Paddy's Wanderings

Boogity Stick

BoogityStick, originally uploaded by paddy's wandering.

In the world of Paddy's Heroes, this here totem is feared by all. My friend Gabe is the proud owner of this so called Oogity Boogity Stick. To illustrate just how strange we all are, I thought I would post up a picture and share. No, we don't take gaming seriously, but we do take the fun of gaming very seriously indeed. This is all about fun.

This totem, this stick of doom if you will, is shaken and pointed at the dice your opponent is rolling in an effort to curse them. Yep, you read that correctly, we curse each others dice, all in fun of course. If you really get into it, and we have been know to do that, you dance around and point it at the dice and shake it. Crazy as that sounds, we actually laugh when we do it.

So Gabe brought out the old stick to our gaming on Saturday where in Gabe and I played against our good friend Brian. Now Gabe has his dwarf army, I have the ponies, and we took on Brian and his rats in a big battle. Five thousand Skaven versus twenty five hundred each of Dwarfs and Bretonnians makes for a big WFB battle. We needed that stick and all the help we could get.

The long and the short of it is, Gabe and I won the game. I will say this though, Brian put up a good fight, the best our Dwarf/Bret alliance has ever faced, but in the end, we did get him and keep our perfect record. Although there was much shaking of the stick and general jocularity, both sides experienced a bit of bad luck that evened out.

Brian was hot and cold with the dice and for all our efforts, did not blow anything up. I however, rolled a dreaded miscast and then snake eyes. My poor damsel was sucked into the warp and the resulting explosion blew up a half dozen knights. We laughed and pointed at my misfortune, cause well, that is how we roll.

You see, we play to have fun. Winning at all cost and being a general jerk is not fun. Bemoaning your fate and cursing the rules is not fun. Fun is taking small models of plastic and pewter, assembling and painting them, then pushing them across a table in mock battle. Fun is hanging out with your buddies and playing a game and laughing.

Big Jeff was there to help out with some questions on rules and procedures(we do indeed follow the rules, we are just not stupid about it). Gabe's son Ethan used the oogity boogity stick for us and helped us have fun. And my little guy Simon came along to play with the ponies and be a gamer in training. He kept pointing at the Vermin Lord and saying blow him up! blow him up! He's a bad guy.

We had a lot of fun and in the end, that is what mattered. As to the stick? Well Gabe packed it away for another day and I have no doubt that we will see it again, because that is fun too. The Heroes are about fun and hanging out and having a good time while playing a kids game and well, being a kid.

That's how we roll.

A Call to Honour

In the realm of my gaming craziness, this was my response to an upcoming league that I am joining to play a wee bit of Warhammer. I just can not resist a good proclamation and fiddling with the middle ages and all of that fun stuff. Sure, I get a little weird about it, but its all in fun. Let me lay it down for ya..

Let it be known to all and sundry,
that on this day, the day we celebrate
the equinox in the depth of winter,
singing in hearth and home of
Our Lady of the Lake
and the blessings we all enjoy,

that within the song and dance
of our merriment, there arises
a call throughout our glorious Land
for the good men and Noble Knights
to take up arms in defense of our
most Sacred and Honored Home.

Where as our duty calls upon us,
and in the tradition of Honor
that has been bestowed upon our Land
from or grandfathers grandfathers day
to our own troubled time, we are
Hereby required and enjoined

to Gather our men and weapons of War
in the time of our Land's need,
to gently put aside our festive garb
and girth ourselves in the armour
of our Faith and Devotion to our most
Blessed Lady of the Lake.

We are hereby Called to Arms
my brethern, True and Brave,
and are Hereby Ordered this day
with Utmost Dispatch, to ride
across our Lands, gathering our men
as we March to Glory and Honour.

Go my friends, gather yourselves
and in parting, wave not with tears
but with the sure Knowledge of Duty
in the service of Our Lady
for we are Charged with solemn Duty
to vanquish our mortal enemies.

Let the Horns trumpet our gathering,
let the People of our Faire Land
sing the calls to Glory, entreating
an Honourable and Glorious Charge
and to you, my Trusted Brethern,
sing true as we Ride to War!

Festus
Herald of Essex
Court Bard to Lord Padraig

Shootapalooza 40k Style

First off, pardon the pictures, the pictograph was acting up a bit due to the Necron invasion force. Dang, pesty robots of doom. Bear with me and my terrible camera work, but I had to capture the big battle and do a little report for ye olde blog.

A couple of weekends ago, a bunch of us Heroes gathered and had us some 40k action. We had a grand time shootin' and a hollerin'. Three players a side, each side with 5500 points of minis slogging across the table, whoo hoo! A good old fashioned shootin' match, good guys versus bad guys.

I had my old guard out there teaming up with more guard and the Wolves to take on Necrons, Dark Angels (they betrayed the Emperor!) and those space bugs we all love to shoot, 'nids.

We had a knockdown, drag out battle for about five hours and laid em low, good guys and the bad as well. Now that is the way to spend an afternoon with your chums, a bottle of dew or two, pizza and pushing minis.

I don't really think we kept score, we just kind of winged it all afternoon. There was the rolling of many dice and the placing and removing of minis. In the end, we called it a day and packed out our trash and headed for home. Some days we just play to play you know? We had fun, didn't take anything too serious and just did our thing, so it was a great day.

Just one more bit. Join the Guard! Travel to many exotic worlds and meet new people and see the strange sights of the stars. Get the best training and equipment in the galaxy, guaranteed three squares a day. Earn a few creds and be a Hero of Humanity! Make your mark on this here data slate and make your mark on the future! Don't delay, do it today!

And that is just how strange a path you can wander down if you just close your eyes and let your feet do the choosing. I salute you, fellow gamer, may the dice roll well and remember, happiness is a warm lasgun!

A Knight's Quest

For a very long time now, I have been a huge fan of Warhammer by Games Workshop. I discovered the game way back in the RPG days of the Hazy Eighties with my friend, The Tim. I have played off and on and in the various editions for a long time. I am also a big fan of the other games the fine folks at GW put out. But Warhammer has always done it for me. I love getting new models, building them and painting them, then setting the minis out on the table and doing battle with a friend.

At one point, I was blessed with the game store and got to do it all the time, those were good days. For many years, my creative juices flowed into gaming and like minded friends got into the fun as well. Yeah it sounds like we are being kids with toy soldiers and making up stories and what not, but well.. so what. We have fun and it is entertaining. It is a hobby and that is what hobbies are for, for having fun. It just happens we can be pretty creative people and like to tell stories. That was the fun part of having a store, the ongoing stories and gaming group stuff.

Any who.. I was challenged a couple of years ago by a friend before a tournament. Yep, we do tournaments as well, kinda geeky huh? The organizer set us up to play in the first round and there was much 'net challenges and so forth, all in the spirit of fun. It all added flavor to the upcoming event, which is cool. So not to be out done by anyone, I responded to the challenge as a Knight of Bretonnia to the evil Lord of Slyvania. If your familiar with game and the mythos, you'll see the humor and if not, just know that it takes a lot of creative energy to do all of that.

This was my response..

`With the Blessing of the Lady of the Lake
and Her Fay Enchantress Morgiana,
And by the Grace of King Louen Leoncoeur of Bretonnia
and His most faithful Duke Cassyon of Parravon,

Let it be Known to all,
That Lord Padraig of Essex,
is hereby Required and Directed
to take upon Him the Charge and Command
of an Errantry Force,
willing and requiring all the Knights and Peasants
belonging to said Force
to bring Honour and Distinction
in their several employments with all due
Respect and Obedience to you,
their Commander, and that Lord Padraig
likewise observe as well the
Charges and Orders
He may receive from time to time
from His Superior Knights
in the Service of The Lady of the Lake
and her most trusted King Leoncoeur,

and that Lord Padraig, as Commander
of said Errantry Force, with all due haste,
seek out and Destroy the Evil
Minions of Slyvania,
and any other such forces
of evil and chaos
that He may encounter
in the due course of His Charge.

As such, Lord Padraig,
is hereby granted the Boon
of Knighting such Men
of his Command in his own Land,
having proved their
Worthiness, Courage and Honour
in the Defense of our
Brethern in the Empire
against the Hordes of Chaos,
and such Men are hereby Charged
as a Knight Errant,
with all the Duties and Obligations
associated with such Honour,
to faithfully Uphold the Tradition
of Chivalry, and Devotion
to the Lady of the Lake,
and the dispatch of all enemies
and the proper Command
of the Peasantry.

And by taking this Charge
Of Duty and Obligation,
Lord Padraig and His Knights
are hereby dispatched.'

Signed and Sealed
on the Feast of Beltaine
by Duke Cassyon of Parravon

as Proclaimed by Festus,
Herald of Lord Padraig,
on the Common Green of Essex,
and in the Hamlets of
Wells, Smythe, and Courtemanche.

Be aware that this is part of the world of Warhammer and as such places and story lines are within the realm. In other words, I was just a fan writing in their world, playing their game. It is their thing and I am just doing a little fanfic(I know, perish the thought). Check out the website and try em out if you have not already, it is a pretty cool place to wander into.

Freeland 40k

Aug40k, originally uploaded by paddy's wandering.

Back in the day, in our little game store, we ran tournaments for all sorts of games. We had a lot of fun and everyone seemed to really get into an event day like that. Well, the little game store could hold all of ten tables and twenty gamers doin' the butt brush for a tournament.

So, we rented a hall in Freeland and invited everyone. We had two score and a dozen show up and play 40k all day long in a tournament. Of course the better 1/2 cooked for an army, and we had one! and we had a very long, very satisfying day.

There was every kind of army imaginable and the players ranged from the Paddy Youngbloods(teenagers) to crusty old gamers. The great thing about that is the variety. All kinds of people, all showing up in the same place and enjoying an afternoon of gaming.

What is great about the Freeland hall? No butt brushing! You know how it is sometimes. You squeeze everyone into a small place to play in a tournament and your cheek by jowl by butt. Its dark and dank. Some poor guy starts twitching in the corner, having flashbacks about playing in his mom's basement. It can get..a little strange.

But this day, this day was bright and shiny; cool in the hall and the only line was for food. I have the sneaky suspicion that as gamers live by their tummy that, most folks showed up just as much for cookies and soda and doggers as to play games. It was fun and something we are going to get back to in the very near future.

Fog of War

FogofWar, originally uploaded by paddy's wandering.

Back in June of 2001, we held our first fantasy tournament in the game store. The first scenario we had, was the fog of war scenario, where the two armies can not see each other at the start of the game.

We had eight fellas show up with their armies and we set up first round match ups and had the guys place the armies. Then, thanks to The Tim, we worked a little Paddy Magic, and voila, fog rolling across the tables.

This picture captures an awesome Dark Elf army squared off against an awesome Goblin army. We had a ton of fun and it was a ton of work, but it was so worth it. Eight great fellas, eight great armies, and a day pushing minis was like paradise.

Of course, this was just the start of something that grew to epic proportions over the years. But for a start, it was awesome. I still have that scenario kicking around, and I think The Tim and myself can create a little magic. Maybe, just maybe, we can do a sequel.

Spring Fling 2002

SpringFlin02, originally uploaded by paddy's wandering.

After our first 40k tournament in the fall of '01 where we over filled our little store with 22 gamers having a great time, we decided to host another tournament in the spring. Needless to say, the response was overwhelming. We just could not fit the 30+ folks who preregistered into the little game store.

So, undaunted, we rented the hall across the road where we could fit about three times the people for the day. Then we said hey, we can handle up to sixty gamers, and they started registering, and calling, and we were looking at 50-60 within a couple of weeks. Well, we had terrain for about 12 tables, needed 18 tables more and had a month to prepare.

So the crew came through, led by the better 1/2, they turned out some awesome tables. We had 56 folks rolling dice and pushing minis and having a great time. The response from folks participating and the folks behind the scenes, building terrain, moving a ton of stuff, working the tournament, all of those folks make the Heroes what they are.

It was an awesome day and a huge success and so worth the effort that it became a tradition. This was part deux on the road to big tournaments and doin' it Paddy style.

Storm the Castle

stevepattonytomjohn, originally uploaded by paddy's wandering.

The Heroes play all kinds of games, and one of our favorites is Warhammer. On this day, we had the minions of Chaos storm a castle held by troops of the Empire and their Bretonnian allies. The castle was made by our friend Tom, who did an excellent job. The bad guys job, destroy the castle!

The rushing horde of mutated soldiers and their demon allies were pummeled by canon balls, rocks, and a stream of arrows. Undeterred by this onslaught, for two turns, they just kept coming. Flying demons swooped down on the defenders at the top of the walls, the air was filled with foul magic and at the beginning all seemed lost for the defenders.

As howling marauders ran up siege ladders and chaos warriors battered the gate, the defenders rushed to the breaches and flung the attackers back. And again the horde did not stop and the defenders rallied around their general to repel the second wave.

At the moment the castle gate fell, all seemed lost to our hardy defenders, but that was when the Knights charged into the melee and slew the great beasts and mutants. The tide was starting to turn, and slowly the horde was diminished.

Rallying around Lord Padraig, the Knights and the soldiers of the Empire chased the remnants of the once ferocious horde back into the forest from whence they came.

A huge battle with 10k points of bad guys versus 5k point of defenders and the defenders carried the day. Yep, we like our big battles and our themed battles and this was a great day and a lot of fun for all of us.

Can't keep a good Necron Down

MarinesVSNecrons, originally uploaded by paddy's wandering.

When we play 40k, we play from little games to big games, tournaments to leagues and everything in between. So on this day, we decided to play a big themed battle. After the success of the Ork vs. Guard day, we did a Space Marine versus Necron battle.

At ten thousand points a side on four 4x8 tables, we had plenty of firepower to launch at each other. The first round saw the big guns exchange a few blows with little effect as the Marines raced toward the Necrons. The second round was more of the same as the first elements clashed in hand to hand. The Marines, their numbers starting to thin out, scythed through the Necron horde. The Necrons just kept standing back up.

In the third round the first monolith fell and a crack appeared in the defense of the Necrons. No longer were they screened by the copse of trees and the Marines took full advantage. The fourth round was a reversal of fortune as the Necrons just would not stay dead, and it was the Marine's turn to take it on the chin.

The fifth and sixth rounds saw the Necrons rise up from the ashes and smoking ruins of Monoliths to slaughter the remaining Marines, It became a rout as the Necrons relentlessly pursued the advantage.

It was a long game, taking about five hours to complete not counting set up(read b.s. session) and the packing away of all those figs. But it was well worth the effort as we got a chance to lay em all out and just go at each other in a big battle.

Old School 40k

dan @ 40k tourney may, originally uploaded by paddy's wandering.

The last tournament we ran in the old store for 40k was way back in May of 2004. It was a nice little ad hoc tourney where folks could play and have some fun. Unlike our other tourney's where we would get around fifty players, we limited the crowd to just twenty this time.

Kinda doing the whole Get Back to the roots kinda day in the store and not renting a big hall type of tourney. We had a blast with the old format, keeping it simple and fun.

Don't get me wrong, we loved the big event days, but we kind of missed the little, homely feel of a couple dozen people playing the game they love in a quiet atmosphere. Hey, everyone had a good time and that is the point after all.