apologist

With Orktober approaching at breakneck speed, I thought I'd give this project a little bump, and see if anyone is game to paint up some Gargants with me? Seems a good excuse to get the biggest, stompiest robots on the table!

The familiar daemons of the four Great Powers are being wedged into the HH – and quite swiftly, with Tzeentch and Slaanesh rules appearing in quick succession. A new daemon force in LI is a good shout for an expansion in LI, as it’s a whole new faction. Likewise Talons of the Emperor; who are a good counter to them. Radio silence at the preview may be cause for dismay, or it may be simply keeping the powder dry for a bigger reveal later.

Fair points. while I'm concerned a bad update, whether caused by management interference or not, could kill a vibrant game dead – the Porphyrion and Asterius Knights are good examples of how even a single unit can really make Adeptus Titanicus creak, let alone fiddling with the core mechanics – I've no desire to be a doommonger. Overall, I would like to see a good update. There are lots of little quality of life improvements that can be made, and the mechanics for Knights in general really need to be rethought – and perhaps most importantly, a properly set-out rulebook and shiny new box would doubtless bring in lots of new players, which is needed to keep things fresh. Plus we'd probably get some cool new models :) While I caution that these games are inherently simpler by virtue of being boardgames with fewer options, GW have form with more sensitive updates of properties like Space Hulk (still essentially Halliwell's original mechanics) and Blood Bowl, which are both lovely tight rulesets that have had fitting, considered additions made. +++ On the August releases, they're a good example of how seemingly subtle additions can have surprisingly large consequences on such a narrow-scoped game. You're right that the Warlord Titan's weapon sprues were simply plastic updates of resin kits, but even something like that can affect things, simply by making them more easily available to people. The Reaver Titan weapon sprue, meanwhile, includes two new arm weapons – and it's unclear whether they're intended to also be compatible with the Warbringer-Nemesis (WBN): the AT WBN terminal indicates not, but the Legions Imperialis FAQ is explicit in allowing the WBN to take the new arm weapons. If they are, then that really changes the game for the WBN. It's currently stuck with mid-ranged or expensive arm weapons that aren't well-synergised with the big boomy carapace gun. If they can take the new Reaver weapons, it's suddenly a much more viable long-range support Titan.

Alas, I can't for the life of me remember the name of the sculptor, but I would love to shake his hand. I've been wanting this style of head since 2018, and I'm continually bemused why GW continue to pump out (very welcome) Warlord heads, but the Reaver is stuck with one style with minor variation. The heads have been available through Battle Bling, but I think their license has run out. You can currently get them from Vanguard Miniatures, another great company that I thoroughly recommend. +++ I agree; the old Titan upgrades are awesome – Artisans of Vaul has done some amazing takes on some of them, including the Corvus assault pod and gun-heads.

It's this one, from Battle Bling. I picked up a set of three for cheap a while back; and what better time to use them? The only modifications I've made are to fill in a few of the holes and to change the ground-level paving into desert surface to match the rest of the maniple. ...and unrelated to the Stormlords, I also got round to updating the head/cockpit of my Legio Maximal Reaver, Profugon Iratus. I liked the conversion I had made, but this third-party sculpt is just leagues ahead in my eyes, and just what I'd been looking for.

Progress!

A bit more progress on Scythian, a Reaver who'll likely be the most storied of this little group, because I'm building a 40k-scale version, too. For the moment, this AT-size version is proving a great way to plan out the paint scheme and explore. While still work-in-progress, it's worth reflecting on how enjoyable painting Titans is. For whatever reason, I just enjoy painting them – quite unlike the dread I have for 40k vehicles. You can pick and choose different sections and build it up gradually. If there's a common colour you can work across the whole piece, or dive into a single armour plate for an evening. As a result, Scythian here is looking a little patchwork, but it slowly inching towards completion.

A quiet ol' August has seen me beavering away on projects aside from the hobby desk, but I have been sneaking an hour or two here or there to crack on with a new Legio Tempestus project – so time for an update. Still work-in-progress, but pleased with how they're coming along. These (along with another Reaver, Scythian, and a Warbringer-Nemesis, Son of Sarum) will be heading up to WHW in a couple of weekends' time. :)

Kasper Hawser always struggled with Fenrisian animal names :P

Adeptus Titanicus is now the longest-serving specialist game still in production; coming up to eight years. That's a minor miracle in modern GW game circles. While I don't pretend to speak for the AT community, I think the general feeling has moved from 'a second edition would be nice' to 'nobody mention it in case they screw it up.' I was delighted to see that GW continued to support AT by including the terminals and weapon cards in the boxes when the packaging moved to Legions Imperialis – it would have been much easier for them simply to say 'you can play with your Titans in this game now' – but my fear now is that GW's best game will end up dragged down alongside a (potential) decline in LI's fortune. With each month that passes, it's less and less likely that we'll see genuine releases for AT, so my feeling is that if we're not going to get proper releases, it's better kept on life support with minimal meddling. In an ideal world, of course, we'd see a relaunch with a new Titan class or two, a new starter set, and a rulebook that is just tidied up, with the FAQs and Matched Play rules included. Something that remains compatible with the Loyalist and Traitor Legio books, and simply draws in new blood. I – sadly– just don't see it happening, though hope springs eternal. :)

...and the Legions Imperialis rules for the new Reaver guns come out in an as-yet-unheralded download: https://assets.warhammer-community.com/eng_06-08_li_key_downloads_titan_rules_update-w4poa79hfx-zgi3nvrovh.pdf Of note is that the Warbringer is explicitly allowed to use the new Reaver arm guns; so for those playing Adeptus Titanicus, that's probably as close as we'll get to an official announcement that the intention is for them to be used there, too. Note there are some tweaks to some existing weapons, too, for Warhound, Reaver and Warlord.

Courtesy of of Twisted Titanicus, we have stat leaks for the new Reaver arms: Nothing particularly astonishing there – in comparison with the carapace version, the Volkite benefits from a hint more range and no negative modifiers to hit, making it more reliable when you opt not to use beam. Is it worth an extra 10pts? I'm not convinced. Grav looks a lot of fun – while perhaps not the most competitive choice in Adeptus Titanicus, it's at least fun to use and – unlike using lasers – you won't feel like you're handicapping yourself.

While putting together a pack for a 13th Black Crusade/Eye of Terror event later in the year, I've stumbled over a few bits and bobs and wondered if you could help out with some background/lore notes, as (whisper it low) I largely missed out on the Eye of Terror campaign. +++ + Location + The event will focus on Kasr Holn, the fifth planet in the Cadian system. I opted for this as it was a pretty clean slate – but having done some research, I didn't realise quite how clean a slate it was! There's barely anything that I can find which describes the planet. Canonically, it was 'swallowed up by a warp cloud' – but does anyone have any other details, however small, about it? I'm led to understand that the latest release for 10th/11th mentions that there are (post-Cicatrix) embattled Imperial survivors there, but can't verify that. Was there any suggestion on what caused the warpcloud, or who/what was involved? In general, I'd love to hear whether there are any references to specific characters, armies, locations or descriptions of the planet. For example: Is Kasr Holn a Fortress world or something else? Do we have any sense of its population? What's the climate and atmosphere like? Are there any famous figures from here? Are there references to battles that have happened here, or with troops from here? +++ + Belligerents + The Cadians will doubtless have a presence on this planet, so I've opted to station two (I believe) new Regiments there: the 136th and 281st (a reference to the White Dwarf issue that announced the original worldwide campaign). Firstly, have these Regiment numbers have been referenced anywhere? Secondly, are all Cadian Shock Troops specifically from Cadia (i.e. Cadia Prime), or do all planets in the system produce Cadian Shock Troopers? Thirdly, would Kasr Holn have its own PDF/Imperial Guard force? Would-be troopers of the 281st +++ And as for the Chaos forces, I was planning to have one of Abaddon's Chosen spearheading the campaign – while we can make up personalities, I'd prefer to have someone who's both referenced (as a fun Easter egg), and definitely not mentioned as elsewhere at the time. Ygethmor seemed an option, but I understand that: a) it turns out this is an honorific, rather than a name; and b) Ygethmor fought on Cadia Prime. The back-up was Zaraphiston, who I'm sure used to be a 'canon' Sorceror for the Black Legion, but I'm struggling to verify that. ... and finally, Sorcerer Lord Xorphas is a third choice. Is there any reason one or other of the listed figures might/might not lead the assault on Kasr Holn? Do you have a better option to lead the assault and conduct a sorcerous ritual to swallow up the planet? +++ + Extras + I love including references and Easter eggs in these campaigns, so if there's any tiny little reference, idea or concept that you think might add to the atmosphere, please do share. :) +++ Thank you in advance for your help!

While putting together a pack for a 13th Black Crusade/Eye of Terror event later in the year, I've stumbled over a few bits and bobs and wondered if you could help out with some background/lore notes, as I largely missed out on the Eye of Terror campaign. + Location + The event will focus on Kasr Holn, the fifth planet in the Cadian system. I opted for this as it was a pretty clean slate – but having done some research, I didn't realise quite how clean a slate it was! There's barely anything that I can find which describes the planet. Canonically, it was 'swallowed up by a warp cloud' – but does anyone have any other details, however small, about it? I'm led to understand that the latest release for 10th/11th mentions that there are (post-Cicatrix) embattled Imperial survivors there, but can't verify that. Was there any suggestion on what caused the warpcloud, or who/what was involved? In general, I'd love to hear whether there are any references to specific characters, armies, locations or descriptions of the planet. For example, Is it a Fortress world or something else? Do we have any sense of its population? What's the climate and atmosphere like? Are there any famous figures or battles that have happened here? + Belligerents + The Cadians will doubtless have a presence on this planet, so I've opted to station two (I believe) new Regiments there: the 136th and 281st (a reference to the White Dwarf issue that announced the original worldwide campaign). Firstly, have these Regiment numbers have been referenced anywhere? Secondly, are all Cadian Shock Troops specifically from Cadia (i.e. Cadia Prime), or do all planets in the system produce Cadian Shock Troopers? Thirdly, would Kasr Holn have its own PDF/Imperial Guard force? Would-be troopers of the 281st +++ And as for the Chaos forces, I was planning to have one of Abaddon's Chosen spearheading the campaign – while we can make up personalities, I'd prefer to have someone who's both referenced (as a fun Easter egg), and definitely not mentioned as elsewhere at the time. Ygethmor seemed an option, but I understand that: a) it turns out this is an honorific, rather than a name; and b) Ygethmor fought on Cadia Prime. The back-up was Zaraphiston, who I'm sure used to be a 'canon' Sorceror for the Black Legion, but I'm struggling to verify that. ... and finally, Sorcerer Lord Xorphas is a third choice. Is there any reason one or other of the listed figures might/might not lead the assault on Kasr Holn? Do you have a better option to lead the assault and conduct a sorcerous ritual to swallow up the planet? +++ + Extras + I love including references and Easter eggs in these campaigns, so if there's any tiny little reference, idea or concept that you think might add to the atmosphere, please do share. :) +++ Thank you in advance for your help!

Sounds awesome. While the Wormwood Sons are a bit half-hearted as followers of the Returned Primarch, individuals can use the Caputmori if they so desire. In any case, the Silver Star icon is also used as a catch-all for identifying Partisans, as are turquoise and rose stripes, so those might also provide some ideas. Looking forward to seeing 'em!