Friday, September 29, 2017

How to Build your Free City

Hey Everyone!  The Warhammer Community team released an article earlier this week on generating a random Free City (Check out the original article here).  The concept really captured my imagination so I wanted to dive into creating a randomly built Free City within Age of Sigmar using the Charts from the Article as well as various other tools online.  I might even paint up a hero or unit to represent a city in the future, but my current project is taking up all my time so a side project like that will have to wait for a bit.

I have always enjoyed tools such as this as it leaves it up to Luck, Fate, or whatever you wish to call it.  The fun of finding out what you might get is a thrill in and of itself, much like opening a random pack of Magic The Gathering Cards I feel.  I don't play Magic The Gathering anymore, but I still buy a blind pack from time to time for the fun of what I might get (hopefully Elves).  After you have the basics from your randomly generated city you can them craft its story in as much detail as you wish.  With the Cities being set within The Mortal Realms almost anything is possible.

To begin building the city we can use the charts from The Warhammer Community Page's Article.  We will also need a few D6 as well to use the charts.  You can roll physical dice, but if you are wanting to build a Free City along with me you can use this Random Dice Generator here.

To Begin we need to generate our Free City Name.  First, we Roll D66 (using 2d6).  My dice came up 52 so I will begin with "Bale".  Secondly, we roll D66 again and my result is 25 so my Free City is named "Bale Port"!


Next, we need to generate a bit more detail about our new City "Bale Port".  First, we will see what Realm or Realms we will be settled by rolling D33 (roll 2d3).  My Result came up as 5 and 6 so it looks like "Bale Port" will be a Twin City.  After 2 more rolls on the chart, Bale Port is a Twin City between the realms of Chamon and Ghur.  Second, we need to see how large our new city will be so we roll a single D6.  I toss the die and get a 5.  It seems "Bale Port" is a decently sized City.  Last we should find out who lives in Bale Port so we go to a single D6 once again and roll it D3 times.  I rolled a 4 so there will be three races making up the sum of the city's populace as I get a bonus roll due to the size of my city.  I roll a 2, 1, and 3 which gives me Aelves, Humans, and Duardin which seems a pretty typical cast of characters.


After we have the basic Census of "Bale Port" generated it is time to add the exciting and strange details about our city that we can use to expand upon within our Narrative.  Since I am City Sized I will add 1 to my D6 roll to a maximum of 6 for the Number of Distinguishing Features my City contains.  I roll a 2 and add 1 to give "Bale Port" D3+1 Distinguishing Feature of General Novelty which gives me D3+ 1 Features.  I roll a 4 on the die and then add one for a total of 3 Distinguishing Features

To find out my features I go back to D66.  I roll 25, 52, 46.  "Bale Port" will have a Kharadron Overlords Trading Port, a Notable Freeguild, and a Relic from The World That Was.  Not a bad selection at all.


Next, we need to find out what our city looks like on paper.  We could draw out a map or simply let your imagination dictate how everything is laid out.  However, for our purposes, we will use a City Map Generator that was shared by Runebrush over on The Grand Alliance Thread about the article.

The City Map Generator is located here and after we adjust a few settings we can randomly generate out the city.  Since I have rolled a Twin City I will be making 2 maps to fuse together.

 

Now that I have a layout for my city I can begin to see where my Landmarks might be at and begin crafting my story, but before I dive into Bale Ports Narrative I must first find some colors for Bale Ports Flags!  Once again I decided to go to a Random Generator for Colors to see what fate has in store for me.

The Color Scheme Generator I used can be found here.  I let the colors generate a few times and eventually locked on one I liked and proceeded to generate a few more times to find something suitable for my needs.  The colors are a bit dark, but I can work them into my narrative quite well.


So we now have everything our city might need except its story.  Why is it here and why is it still here?  Who are the major players and their motives?  How does this Twin City rely on each other for survival?  Now is the time to answer all these questions and the real crafting can begin.  Time to put on my NEO hat and get to work.

"Split between the Realms of Ghur and Chamon is the City of Bale Port.  Each Sector was it's own Hamlet without a connection until the Relamgate was discovered and they merged into a single thriving City after the Realm Gate Wars in what was known as The Seeds of Hope. 

The Chamon Sector was founded by the Dispossessed Clan Guinnieson who lost their Mountain Hold during an assault by Tzeentch Daemons.  Despite their defenses, the Daemons found their way into the hold where they began melting into Molten Lead, filling the entire hold and eventually solidifying.  Clan Guinnieson has held a Grudge against Tzeentch ever since and developed a grim nature even for Duardin.  This sector is also home to a Kharadron Overlords Trading Post which offers support in defense as well as trade.  The Trading post is maintained by Clan Guinnieson and sees various Skyports coming and going.  Its reinforced structure offers a safe harbor from the Copper Storms prevalent in the area for their vessels.

The Ghur Sector was is home to Aelves from many walks of life.  Aelves known as Wanderers Keep the sector safe from the outside preferring to stick to the wild over a walled city.  Inside the walls, the core sect of Aelves identifies as part of the Darkling Covens know as The Duskhearts.  They rule with a hard, but fair hand.  They work closely with a group of Scourage Privateers who are given free reign of the docks in exchange for their food, clothing, and if the rumors are true slaves for the unseen, but the still known Daughters of Khaine presence.  The Daughters of Khaine are more than simply tolerated however, they are the keepers of a great artifact.  This artifact is also why Wanderers have kept so close the area and offered their service.  They hold the remnants of  "The Reaper" which to the Wanderers is a legend beyond legend as it was believed to be the greatest of work by a great weaponsmith from the World that Was and during the time long lost was wielded by their ancestors.  The Daughters of Khaine and Darkling Covens also know the legend, but know that the weapon is but a shard of the great blade originally wielded by Khaine himself.

Normally these two different races would be hard pressed to live in peace, but a Freeguild of Notability occupies both halves of the city and while they don't involve themselves in the public affairs of each sector they do garrison and patrol the city as a whole and are the core defenses within the city.  The Freeguild is known as "Amala's Adamant" are veterans who held secure Greywater Fastness during The Seeds of Hope and after boredom set in shortly after setting off for more adventure.  They are who found the Realmgate connecting the cities and have been the guardians of it ever since, which helps to keep the separate sectors working in cooperation.

Despite the differences amongst the races within Bale Port, they have found a working relationship that has allowed the city to grow and thrive.  Both sectors rely on the other for support and while tensions run higher than other Twin Cities both sides offer full aid when the other comes under attack.  Both sectors also maintain a small garrison of Honor guard who resides in the opposing sector as a sign of their willingness to work together and to keep an eye on each other as well if they are being truthful.  Together they survive and together they thrive as they all shout "No City for us beyond Bale Port!"

The Banner of Bale Port

There you have it, a narrative for my generated city that is even now making me want to create a small army to portray them on the battlefield.  I really encourage everyone to try this exercise for themselves and create your own part in The Mortal Realms and perhaps inspire yourself on your next army!  If you do run through this exercise please let me know as I really enjoy seeing what everyone created or feel free to head over to The Grand Alliance Thread created about others Free Cities.  I truly hope Gamesworkshop continue to give us these tools in the future as they are fun to use and help spur our hobby forward.  Until next week, may your Free City's banner always fly and Happy Hobbying!

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Weekly Hobby Update : 9-27-17

Hey everyone!  Today I want to show you my completed Blades of Khorne army.  I managed to finally wrap up the painting last week and the basing over the weekend.  It is always exciting to complete an army and really give you a lot of satisfaction on seeing the army laid out as a whole.  I have seen some hobbyists who take a well-deserved break after completing an army to prevent burnout, but for me, the opposite effect happens and I get really excited to jump into my next project.  Thankfully I was able to jump right into my display board for Armies on Parade 2017 and keep the hobby flowing.


One of the best parts of completing a new army is getting it on the table.  Thankfully this Saturday I will be running Age of Sigmar at my local club and will be able to blood this army properly!  I really need to sit down and figure out how each unit will synergize with the army.  I built and painted this army on what I felt looks cool so I really not sure how to use the army to its fullest effect, but that will be part of the fun!  Although finding a place to display the army will prove to be a challenge.


Once I do find that space I will have plenty of working space on my current project for Armies on Parade 2017.  I only have three kits to build and the force is currently just shy of 1000pts (in matched play), but I also have three wood's to paint alongside the army as well as a display board.  It is about to get frantic in my hobby space with less than thirty days to do everything.


I really need to buckle down and keep grinding away at my Armie on Parade project.  With such a small window to complete it a missed day or two could keep me from completing the project to the level that I am aiming to achieve.  Working through a project in such a short space of time might be a future article, so let me know if it sounds interesting as a topic. Also, let me know what you have on your hobby table and until Friday's post.  Happy Hobbying!

Friday, September 22, 2017

Armies on Parade 2017 - The Sylvaneth Harvest

Hey everyone!  Happy Autumn Equinox!  Today I wanted to begin talking about my project and army plans for Armies on Parade 2017.  The date is already fast approaching, but I wanted to ensure I wrapped up my current Khorne army before diving into this one.  As of this post, there are Thirty-Two days before our parade week beings for Age of Sigmar.  On October 23rd Warhammer and Games Workshop stores across the globe will be full of amazing themed and painted Age of Sigmar Armies and I intend to be one of them while looking to earn a Gold place once again.  With the changes to Armies on Parade this year there are different paths for me to accomplish this as well.


Teaser Poster for my Project

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Weekly Hobby Update : 9-20-17

Hey everyone!  Hope your week is going strong as well as your hobby.  This post comes with a bit of satisfaction as I have completed painting my Blades of Khorne as of last night.  I still have basing to do, but that should be wrapped up by the end of the week allowing me to start into my Harvest Sylvaneth I will be doing for this year's Armies on Parade.  I will go into more detail this next project in my post this Friday.


Friday, September 15, 2017

Nova Open 2017 Impressions Part 2

Hey Everyone!  Today I wanted to wrap up my Nova Open Impressions series with a run down of all the Age of Sigmar games I played during the event.  I opted to leave out army lists as the event chose to use the original Generals Handbook so most of the armies were built around the older points and meta.  It was fun to get one last go around with my Warrior Brotherhood, but I think the event would have been much more exciting if it had used the Generals Handbook 2017 as it would have made the field of armies much more diverse and interesting.

I also want to note that Painted armies and round bases were not required during these events and as such the hobby level at the event was low overall, but there were a fair number of players who brought amazing painted and themed armies completed and ready to game.  Those who did paint got points toward their overall score which was a nice bonus, but playing against unfinished models can really pull you out of the game at an event as large as Nova Open.


Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Weekly Hobby Update : 9-13-17

Hey Everyone!  I am getting back to a normal hobby schedule post-Nova Open.  That being said I have gotten some work done on my Khorne and should have them wrapped up by this Saturday.  I have also been giving a bit more thought on my Aelf Rebasing project as well as finalizing a theme for my Sylvaneth who have sat unpainted for far too long.


Friday, September 8, 2017

Nova Open 2017 Impressions Part 1

Hey Everyone!  Hope you had a great week of Hobby with plans for more throughout the weekend.  Today I want to bring you more coverage of my time at Nova Open 2017 looking more at a general recap, how I spent my time and all the great people I got to know better, meet, and spend time with throughout the weekend.  In one of the next posts in this series, I will do a more in depth breakdown of my games so keep a look out.  I am sure I missed mentioning a few people in the sections below and if I did I apologize, but know you helped make this an amazing experience for me and I cannot wait to see you all at the next one!

My driving skills have mixed reviews apparently

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Weekly Hobby Update : 9-6-17 (Nova Recap Edition)

Hey Everyone!  I am back from Nova and sadly don't have much in the way of my own hobby due to the event, but today I did wish to bring you my pictures (warning there will be a lot of large images on the page) from The Capital Palette Painting Competition that was held at Nova Open.

What I really enjoy about The Capital Palette is how the awards are based on the skill of each individual model and not a standard 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.  In any category, there could be four golds or no golds etc... It feels more attuned to encouragement without taking away the honor and pride in receiving a Finalist Pin or a Medal in the event.  I am nowhere close to being able to enter the competition, but just seeing the beautifully painted pieces of art is inspiring to improve my hobby even by a bit.  It is really a top Painting event and if you are ever able to make it I would suggest you do.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Hobby Tunes

Hey Everyone!  Nova Open is in full swing right now with live coverage from Warhammer TV as well as pictures all across Twitter so be sure to check out what is going on.  Today I wanted to discuss what I listen to while I am building or painting in at my Hobby Desk and what I have heard others do as well be it for background noise, a distraction, or a form of motivation while they are deep into the Hobby.  At the end, I added some playlists on some of my Hobby Music Playlists for you to judge and enjoy while you Hobby.

I also want to note that this post is partially inspired by Chris T. over at The Black Sun Weekly.  His love of music is very apparent and I often find new music and bands through his intro and outro music selections.