Brother Tyler

Given the tongue in cheek nature of the premise, I'm moving this over to the + ADEPTUS ASTARTES / LOYALIST LEGIONES ASTARTES + forum.

Just for clarification, are you asking about a specific point in time (e.g., that represented by the 5th edition of the game)? Or are you asking about a range of time periods for which there might be different answers (e.g., M36, M37, M38)? If you're looking for the latter, starting points for information (until someone here takes the time to break things down into a simpler format) are the timelines/chronologies on Lexicanum or the Warhammer 40,000 Fandom Wiki.

That was unexpected. I'm not really a fan of this for Kill Team, but I expect we'll see the Exodites eventually available for the Craftworld Aeldari as allies, akin to the Corsairs. And despite my misgivings about this in Kill Team, I'm almost certain to get it since I'm a sucker for the Aeldari.

I have bitmap versions of both Firstborn and Primaris Space Marines that you might be able to use. These are the templates I used for the images shown in the Insignium Astartes: Legio. Alternately, if you look at the DIY Resources, you'll find a link to the old Space Marine Painter (Firstborn) and a link to the Primaris markings and heraldry sheet. One of these might be helpful.

@RowlandAbsolutely. If you haven't already done so, you might take a look at some of the finished DIY Chapter articles. There are diverse formats and different types/quantities of information provided in each, demonstrating the level of flexibility members have in crafting their articles. An article works well for a single "post" format. An alternative format you might consider is to have a blog. This works well if you want to have each area presented separately, allowing for members to jump around (via links) as well as for future expansion that you might develop.

Thanks to the generosity of our members, we have raised $2,503.47 , reaching our target. This money goes towards monthly server hosting, semiannual licensing, and a planned software update/server migration. In addition, we have sufficient funds to cover emergency maintenance. While we have conducted this fundraising campaign as a two-month event, we gladly accept donations year-round. Any money we raise above this amount can be given back to the community as prizes for contests. In the past, prizes have been paid for out of pocket by the contest hosts (which is why most contests don't have prizes). Once again, a big thank you to everyone who donated, as well as to those who may donate in the future. Your generosity has been instrumental in ensuring the continued availability of this site to the members of the community.

Thanks to the generosity of our members, we have now raised $2,373.47, just under 95% of our goal.

I'll look into the possibility that this is part of the Invision software (i.e., something official that I just haven't dealt with - on me).

The members of the staff were recently approached by a member who has used artificial intelligence (AI) / large language model (LLM) technology in the process of generating hobby content, asking if it was permissible to submit that content to the site for others to enjoy. This forced us to consider some things. Anyone who hasn't been living under a rock is no doubt aware that AI/LLM technology has proliferated across diverse industries/sectors. It was inevitable that tabletop miniature wargaming hobbyists would find ways to incorporate AI/LLM into their hobby pursuits. Similarly, it would be both a fool's errand and tyrannical to attempt to prevent any AI/LLM-created content from being submitted to the community. While there is significant controversy over the impact of AI/LLM (and I tend to stand with John Connor and Serena Butler on this issue), there are certainly ways in which hobbyists can enhance their enjoyment of the hobby with assistance from AI/LLM. After all, hobbyists might use AI/LLM to generate content such as avatars, signature images, etc. The converse of this, however, is that we participate in this community to celebrate our own efforts, not those of AI/LLM. Our mission statement: The Bolter & Chainsword exists to help the members of a global hobby community to better understand, engage in, and enjoy all aspects of the Warhammer 40,000 hobby through constructive discussion and the sharing of hobby-related content. (emphasis added) AI/LLM are tools, not "members of [the] community." These tools might be used by members of the community, but it is the creativity, skill, and dedication of the members that are to be celebrated, not the effectiveness of the tools used by the members. To be fair, some level of skill/knowledge is important in maximizing AI/LLM output, but AI/LLM are capable of producing products that might be far beyond the abilities of many hobbyists. Other members should know that AI/LLM is used so that they may give informed reactions and feedback. The members of the staff are working on additions to our community rules to address the use of AI/LLM in developing content that is submitted to the site. Members of the community are welcome to provide suggestions that support the basic principles identified below: Members of the community are allowed to submit content that has been developed with the assistance of AI/LLM. AI/LLM use will be clearly mentioned in a disclaimer so that other members aren't misled. The level of detail about the extent of AI/LLM use is up to the content creator. Content will be locked/hidden if it is determined that the content was created using AI/LLM and the content creator deliberately misled the community. Content creators may be allowed to edit content to add the required disclaimer if the omission was an oversight, but each member will only be granted this mercy once (i.e., we'll give you the benefit of the doubt once, but repeat offenses are suspect). Comments/replies to such content should not dwell on the fact that AI/LLM was used. We don't need to turn every such discussion into bellyaching about the use of AI/LLM. If you don't like it, you can simply ignore the content. Disruptive responses, including reactions, will be removed and may result in disciplinary action. If you believe a content creator is deliberately misleading the members of the community, you should REPORT the content. You don't need to harass the member, however (see #4 above). I doubt we'll attempt to be legalistic here. We'll provide common sense guidelines that rely on members being ethical and exercising good judgment, meeting the intent and being honest with the members of the community. The staff members are not going to be the AI/LLM police (we have much better things to do with our time), but we'll deal with disruptive/deceptive behavior as necessary. In the meantime, the interim guidance provided above should suffice for now. If you have questions/suggestions for the fair use of AI/LLM here at the Bolter and Chainsword, you are welcome to provide your input as a reply to this discussion.

I'm not aware of a B&C app.

Our generous members have now raised $2,368.27, 94% of our goal. Just over $130 to go!

Transition Guidance All active (i.e., unarchived) topics in this forum have been locked. The intent is that the project leader will create either a blog or a club for the further conduct of the project. Once that blog or club is created, the project leader should post an announcement topic in this forum. In the case of a special project conducted as a club, the existing topic will be unlocked and moved into that club's discussion forum (if there are multiple forums therein, please identify the desired forum for the topic). In the case of a special project conducted as a blog, the project leader should copy/quote posts in the existing (locked) discussion into one or more blog entries. Once that work is complete, the existing (locked) topic will be merged with the new announcement topic and unlocked. Project leaders of completed special projects are also allowed to create blogs or clubs for their projects, if desired. Projects for which no blog or club is created will be considered inactive and categorized accordingly in the index of special projects.

This forum has transitioned from being a place to discuss/develop special projects to being a "bulletin board" of special projects. In this, it is intended to provide visibility of special projects, enabling members to find them without having to perform exhaustive searches. First, it is important to define what a "special project" is. A [normal] project would be something that falls within the realm of normal hobby participation - painting miniatures, collecting armies, playing games, etc. A "special project" is something outside the norm. This includes, but is not limited to, things such as: Developing a DIY Chapter Developing homegrown rules Developing campaigns Developing alternate histories et cetera Special projects are generally developed either as individual or group efforts: In an individual effort project, one person holds sole decision-making authority, though other individuals often participate by providing feedback and making recommendations. DIY Chapter creation is a great example of a type of project that is typically an individual effort. Individual effort projects are often conducted in the Blogs, though some individuals may choose to conduct their individual efforts in the Clubs. In a group effort project, while one person typically serves as a project manager, other individuals often have much more involvement. Sometimes, participants develop segments of the project and the project manager provides direction and control, integrating the disparate segments into the whole. Sometimes, participants simply provide feedback and recommendations, with the project manager either arbitrating or using some sort of voting process to make decisions. Ultimately, the project manager determines the methodology to be used. Group effort projects should be conducted in the Clubs. When a special project blog or club is created, the project leader should submit a topic in this forum. The topic title should reflect the name of the project and the body of the announcement should include the URL of the blog or club. In addition, topic content should provide information that allows the staff to add the link to the project to the special project index, helping us to categorize the project to facilitate project searches by members. These announcements will be submitted to the approval queue, where a staff member will review them and approve them for publication, at which point they will become visible to the members of the community. This announcement topic will serve to provide visibility of the topic, allowing members to click the URL as a link to see and participate in the project. Note that it is also perfectly acceptable to post parallel announcements in other (sub)forums if they are relevant. For example, a special project to develop homegrown rules and background for a custom Tyranid Hive Fleet might have an announcement topic both in this forum as well as in the + TYRANIDS + forum. Similarly, a special project to develop rules for a bespoke Orks kill team might have announcements in this forum, the + ORKS + forum, and the + KILL TEAM + forum. Such parallel announcement topics ensure that the project has the appropriate level of visibility and access, while being conducted as either a blog or a club ensures that all work on the project is concentrated in one place, avoiding confusion by having things spread across multiple areas. It is important to note that announcement topics that appear in the Forums won't have as much control in terms of member replies, so project managers will have to review each such topic periodically to ensure that they are taking in all relevant feedback and responding to any questions that may arise outside of the project's actual location. A highly effective method for doing that is to use the Follow function for each announcement topic. Project leaders/participants are also welcome to post replies to the announcement topic when there is a project update. This reply, too, should include the URL to the update. In the case of special projects conducted as blogs, the URL might be to the relevant blog entry. In the case of special projects conducted as clubs, the URL might be to a relevant topic, blog entry, file, or other content in that club. For example, if a project to develop a homegrown codex is completed and the finalized codex is available as either an article or a download (or better yet, both), the link to the article/download could be posted along with an update that the project is now complete. These update announcements, too, will be reviewed and approved by staff members. Tutorials for creating and updating content in the features can be found in the + BOLTER AND CHAINSWORD 101 + forum: Blogs Clubs (this tutorial is still in development - the link will be provided when the tutorial is published)

I'd love to see pictures of this, providing members with an example of a cost-effective alternative to more expensive products.

Generous member donations have brought our total up to $2,318.27, 92% of our goal. While we gratefully accept donations year-round, we hope to raise just over $180 USD more by the end of June.