+++ Turf War II: The Battle for Sludge City +++

[Eldrick Shadowblade]

And with the waning hours of the Turf War, (8 hours to Midnight on the west coast US) The very soul of Sludge City is up for grabs. I, Eldrick Shadowblade pledge 2 chaos cultists, and 2 chaos familiars (1 for each of the dark gods). I am Done... THEIR WILL BE DONE!!!!

 

 

THE NARCO LORD PRODUCTS GAVE ME MONSTER STRENGTH!!!!

 

And one shot of my work desk very much in need of cleaning and organizing....

[RADU LYKAN]

Phew!

[Darnok]

12 cultists for the Chaos Cults in the Settlement:

 

 

 

 

1 Cawdor Champion and 1 Sheen Bird for House Cawdor in the Chem Pits:

 

 

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

The Slag Wolves have arrived at the Drinking Hole!

 

 

 

They're not as finished as I would like, but it'll do for now. 

[Darnok]

Those awesome bases alone count as finished models already!  

[Brother Dallo]

And I thought I was cutting it fine. :p

 

Great work everyone.

 

Dallo

[Darnok]

I am eagerly awaiting the results.

[Ranulf]

 

...and we have concluded the Turf War II: The Battle for Sludge City campaign.

 

Final results to follow...

 

-Ran

[Ranulf]

Well folks, it's been a long and arduous campaign over the last three months. My gratitude to all those who participated in the event - you've helped to inject interest, activity and a small sense of community here in this dark little underhive of the Bolter & Chainsword board.
 
Congratulations to all those that managed to complete some or all of their boasts - hopefully now you'll have the means to go forth and wreak havoc in your local 'Munda gaming groups! Commiserations to those that didn't get everything finished - the demands of real life are often the greatest enemy of any aspiring gang warlord. During the course of the campaign we had some 184 Boasts from a total of 15 Members, with a 151 Completions!
 
So, now onto the important bit - the final campaign cards:
 

 

+++ The Final Campaign Results +++

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...And the overall victory in Turf War II: The Battle for Sludge City goes to:

 

THE CHAOS CULTISTS!

 

Despite a strong showing from the Outlaw faction in the Chem Pits and the Toll Crossing and a concentrated defense from Houses Cawdor, Orlock and Goliath in certain territories, the forces of Chaos proved to be too overwhelming in the end. At completion, the Chaos Cultists have violently seized control of the Settlement, the Drinking Hole and the Old Ruins - thus gaining control of Sludge City.

 

In the orgy of bloodletting, debauchery and human sacrifice that will undoubtedly follow, it will be the underhivers of the city that will suffer the most and will likely lose all, including perhaps their very souls.

 

As for the fate of the hated and reviled Narco Lord Daryth Armagio, that is a story yet to be told...

 

+++

 

...and just for kicks, here are the achievement awards:

 

Talks the talk, walks the walk.

(Most completed boasts)

CaptainDangerous

 

The first cut is the deepest.

(First completed boast)

Gederas

 

The art of war.

(Miniature that most impressed Lord Ranulf)

The Gentle Axeman (Furiosa)

 

In the nick of time.

(Closest completion to the cut-off time)

Brother Chaplain Kage

 

All talk and no trousers.

(Most failed boasts)

Chaplain Dosjetka

 

 

 

-Ran

[Gederas]

Woo, I got an award! :lol:

[Brother Dallo]

Thank you for running this event Lord Ranulf. It's been a fun ride and I've got a sizeable amount of painted models to enjoy, partly due to the motivation of this event.

 

Dallo

[CaptainDangerous]

Well done lads!

A wise man once sent a PM stating that a certain situation was unwinnable, but with the backing of the dark gods and with unholy mastery of the paintbrush, that claim was certainly untrue! *the captain doffs his imperial hat*

 

Thanks all for giving me a nice warm baptism of fire here at B&C, and thank you so much Lord Ranulf for Inviting and organising such an awesome event!

I really hope to see you all again next time! ...what with the possibility of The Narco Lord escaping through a corrupt toll crossing and perhaps being supplied the many chems being moved in and out of Slime City now!

 

“Emperor! I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, or why we died. All that matters is that today, Outlaws stood against Chaos. That's what's important! Valor pleases you, Emperor; so grant me one request. Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, then to hell with you!”

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Skin of my teeth once again! I'll take the award and be glad I didn't fail yet another challenge I signed up for. I felt sure I was going to knock this out early and then get around to doing a Goliath or Escher or two, but I had to start looking for a new place to live.

 

Grats to all who completed their vows and to everyone who entered for making it a fun event to watch and participate in.

[Darnok]

 

GLORY TO THE DARK GODS!

 

Well, that was a rather close call in the end, but I enjoyed the ride all the way! Many thanks to Lord Ranulf for organising this event and running it smoothly from start to finish. I also want to thank everybody participating: it was good fun, and could not have been without you! 

 

For myself? I got a painted Chaos Cult out of this, and another halfway done. A campaign in one of my stores just started this week, requiring completely painted gangs - so I can only take part in it thanks to this event.

 

Last, but be no means least, my gratitude goes to my fellow Chaos supporters - Eldrick Shadowblade first among them - for supporting our common goal. Now Sludge City is in the grips of the Dark Gods, thanks to our joint efforts!

[Dosjetka]

All talk, no trousers - sounds about right. :lol:

 

Congrats to all those who managed to complete their vows! A great little event, thanks for organising and running it, Ran. :tu:

[Darnok]

Some feedback on this second Turf War campaign. Please note that the following is just my personal opinion - accept or ignore my ramblings at your own risk!

 

Overall Thoughts

As mentioned earlier today, I think the event went smoothly and was in general organised well. It always takes at least one person dedicating a lot of their free time to do all this, and Lord Ranulf has done a great job - thank you very much again!

I wish we have had some more participants, but Necromunda is a niche game - this event proved it once more. On the other hand a small group makes every single contribution stand out, and for me it felt good to be part of it.

 

Boast Mechanics

How the boasts were handled is a quick and easy way to organise participation, and I would not drastically change it. With that said though: the system is very easy to break, and this should be adressed for future events. The following example was provided by Eldrick Shadowblade, and it shows the issue: "boast 200 models in one territory, don't paint any, now nobody can win" (paraphrased). While only a theoretical example, it highlights how easy the boast mechanics can be abused.

My suggestion would be to restrict both size and number of boasts. No single boast should be larger than ten models, and no more than five boasts should be allowed per person, with each having to be finished before the next. At a maximum that is still 50 models, and enough for five full gangs. Only CaptainDangerous has painted more in this campaign, and he is a machine!

These restrictions still leave plenty of wiggle room for individual and group strategies when it comes to territory claims. More on point: with actual restrictions (especially the "finish one before doing the next") it suddenly becomes meaningful when, where and what to boast - instead of the current "spray'n'pray" - and planning as well as backstabbing plays much more of a role. It is also enough to spread out your painting over different projects, so nobody will be seriously hampered in doing a little bit of everything if desired. These restrictions only limit extreme cases, and I think that is exactly what restrictions are for!

 

Factions & Models

Cut the Redemption out. Nobody boasted for them, and they do not have the excuse of being a major faction (other than House Delaque). Bring them back once new models for them are out - until then they are easily handled as "Outlaws". House Delaque seeing no boasts was odd, but with a small community this can happen.

For the "legality" of models I would not change anything. One could argue that factions like Chaos Cults have "too much freedom" in terms of model choices - and Genestealer Cults have a whole 40K army backing them up on top of the same thing. But anybody can use them, by simple alligning them to another faction, so it is a non-issue really.

What I would change is the "value" some models have. As an example: a small Chaos Familiar, a regular quickpainted Ganger, a finely detailed Gang Leader, a massive Exotic Beast like the Sumpcroc and an Ogryn are all worth the same - one single model. I think there should be one more category, containing models that are either big or very detailed, to account for the higher effort going into them. Call it "Special", make it count for two or three models, done. Allowing no more than one of these per boast should be enough to prevent it being abused.

 

Campaign Management

Please do not take this as me being ungrateful, but I would have appreciated more regular updates on the campaign. There were lots in the beginning, and with an amount of detail that I think was unnecessary - and then there was almost nothing for the rest of the time. Having something more regular, if not as often, would be preferable in my opinion. Maybe a shorter update every two weeks? In an ideal world I would love more story elements with these, but we are into wishlisting by now. I know this all takes a lot of time, so please do not take this as me demanding anything, but merely wishful thinking.

[Ranulf]

Certainly food for thought. 

 

Chaplain Dosjetka and I had many similar discussions during brainstorming sessions at the start of the campaign and as it unfolded. In many ways the rules were left fast and loose as an experiment to gauge how participants would engage and participate - some elements we predicted, while other variables (boast sizes, miniatures involved, popular factions etc) took us by surprise. The data gathered from this event will be something that we have a good look at when planning future campaigns in the 'Munda sub.

 

One of the biggest positive elements that as arisen (partly from the presence of the campaign) is the general increase in activity in the subforum as a whole, which is great to see.

 

-Ran

[Darnok]

I for one am already waiting for the next round. So many possible ideas for the overarchign story...

 

• Chaos has got a strong presence in Sludge City, but the Great Houses can not let this stand - a campaign to retake the settlement is started
• Lord Armagio has been chased away, but he will pay good money for anybody willing to aid his cause - returning to power over Sludge City
• such a massive show of force of Chaos in the Underhive brings the Inquisition into play - acting under their order to repel the vile cultists will bring fame and fortune to anybody answering the call
• the different cults that have combined their force to take Sludge City by force soon after started to fight each other, resulting in madness all over the place - the perfect opportunity for anybody willing to shift the balance of power in their favour
• all of the above

 

Just a bunch of ideas, if I had thought more than a minute about it there would be plenty more.

 

I hope the enthusiasm built over this event will carry on for a while. I have a campaign starting last weekend, which will go on for seven weeks - that will keep me busy in the Underhive I guess. My main concern is me being easily distracted: "Warcry" coming up and looking fantastic, ETL and this odd "real life" I hear people talking about.

[Eldrick Shadowblade]

@Lord Ranulf

 

First I want to thank you for taking the time to having a really cool event. I am going to be 100% honest. I would have never gotten to those minis if I didn't learn they released a cult pdf. I was instantly hooked and looking for a way to jump into necromunda without adding to a severe backup of unpainted minis. Thanks for putting something cool together that helped many of us get to figures we might not otherwise have gotten too.

 

Adding on to Darnok, I think something like 10 Boasts per person at a time (and no more until those 10 are painted) might add to the intrigue and strategy. It might also enhance the importance of the dirty double cross. Or only allowing painted figures to stick the knife in the gut even more impactful and wouldnt penalize players who gave an honest effort to getting minis table ready.

 

I'd also be happy to help with some of the narrative elements of the story-telling. Especially if we want to do a take back sludge city campaign in the near future.

 

Anyway, just some thoughts on a fun event!

 

Let the sacrifices begin in earnest.... Brother Dallo.... I have a very nice throne to reward your treachery...

 

[The Gentle Axeman]

Thanks for running the event,

 

Congrats to everyone involved, such a cool way to start my time on this forum. I honored you liked my model, if only I could paint a bit faster or more often. I reckon without this event pushing me I'd still be fiddling with conversions so I'm super happy with the result. That and the input from the community pushing and inspiring!

 

I'll be here for the next one, from the start and with bigger boasts!

[RADU LYKAN]

Brilliant stuff, if only I didn't have the urge to convert every model I may have got a bit more done. Let's see what's on/near the painting desk next time this swings around

[Brother Dallo]

Eldrick Shadowblade, I don't think you can really call making allies of convenience to try to thwart a Chaos uprising "treachery" but the Friary of Jade nonetheless thank you for this most holy of relics; a replica of the Golden Throne.

 

It shall be added to our relic collection besides notable items like Lord Dorn's three thumbs and that rat which slightly resembles Saint Celestine.

 

Truly the Emperor provides.

 

Dallo

[Reyner]

Real life got me I almost finished my Van Saar in time but I'm not happy with the skin or the base at the minute. My leadbelcher paint is naff. 

 

Well done to everyone who finished their boast :D we need to reclaim those territories back from Chaos before the upper hive catch on and alert the authorities! 

[CaptainDangerous]

My thoughts on Turf War II:

I wouldn’t change much if anything, I really enjoyed it and, although completely through my own mischief, only wish I could have taken abit more time on the figures (In opposed to having more time to do even more).

I see people’s point on limiting the number of boasts and restricting boast size, but except for Eldrick and myself it wouldn’t really apply a great deal except for making it impossible for a single competitor to win. All you would have to do is agree between 3 that each would do 17 figures and a player would be neutralised.

In my own defence, when I made the mega boast, it was in good time (7th May) and I offered to lower the number if what I was doing was against the spirit of the event. I also spread my mini count right across the board in accordance to where I felt the best narrative was for the figures themselves (most human looking in the settlement/the most monstrous in the ruins) and I could have easily sent my last minute reinforcements to the settlement but chose not to for the sake of fair play!

(I’m an honourable dirty double crosser :p )

If I hadn’t made that final push at the end, would anyone have been anywhere close to taking the chaos faction on?

 

My thoughts on future events:

I would leave the mechanics of it how they are, it is a very relaxed and open system and gives the participants a lot of freedom which is something I really liked.

But to put some ideas forward,

Firstly, is not to change the boast size, but to punish any failed boasts by deducting them from a players score to a minimum of zero. E.g. I complete 20 gangers in my first boast then fail to complete my second boast of 10 gangers, my end score would be 10 (Maybe crosshairs turns red?) This would only effect your own boasts and not those of others fighting in the same territory for the same faction. In a chaos themed event, the failed minis might have succumbed to madness or mutation?

Secondly, you could stagger the territories over the 12 weeks so that each gets a two week period before a write up happens and the next territory is fought over! That way there will be a bit of pace and a loose structure to write narrative. E.g. first fortnight the settlement, second fortnight toll crossing, third chem pits etc. Then in the final fortnight boasts can be made to any of the territories representing a last minute grasp of power or a surge of well placed reinforcement!

Lastly, I would consider putting a cool down period between making boasts and completing them. I was very tempted, right in the final hours, to spam a load of poxwalkers with a quick wash and the minimum amount detail just to increase my chances of winning. Im pleased to say I resisted, but if there was a last orders for boasts and a, say, 8 hour period (also combined with my first suggestion) it would make for a more dramatic and fair ending I feel!

 

Thanks again to the organisers and competitors all, I happily look forward to seeing what happens any which way! :)