The Black Castle.: December 2013

Tuesday, 24 December 2013

Season's greetings!

Merry Christmas to all my fellow bloggers and blog fans! I've had a good month work and family wise, it's been great building up to my first family Christmas with the BOJ, though I have had an unexpected hiatus from the internet as a result! I have several articles half-written and almost ready to go for the New Year though. Thanks to my most recent followers and to all those who have joined in 2013, lots more content is coming your way! Enjoy the season ladies and gentlemen! Good luck to all those who have suffered with the storms and floods.

I leave you with a pic of my favourite Christmas story.

Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, 3 December 2013

Fayana and the Dance of Death.

I'm often accused of many things (selective hearing, flippancy and hiding in the shed whenever there is DIY to be done to name but a few) but these foul slanders are obviously from people too feeble-minded and feckless to recognise a great mind at work. Perhaps a fairer criticism would be that I tend to get my version of events in first. First and hard. This time however, I have been stoically holding back to allow somebody else the chance to tell their story through the medium of game, after all, preaching about the wonders of narrative gaming won't do me any good if I keep it all to myself!

So without further ado, I would like to usher you along to my good friend and gaming partner Robotforaday's (AKA Lenihan) blog so that you can read the tale of Nobridge and it's brave defenders. No doubt you will marvel incredulously as the tale unfolds!

Click here to travel through spacetime to 'Where the Sea Pours Out'.

Mission Statement.

This Blog will be used to revolutionise wargaming, succeeding where others have failed. Oh yes it will! I will teach you all the error of your ways and subvert you to my cause. I am on a crusade to bring back the GamesMaster to all tabletop battles. On the way, I will track my wargaming progress project by project and as a whole, bringing projects to completion and moving on to new challenges. I have moved away from the hollow, charmless gaming that has become a kind of standard thanks to our own complacency and develop a gaming style that encompasses the gaming and role-play values of the 80s and early 90s (my youth) whilst going beyond what that era achieved into exhilarating new realms of fun. I will therefore use the Blog to record my battle and keep on the right course with my overall philosophy in the same way as I fortify my discipline with individual projects. I will use the blogging platform to challenge my painting, modelling and photography skills, though I will not allow the pursuit of high standards to interfere with the deadlines I set myself so expect a mixture of different quality paint jobs, photos et cetera. The aspiration to perfection is always a long term goal, so get stuff done in the mean time. The blog will come in handy for insurance purposes, tremble in fear claims negotiators. I promise not to use the Blog as a vacuous diary, sharing a life which though personally gratifying is possibly outwardly dull. Though I am pretty neat. I will utilise gentle humour often, as is my way, without descending into constant joke-telling. I will not shy away from subtle adult humour and occasional vulgarity (this will not include serious swear words however) though only rarely and in always in context. This is because I like my wargaming to have a moral awareness of it’s real life counterpart (war) in amongst all the fun times. I will not post whilst drunk. I will never review movies, books or anything else for that matter though I may recommend stuff for gaming inspiration purposes and talk about a fun time I had doing something that linked to my gaming activities. I will strive to avoid discussing the world in absolute terms, accepting rather that reality is in the eye of the beholder and that maturity acknowledges variety. I want the hobby to be inclusive and will avoid misogynistic blogger staples such as using pictures of ladies breasts to liven up mediocre posts. I will ask you now once, for the first and last time, to comment and follow if you feel able as these signs of recognition are greatly appreciated. I will never again seek any acclamation for what I’m doing. As a final point, I will make it clear that I think Gamers, us, ourselves, are responsible for the state of wargaming, NOT Games Workshop, Wizards of the Coast et cetera who despite being in the grasp of vile corporate vampires actually carry out, diligently and with dignity, a worthy and thankless task. If anything goes downhill people are far too quick to blame the governing body, when they should be taking personal responsibility first and foremost. Wargamers of the world, the time for excuses is past, it is time to have incredible fun!