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You and the Fluff


Wysten

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Just a curious question, though obivous question. How seriously do you take your fluff and if so, how do you show it on the table top?

 

Myself, I personally have an efficency streak that runs through me. I can't stand the idea of an army taking it, just because it says they do it this way in the book. Thats why I personally have no real intention on running Blood Claws. I don't have the faith that they will do the job I want them to do when compared to the relable Grey Hunter. I am more then willing to play upto the tough hero heratage and Wolf Guard lead each and every unit, but only if it benfits the army itself, not what the book says.

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Everybody takes something different from the hobby, from crushing all before them with a super efficient list that ignores all the hard work GWs staff writers and Black Library authors put in, to gamers who like to represent as closely as possible forces from stories and books. Personally I try to land somewhere in between. After all, we all like to win now and again, but not at the expense of both players having a good time. It's not hard to guess which group you're in.
Well said old git, I agree completely. Where the fluff is concerned I tend to follow it with respect to the army's look, but I tend to follow my own style where gaming is concerned - as long as it is within the confines and parameters of a Space Wolf/Space Marine army. The most important thing is that both players have fun. Period! :P

When I started playing, a few years ago, the fluff was the reason I got into it, but after a while the army compostion started taking over, and now, having read the Horus Heresy books, I am back in that fluff-spot. Maybe not so much that I do it all by the book, but at least to the extent that I try to go as "fluffy" as possible and still be able to somewhat compeate, trusting more in my skills as a general then the composition of my army.

 

- Natanael

I'm of the opinion that most commanders will adapt their army to the situation and not stay locked one type and incur annihilation. (especially space wolves). Your army could be a snapshot in time during a campaign/mission where they had to adapt from their typical battle personae.

The fluff is probably the most important thing to me, along with the look of my force.

 

However Lord Ragnarok put it perfectly, the Wolves are an incredibly individual chapter, where being different is embraced and perhaps encouraged. There's little demanding you to do something in order to make a list fluffy.

 

Which is why I personally love the idea of Wolf Guard leading each pack, so they tend to get one. I'm a fan of the individual nature so with Wolf Guard I try to make no repeats in a pack, I find it fun.

 

Being a collector of a Heresy Morkai army I go with the scouts preference (drawn from "modern day" fluff) and take a unit of Snipers over Heavy Bolter Long Fangs, simply because I prefer the feel of the force that way.

I love the fluff. It's why I play Wolves and not standard Marines. I try to make my army as fluffy as I can. Not to mention as a fairly new player I don't make overly competitive lists :(

 

Played a small game at a LGS not too long ago and a guy came in and started setting up his Space Wolves. I walked over and asked him what Great Company he played and he got a very confused look and answered "Their Space Wolves." ;)

Played a small game at a LGS not too long ago and a guy came in and started setting up his Space Wolves. I walked over and asked him what Great Company he played and he got a very confused look and answered "Their Space Wolves." :)

 

That's just wrong! Of all the SW players at my local GW(thinking 4 besides myself) Im the only one with a fully painted SW army. Most don't even bother to prime them.

Fluff is sometimes fun to read, but I completely disregard it whenever I'm building a list. I get 95% of the enjoyment I derive from 40k from competition. I'll even go so far to pass on a game with someone with a list that's fluffy to the point of not being a challenge, as it's simply not fun for me.
I'm of the opinion that most commanders will adapt their army to the situation and not stay locked one type and incur annihilation. (especially space wolves). Your army could be a snapshot in time during a campaign/mission where they had to adapt from their typical battle personae.

 

Agreed.

 

You don't go in a forest with Long Fangs where they can't see anything, just because the "rules" says so.

 

Ran

Interesting.

 

I intend on properly painting and making my army look great. Just often I have disagreements of how things should be fielded and that during deployments, every guy on the field is relying on the guy next to him or the guy in the low flying speeder or those Wolf Scouts. These guys recongise that death is a way of life but at the same time I imagine they would try and be efficent in crushing these threats so that more of them would be in the drinking halls later. Don't want to be dying to any pansys Tau or Dark Eldar afterall, ney? XD Though that being said, I don't enjoy clubbing the baby seals either. I've had tourneys in my other hobby where I've been paired against children and beat them. Always leaves a very bitter taste when I would prefer to face a able foe.

 

I've not decided on my great company yet, but I feel the highly competative Krom Dragongaze would be the closest, the wolf lord really does try to be the best at everything which I would imagine would result in higher expectations of the blood claws and hence less of them overall and probably a obcession with achieving victory in everything, from drinking to full blown millitry victory. Kind of like a very annoying young brother to many of the wolf lords with him having a bit of everything with his highly numberious wolf guard (since he's known for his number of wolf guard) leading every squad or on Thunderwolf. Only issue is hand painting the sign, but that skill will come in time.

The older you get thou, you learnt he fluff changes. In fact all the time. Look at the wolves.

 

We were like other marine chapters. We had same weapons and equipment. or fangs were put in ritually.

 

Wait we are now SpaceWolves with our own new 2nd edition codex. Yet we are more or less the exact same in combat ability except or GH and BC have WS 5 and our Long Fangs have BS of 6ish with targeter.

 

Oh wait 3rd Edition comes along and now we are scared to Teleport unless the whole force is a deep striker. But hey BC are cool. Very cost effective and can have 3 power weapons or fists.

 

Oh wait it's 5th edition and they finally decide to give us Codex. Now we are scared to teleport at all. Fight a Kraken no problem. Stand on a symol and walk into a tunnel of light? Forget that it's spooky. But hey we have big wolves we can ride now. Though or BC are the suck now. Cost too much and give too little.

 

 

The fluff got me into the game. I loved early 40k RogueTrader days. I loved rolling up a heroe type and making him look like the rolls said. I loved the old WD compidium. I still have both books. But GW changes the fluff at a whim. It makes lists you loved hard to play. You have to adapt them.

 

The fluff is important, but it changes so you can not take it all to heart. Some of you have only played a year, maybe 2. I started 18 years ago. Maybe more. It's hard to remember when exactly. A buddy from school was living in London for a time and he brought back these cool models with him. This was in 1989. I then saw my first ROgue Trader marine box set. Which would make like 30 marines. Later own another buddy got me to play and then I bought his models when he moved.

 

I have over 150 old Rogue trader marines. I have over 200 of the newer ones. And that is with me giving some of the 2nd editions ones away to a friend I met in Voctoria BC, Canada. But they look different. Weapon options change. They need to to make people buy new models. It's a money maker for the company and they need to get sells. So the rules and fluff change from time to time.

I am all for the fluff. my great cmpany is led by the legendary Eirik Xenobane. Lost his pack as a Grey Hunter but rather than lose him to the oath of a Lonw Wolf his Wolf Lord shipped him to the Deathwatch.

 

Wolvs are not stupid and neither are mine. With a whole Great Company to choose from Eirik picks te best units for the job at hand. Enemy is fielding serious killy stuff? The Blood Claws stay on the battle barge. The enemy is fielding hordes of grunts? The blood claws get unleashed.

 

Fluffy doesn't mean weak, a Wolf Lord has mor flexibility tan a codx Captain and can tailor his forces to suit any and every engagement so i neer havea problem mixing fluffy with competitive.

I really like building, converting and painting models. But fluff? I fell in love with the lone wolf, but he lets me down everytime. And I am crazy about thunderclaws, but I nearly never end up having it.

 

Fluff is not that important, but that not mean I do not care about the fluff. Fluff makes the backround cool, but it can bog the game down. But the time they co-ordinate good it realy rocks.

The history of my Great Co. can be traced all the way back to 2nd edition.

 

It all Started with WolfLord Jon, who is now in a Dreadnought. Jon continued to lead his Great Company for a short time while the Wolfguard Battle Leaders, Erik and Thorgrimm were constantly trying to out do one another in an effort to be chosen as the new Wolf Lord of the Great Company...well I could go on, but you get the idea.

 

The "Fluff", or the story of the codex is not only important to me, but the Saga of my Great Company is also very important to me and has been for years, as I have tracked my armies accomplishments and failures in campaigns and tournaments. I don't have time for Role Playing games anymore, so my army has become one giant character for me, in an effort to replace the imaginative part of RPing that I miss.

 

Do I play competitively? sure I do. Do I take things because they are "fluffy" in my list? you betcha. In fact I find that as I grow older, I find that anyone can come on these boards and find an "uber-list" built to crush everyone on the battle field with all the numbers crunched. With this list, they may even win games, or a tournament. But that's not really impressive, want to impress? take a sub-par list, learn how to play well, find uses for those sub-par units (I don't leave home without my Blood Claws unit in a Rhino), and smash face with it.

 

In my opinion, that's impressive, and that's challenging. I get great satisfaction in someone telling me how bad my list is, and then winning the game. Even if I lose, I am sure my opponent will have a fun game and will be challenged.

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