Skaven Dugout building

I just love the idea of a sewer. I have never really got into Terrain building but the Orc Dugout was fun so I decided to go for the sewer option for the Skaven. I like the idea of flowing water and plan to use lots of Pva for this. The design is to have the main sewer at the back of the dugout.

The Dead area will have access to the sewer so that bodies can be 'dumped'! Loving this idea.

The KO'd area will have some kind of platform with an outflow and the Reserves area is yet to be decided.

First up was the construction of the main sewer. After some cutting and gluing we had the first results, not bad.

I put some card down the centre of it and loaded up the Pva for that watery look. I added a few bones for effect.

Next I wanted some stairs from the Dead area as access to a metal platform over the top of the sewer.

Then I stared on the central platform for the KO'd area. I also added an inlet pipe at the back with some fluid flowing into the main sewer. Through the main platform I created a low level outlet pipe and again used Pva for the fluid effect.

Then I measured out the size of tile required, cut them and placed them in a pattern to fill the space. The remaining areas were filled with square tiles prior to being glued into place.

What to do with the reserves area??

Game review and new project

Well I have had the chance to update the roster and customise my Blitzer in readiness for the next challenge. He seems to be right at home despite his rather large protrusion ;-)

I have had some deliberation time and it is obvious to me that the reason we lost was lack of fan support. Well what can you expect playing in the Orcland Raider stadium? Its the travel distance you see - no home advantage. And also - the rats don't like the light and the grass. This is serious and must be rectified.

So this evening a new construction project has begun!

Now where do rats live - well the sewer of course! Oh yes - bring it on. Home field advantage, those Darkside Darkblades will have no answer for this. Lets take them underground to the stench filled atmosphere that the rats are used to.

Astro granite - the playing surface!! No more Mr Niceguy.

Claw Conversion Skaven Blitzer

I got to thinking that 40k had quite a variety of claws. I have a couple of Chaos armies. My most recent is a Slaneesh force of 2000 - 3000 points : -

However my first love going way back in time is my Khorne army. I have several thousand points worth over many editions of the game. I love the way the Bloodletters changed, and I mean completely changed which each new issue. Khorne were my second army to ever play in tournaments and I loved them so. Many a great tale to tell!!

What this means is that I have a very decent Chaos bits box and surely it must have a claw or two for me to consider.

I got to thinking that I want something properly large and in your face. Something I would be happy to take a Mummy or Orge apart with. So off I go to the garage. Fingers crossed that I can find something suitable.

Then I got to thinking that I would be cutting up my Blitzer model. I quite like him. Should I be thinking ebay and buy another model instead. I went and got a cup of tea and then ............ copped myself on. Back in my Necromunda days I never had these thoughts. We played. we changed weapons in between games and played again. Hands and arms being chopped off weekly. Smacked myself on the back of the head and away to the garage. Its a game to be played!!

Happy, happy look what I found!

A proper big claw!! There were a couple of much smaller alternatives but this is a great OTT option. I am just going to love it the first time I decapitate some poor unfortunate Dark Elf with this baby!!

It is big so I will need to work out a good clean joint and give it a strong pin. I am not known for my pinning but in this case, needs must. I am going to go for the right arm and have it sticking out in front. I think the elbow will probably make the best joint option.

Ha ha - proper job!

I plan to get some green stuff on the upper arm so that it is more in proportion (as if proportion was the issue - snigger). Then maybe it can be fur to the elbow and god knows what I will do for the claw itself. Should I go purples and pinks to honour Slaneesh? Emmmm. A dark purple would help knock back the scale of the claw - lets see.

Blood bowl is an amazing sport - to think just a couple of games could bring on such an extreme mutation. Only in Blood Bowl ;-) I wonder if it happened over night? Old 'Bubo' went to bed one night and when he went to scratch his nose in the morning he got a huge surprise - lol.

Well after a little painting he is starting to look like this: -

And from the side: -

A weapon to stike fear into the heart of any opponent! Snap, snap - your going down Darkblades! Bubo is comin to get ya!! Can't wait to get him in play.

Skaven after game 2

It was a great game on Sunday. I couldn't quite pull off the draw but it was another big step forward.

Heres how the team is developing: -

1. I managed to get my fan factor back up to 5. This will help going forward in trying to get the FAME bonus. I lost the 'Throw a Rock' roll by '1' - this was the effect of FAME modifier and the result was that I lost a Blitzer to the Dead box. These little things can change a game.

2. I rolled very poorly for cash. A '1' in fact, so it was only the minimum fold for me.

3. I lost a Lineman with an injury for the next game. This takes me back to 11 players and I really would like to have a reserve or two. I don't have enough cash to purchase another so I will just have to put up with it. On the up side this reduces my team value by 50,000. I may fall into the inducements arena for the first time.

4. I picked up a few SPP's. A casualty, a completion and a touchdown. All good and the nice thing is that were spread out across the team so that all the major players now have at least one SPP. This bodes well for team progression over the next couple of matches and its good to see the Gutter Runners moving along. I feel that they will be a real force in the near future.

5. My Apothecary saved my skilled Gutter Runner. I was very pleased about this, I can tell you. He has nine SPP's and could be the first to have two skills.

6. I gave the MVP to my surviving Blitzer 'Buto'. He had a great game and was very important in the second half when I was applying pressure on the advancing Undead team. This pushed him to 7 SPP's and gave him a new skill. To my delight I rolled a double and am going to chose Claw as his skill. This will mean that if I can roll 8 or more on two dice I will successfully breech armour.   In effect it turns the opposition into armour 7 players from his perspective. I am playing the Dark Elves next so Linemen and Blitzers beware! I feel a conversion coming on. Claws emmmm - I reckon its back to the bits box for me :-)

Mutation

After the big game yesterday my Blitzer 'Bubo' was lucky enough to roll a double 5 on the Skills Table. This allows me access to the Mutation table and what a lot there is to consider. I love the idea of the Rats mutating. Its all that time spent in the sewers - you just don't know what is going to happen.

Big Hand - used when picking the ball up. You ignore the negative modifiers of enemy tackle zones. Now if a gutter runner had this - big smiles. Maybe even the Thrower but the Blitzer will be used to hit people and not ball carry.

Claw - Any roll of 8 or more will break armour. Would be good against terms with high armour e.g. the Orcs. At the moment I am playing against Dark Elves and Undead. So - not really any good for me. Would only make a difference when hitting Mummies - and I don't like doing that at the best of times!

Disturbing Presence - if I am within 3 squares any player trying to Pass, Intercept or Catch must subtract 1 from the result of their die roll. This would be great against passing teams and I could see a Gutter Runner who was tasked with man marking taking it but not my Blitzer. It could be useful if I kept him close to the opposition cage as it would make it harder to Throw but ...

Extra Arms - Add 1 to the die roll when picking up, catching or intercepting. Good for the Thrower or a Gutter Runner but not the Blitzer.

Foul Appearance - In order to take an action against a player with Foul Appearance you must first pass a 2+ D6 roll. This could be considered for the Blitzer.

Horns - Add 1 to strength when Blitzing. Would combine well with Mighty Blow.  Turn him into a Killer Blitzer. Also the purpose of a Blitzer to make gaps in the line for the Gutter Runners to take advantage of. Currently I am doing this by moving forward a Gutter Runner / Lineman to be adjacent to the player I am going to Blitz. Then I Blitz using 2 Block dice. Hopefully this creates a hole that the other Gutter Runners can take advantage of. With Horns I would not need to use the support player. I would most likely still have the use of 2 Block dice. In effect this releases that player for other duties. Very valuable.

Prehensile Tail - subtract 1 from Dodge rolls if passing through my tackle zone. Could be interesting but there is not a lot of Dodging going on against me at the moment.

Tentacles - Used against Dodging. The opponent rolls 2D6, adds his player strength and subtracts my strength. On a 5 or less the player is held firm by the Tentacles and his action ends. This would be good on a high Strength player like an Ogre. Not for the Blitzer.

Two Heads - Add 1 to all Dodge Rolls. How fabulous for a Gutter Runner but not my Blitzer.

Very Long Legs - Add 1 to your score for intercept or leap. In order to be useful you would really have to have the Leap skill as well. I think that it would be good for a Gutter Runner. It could be used for Cage bashing. Emmm. Leap allows you to jump to any free square upto 2 squares away. There is no Dodge roll to leave your current square with all those potential tackle zone modifiers. You make a straight Agility roll. For my Blitzer that would be 4+. Very Long legs would it a 3+. If successful you continue your move. An interesting possibility. Jumping over a line of players to put the Blitz on the ball carrier. The Blitzer has access to Strength and General skills. Leap is an Agility skill so I would need to roll another double to get Leap. Not very likely. Agility is a normal skill for the Gutter Runners so that be an interesting combination for them.

I can also consider Agility and Passing skill sets. I had a look at Leader. This gives an extra reroll. They can be very useful indeed. Even a basic Dodge might be worth a thought.

Also the result of rolling a double 5 is 10. That would grant me plus 1 to MA or AV. The AV might be worth consideration. Armour of 9 just like the Orcs. He would be a lot harder to remove from the field of play. I only have the option to take 2 Blitzers and they play an important role so keeping them on the field of play is vital.

So that is a quick discussion on the options. My thoughts are that Horns or AV+1 are the main contenders. But I am always interested in other thoughts so all feedback gratefully received.

All Hail the Conquering Undead

It has been coming and today saw the Dark Templar do 'the business' with the Gravesend Gutchewers. A lot of research had been done and his 'new look' side with 4 ghouls proved to be a force on the Blood Bowl table. It was a hard fought encounter, very tactical and the Undead snuck out with a 2-1 victory.

I thought I had done enough in the second half to get the draw but it was not to be! I applied so much pressure that I got the ball back with 3 turns to go. It was amazing. On the final turn I only needed to make two 3+ Dodge rolls to make it into the end zone where I would be open to receive the scoring throw but even with my re-roll I failed, tripped up and fell flat on my face. So cruel! So Blood Bowl!

I was present at the game in the form of my new 'coach' model. Very funny - on the touchline, pointing out what needed to be done. I even intimidated the ref, I think ;-). No sendings off this game. I also used Maximus and the Rat as 'Turn' and 'Score' markers. I do love Maximus!

The new terrain was looking good. Both Dugouts in place and the Scoreboard. It really added to the atmosphere. (Obviously - you have to ignore the mug of tea and empty glass of diet coke and all the paperwork)

On the up side I rolled a double 5 for a new skill on my Skaven Blitzer so I can pay a visit to the mutation table. Horns looks a likely candidate and this will really set 'Bubonost Tumor' (I think we will call him 'Bubo' for short) up well for the next game. I can add '1' to his strength when I am Blocking. This will mean that I can have a 2 dice block when one to one with most players.

During the game my Apothecary saved Plagric - my skilled Gutter Runner - that was a real plus. Money well spent!

However after a manic second half with me going all out to get the ball from the Undead cage I finished the game with three in the 'Dead' zone. My Thrower, a Blitzer and a Lineman.

I was fearful that this could do some lasting damage but Nuffle (and McMouring) looked after me and only the Linemen will miss the next game. I only rolled a '1' for cash so I can't afford a replacement at this point. It would have been much worse if the Blitzer or Thrower was missing. So small mercies and all that ....

However I did get a point of 'fan factor' back. I am now back at 5.

It was a fantastic encounter. Hats off to the Dark Templar who did what was needed to win. This can be tough but he had learned a lot during the early matches and he applied the learning here!! As it happens, I have learned much from today. I now know how to go after the 'cage'. I was particularly effective in the second half - I just need to be brave and 'go for it'!! The Boomtown Rats can do it!!

'Tell me why - I don't like Mondays'

Blood Bowl Anticipation

Yes sports fans - we are just one day away from the much anticipated Gutchewers v's the Boomtown Rats here in the Orcland Raider stadium.

You will note that a few sponsors have been found which will hopefully improve the cash-flow situation which has been pretty poor thus far. The Rats have a reduced Fan Factor for this game so will be relying for some good dice rolling.

The news scoreboard is up - although I feel certain that a more professional job could have been done. Daubing 'Uz' and 'Dem' on the wall is one way to go but surely having the actual team names on the board would be much better. Orc's! Humph!

The Dwarf Referee has arrived - hopefully there will be a little less zeal when it comes to blowing the whistle for the next game.

The Rats were out for a good training session today. Thankfully they are all fit and ready to go.

The team has been joined by a new Lineman 'Acrid the Despoiler' and he has taken the number 12 jersey. (Seen here with Coach Bullcher before joining the team on the field).

Mc Mourning and the Nurses are in readiness. They did a fine job in the last game keeping the Rats up to strength.

I see good old Maximus is still chasing rats. Lets hope thats the last one seen in the dugout for some time to come.

Roll on Sunday and let the fun begin.