EDITORIAL: Narrative Wargaming: THIS IS WHY I PLAY
One wargaming podcaster wants you to know why 3 days of organized narrative gaming is AWESOME!
A guest editorial by Shaun from the Hittingon3s Podcast
Hey guys, this is Shaun from hittingon3s podcast. I had the priveledge of playing in the 40k narrative event at WarGamesCon in Austin. I played in the same event last year and was blown away. Glen and Dan, who run the event, do an amazing job and had me excited for a whole year to come back and see what new things they had in store for us.
The Narrative Pre-game Show
The overall breakdown was that Friday night was to be kill teams, saturday would be the main games (as well as a tanks and titans mega game going on simultaneously), with sunday being the coup de grace finisher large game. Armies were to be set into 1500 point ‘battle groups’ with almost no restrictions. At times, you would need to be able to field multiples of these groups at one time. The armies were to be aligned with the imperium or against, plain and simple.
The kill team event, which I missed, is mostly just for fun and to meet the players that you will be allying with or fighting against for the weekend. It usually has little outcome to the overall storyline, but is a hell of a fun time. Many of the tables for this event are provided by gaming clubs from all over. They are very thematic and a pleasure to play on.
So, Saturday arrives and the first thing up is our briefing. The overall story as to why we are all there fighting is revealed to us. The full brief can be found here, as well as loads of pictures. www.facebook.com/wargamescon
There were quite a few imperial players, made up of mostly space marines, as well as some IG (not going to call them that other name) and grey knights as well. The opposition was mainly a daemonic host of mostly khorne daemonkin (of which I am a part), with some ork and tau ‘raiders’ up to their own shenanigans. The tables and games were tracked at a central location and broadcast to a screen that showed the shifting tides of battle in real time. I think at the start of the battle it was 70/30 in favor of the Imperium.
Narrative Gametime!
I dont know everyone’s games over the weekend, but I’ll summarize mine as best that I can.
Saturday Game One: Our game was set on the ‘dropzone’ table, with mostly a green pasture leading up to a fortified area with many gun emplacements, including a macro cannon. The other end of the table was a village. All of the terrain was outstanding and a pleasure to play on all weekend. IG and a Salamanders 10th company held the table awaiting Grey Knight reinforcements. The daemons objective was just to kill as much as possible. (seems simple enough) A force of Tzeentch daemons mixed it up with the scout force, while the Khornate daemons struck the built up areas. This game was going very much the daemons way until the Grey Knights showed up (as they always do) and put the kybosh on our fun. James’ scouts were severely hurting but held on after Matt brought they Grey Knights in. Poor Richard’s IG were up against it with berserkers killing everything in sight. Halfway through the game, an aquilla lander crashed in the middle of the table. The wreckage was to be inpected by either army. My daemons arrived first, but found nothing. When a salamander speeder arrived, a VIP popped out wanting to be rescued. A dynamic shift in the game and our objective altered our strategy. The Tzeentch daemons went all out to eventually kill the escort and the VIP. (we never did find out who he was) Afer this game the tide of battle had shifted to 80/20 in favor of Chaos I believe.
Saturday Game Two: I was placed on the destroyed factory table, with a factory on it that was the size of one whole table. Amazing work by Dan and Glen. I was paired once again with a daemonkin player, Tyler, to attack Red Scorpions (Michael), Ultramarines (Daniel), the pesky scout salamanders (Jake), and the damn Grey Knights (Matt). The imperials were holding onto points on the table, and the daemons had to come in through warp portals and push them off of the objectives. The imperials held fast and made us pay for every step we pushed forward. Waves of daemons killed and burned the marines in the open area and in the factory. Even after the daemons got a second wave of their battle group, including 4 bloodthirsters, it was not enough and the imperials held on. The big board showed an overall Imperial push back after this game.
Sunday Big Game: Only one game was played on sunday. Two large tables jammed packed with armies and scenery. The story was that chaos was just about to tip Vengeance over and rule the day. There were four large daemons being summoned in. (represented by the forgeworld greater daemons) It would take six turns to complete the summoning, at which time if the majority of them made it in, the imperials lose. If, however, the imperials manage to get a character into base contact with the summoned daemon, they could stop the ritual. This was quite a shift, as daemons on the defense is a rarity.
I was on a table with woods and trees all over. Joined once again by Tyler, we were defending the Greater daemon of Nurgle. Opposing us were Red Scorpions (Michael), Space Wolves (Logan, no thats his real name), and Ultramarines (Daniel). They were joined by the Tau, as they realized you dont get to raid if chaos rules everything, but they were beset by a warband of orks that just like smashing stuff.
This was on of the most hard fought games that I have ever played. Waves of Red Scorpion terminators, Thunderwolves, and Ultramarines of every type were pushing. Epic back and forth fights saw the chaos forces holding on at the late game. There were some serious tactics and strategies being discussed by both sides. It looked as if the chaos forces were going to hold on with their impregnable defenses, when a lowly sergeant from the ultramarines managed a 6 on his run move to reach base contact with the summoned daemon. AAAAAAAAAAGH! All of the work, gone! In the end the forces tied, barely scraping by. I heard one of the Imperials say that this tie felt like a victory.
How It Felt
That was so epic. I can’t accurately convey it here, but you need to experience this. These guys run a hell of an event. I hope that they will be at the LVO this year, and I’ll be playing any event that they are running. They have even talked of an event in the Dallas area.
All of the armies were a pleasure to see. Beautifully painted and themed. There were no crazy allies or oddball combinations. The lists were thematic, but often hard as nails. There was competition, as you wanted your side to win, but there was no prize…save for the bragging rights of victory. I cant say enough about the armies. Each time I looked at the table, it was like looking at a White Dwarf battle report. The clincher on our board was Daniel’s Ultramarines, which were truly a bit of everything as they should be, not an OP list or some min/maxed stuff. That was very refreshing.
I didn’t hear anything but positive feedback from the other players about the game. There is a lot going on, and it can be hectic. There is only so much time to get the rounds in, but most everyone is moving efficiently and adjusting. After all, it is just for fun.
Why do You Play?
