area in the pages of White Dwarf magazine and on the Games Workshop website at www.games-workshop.com shortly. We look forward to seeing you at a Throne of Skulls Grand Tournament soon!
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Okay, this sounds pretty good -- especially considering GW's disappearing-to-almost-nothing support for gaming tournaments as of late. Still, I'm not going to get too excited until I see the details and frequency of the events. Are they just going to be a few a year where you need to drive halfway across the contentinent to visit or are they going to be more common and therefore acessable? Or, is this just a way for GW to add its name to the efforts of regular gamers (can't say this last idea is such a bad one as we here at 40KOrigins are obviously offering a big set of GW events at Origins)? Time will tell...
For those interested here is the cover of the upcoming 2010 edition of the Citadel Catalogue:
I know in some ways it's just an expensive advertisement for Games Workshop models, but I typically get a copy for the sake of being able to look for bits. Of course, given GW's move away from offering bits maybe I will forgo a copy after all...
Games Workshop just put up some new and highly cool Advanced Orders -- Leman Russ/Vanquisher/Exterminator, Fire Prism/Night Spinner, Manitcore/DeathStrike, and Eldar Support Weapon. With them come Commander Pask and the Squadron Command Frame (which is odd as it contains stuff for a wide range of different armies on a single sprue). You can see all of them on the Advanced Orders Page, but here are some pictures:
It's that time of year when 40KOrigins' various awards and extras start coming in from the manufacturers. Here is the latest -- the arrival of our official 40KOrigins.com dice!
We had orignally planned for red with white dots but for some strange reason Chessex unilaterially decided that our dice would look better being black with red dots. Oh well, still looks cool either way. And, regardless, the "6" is replaced with the 40KOrigins.com logo.
Everyone who plays one of our games gets a free die -- per event. So, if you play three you get three free dice! So, don't say we never get you nothing.
1) We have ordered the trophies for the Rogue Trader Tourament which should be in within a few weeks. Here is a look at the proofs they just sent me:
The end result will be awards of the same style as last year's (everyone seemed to really like them) made of acryllic.
2) We are still working on trophies on the other two tournaments, but I guarantee they'll be well worth taking home.
3) I also want to put in a request for anyone with any and all Apocalypse armies to please come and join us for The World's Largest Apocalypse Game on all day the 25th of June. I'd really like to see the most men and machines possible to show up. Doesn't matter if they are painted, just bring 'em. I want to change "World's Largest" from merely a goal to a straight-out fact. That means we need as many super-heavies, tanks, fliers, and titans as anyone can bring. Plus, we will provide the free pizza! Can't beat that!
Here is an extra bit of material for the 40K Larp, namely video from last year. Enjoy.
Last year we here at 40KOrigins helped advertise the Warhammer 40K LARP (Live-Action Role-Playing) event at Origins and we are doing so again. Kettle of Fish Productions is doing another live role-playing event call Vox Recidivus. Here is the description they sent along:
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Kettle of Fish Productions, the heretics behind 2009's Nox Terminus, present a new live-action roleplay experience set in the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium. Join us at Origins Game Fair this June for Vox Recidivus!
Just beyond the border of the Imperium is a world dark and terrible, primal and ancient. It is a world that abhors the presence of Mankind, forever untamed and unconquered. It is a world where the eternal die and the lost return. Tonight, a Rogue Trader shall claim it, a Heretic shall remake it, and an Inquisitor shall purge it to the core!
Cast of Characters
Radical Inquisitorial Coterie
Lord-Inquisitor Bellatrix Nightfall - Her mission takes her beyond the edge of the Imperium
Old Stewart - Savant, scribe, confidant, and Psyker thrall
Mort - Young man-at-arms and product of the Schola Progenium
Brother Kant - Mendicant monk, spiritual advisor, and curate
Radical Inquisitorial Coterie
Inquisitor Gorderic Zail - Ruthless Inquisitor, former apprentice of the late Mortiphonsus Plaxx
Sister Thalestris - Sister of Battle and enforcer of Zail's will
Blank Peter - Wind-wiped savant, lore master, and assistant to Inquisitor Zail
Interrogator Percunctor Mox - Silent master of pain, more machine then man
Lost Imperial Guard Detachment
Commissar Galt - Sole voice of Imperial authority
Father Thaddeus - Regimental Chaplain
"Sparks" Gibsen - Jittery combat Psyker
Bester Cordwain - Gunnery Officer
"Crooked" Max Keel - Penal Legionnaire
Bertram Tannen - Grizzled veteran
Jim Altair - Imperial Guard cadet
Jove Mordred - Departmento Munitorum Attache
Crew of The Jeweled Chalice
Lord-captain Malifax Randal - Rogue Trader of some renown
Feral Gore, The Render - Primitive tribesman and Randal's personal guard
Margaret "Blue Eyes" Trismegistus - Hedonistic young Navigator, the shame of her Household
Explorator Obed Grendizer - Xenoarcanist and seeker of lost knowledge
Baz Zkullkrakka - Ork slave
Inhabitants of Ze'ev 761
High Oligarch Gral - Aged local warlord
Eleazeno - Bloodsword shield maiden and enforcer of Gral's will
Pablovis - High Priest
Fair Xant - Daughter to Pablovis
Speaker Talos - Tribal shaman
Menex - Enterprising young hunter
Sophron - Young warrior recently returned from his rites of passage
Procles - Tribal elder and lore keeper
Man Tom The Young - Bewildered prophet
Please direct all questions and character requests to Kettle of Fish Productions at SpathiPrime@yahoo.com
Since I had a post about them when they were eight-week kittens I thought I would post an update picture of my two cats (that and it's a Friday night and I'm feeling lazy). They are now officially six-months old, but almost full sized. (Healthy) Siamese top off at 7-9 pounds.
Both have turned out to be sweet cats that are quite affectionate and playful -- and quite intelligent. That's good because it makes them more interesting and compelling. For instance, it took me literally three minuts to teach Leo to play fetch (Now he brings me toys when he wants to play). However, it also it means they get bored easily. As a result "entertaining" them can sometimes be a chore, but the company is worth it.
Martin (Left) and Leo Scheming
Trivia Answer of the Day: All Siamese are born a pure creamy white, but gain their points (the dark parts) due to a fur color gene that only activates at temperatures under their normal body temp. That is why the points show up at their extremities -- nose, ears, feet -- since they are the coldest parts of their body. This gene remains active throughout their life. Thus, if we were to move to a cold climate they'd naturally grow darker while a hotter climate would make their points lighter.
This can also happen if I were to let them get big and fat -- since body fat under their skin is colder it would cause their entire coats to turn dark brown. I actually saw a Siamese like that once. I thought it was a mundane -- and hugely obese -- sort of cat mix and was flabbergasted to learn that such a completely dark brown feline was actually a pure blood Siamese!
Needless to say, I plan on keeping them to a reasonable diet once they become full adults (at about one year old).
We now return you to your regular gaming show already in progress...