Tabletop Teacher

Another quick one before I collapse into a coma after a truly awful day. I was thinking about Stormcast Eternals, and how their open ended origin fluff supposedly allows for great variation in armies. The idea is that Sigmar picks out heroes FROM BEYOND TIME AND SPAAAACE to be part of his war hosts. He bangs up their souls in Sigmarite, thrusts the weight of the world's future on them, and kicks them out the door in a lightning bolt with the expectation that they'll just have to find their own way home. Sigmar's kind of a jerk that way. Anyway, with such a broad origin space to pick from, why are all the current Stormcast factions so vanilla? Where are the viking clones? The vampires? The mongols and machine obsessed? Yes I'm referencing known Space Marine chapters, but that's my point. A White Scar, whilst using the same codex, is not the same as a Salamander. They've not been around long, but in the Age of Internet, the first person to put out t...

I mentioned here about how the USA Election could be looked at as a choice between Chaos and the Imperium. Looks like Chaos won! As a geek only concerned with fantasy politics, I'm going to keep my position neutral. The only comment I'll make it to say that it appears as though the regular Imperial serf has decided to abandon the Imperial Truth in favour of a gamble on new gods. Read from that what you will. I have no horse in this race. What remains to be seen is which demon Primarch Trump will turn out to be. Will he be a Horus type? Angron? Magnus? Will he simply be another warband leader, such as Abaddon, or Lugft Huron? There's only one thing we can be certain of. The hysterical fit thrown by the media is going to be utterly hilarious. Imagine an Inquisitor who can't vent his frustration by Exterminatus. Think I might talk a bit more about this later today. Crack open the popcorn folks. Things are going to get very interesting from here...

Just a quick one today, since I'm coming home late from work (again). We had two STEM ambassadors come in today to talk about Geotechnical Engineering. The students were very interested, and one or two may have found a new career path. There was also some talk about getting more girls into STEM, but I literally have no idea why they wouldn't get into it in the first place and so can't comment on that. In case any are reading; Girls, study Physics. There is no reason not to. Anyway, Geotechnical Engineering is the study of how the ground we walk upon works. It's related to Geology, but becomes engineering when someone wants to do anything on the ground. Which is pretty much all the damn time. From buildings to roads, without a good idea of how the rocks underneath you behave under pressure, your new shiny tower is not going to last long. Which brings us back to fantasy and 40K. The question is this: Were the hive cities of 40K built before the Great Crusad...

I don't really intend to be political on this blog, but it's topical and led to a little thought about 40K. Tomorrow is election day for the USA, and Americans will have the wonderful choice of Clinton or Trump. Without being too vitriolic, this is like a choice between Chaos and the Imperium of Man. On the one hand you have powerful and old Chaotic forces, built out of human emotion, and sustained by the passions of mankind. Sometimes these can be valuable and laudable, but often they lead to destruction. Human excess, violent nature, a deep rooted desire for change whilst clinging to old values, for many of the common folk of the Imperium this seems like the only choice they have. Unfortunately, it is often a choice that leads to your own destruction, and the tarnishing of your very spirit. On the other hand, you have the Imperium. Ancient and rotting at the core, rife with the corruption and decay that is inevitable of structures and systems left too long. Life ...

Remember, remember the 5th of November. Gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason, the gunpowder treason, Should ever be forgot. Last night was Bonfire Night here in the UK. It's somewhat of a mirror universe American Independence Day, where things are similar but with wildly different meanings. In the US, when July 4th rolls around, everyone gets the barbecue out to enjoy Summer sun, with a great big fireworks display celebrating the birth of their nation. It's an event commemorating the overthrow of the British crown's rule. Bonfire Night is where we ritualistically burn a traitor in effigy for trying to kill the King, with a great big fireworks display to celebrate the government not getting blown up. See? It's actually a really nice non-holiday. Like Halloween you don't get time off for it, and it's certainly not government sponsored, but it is something that everyone does and enjoys. Mulled cider (usually the alcoholic kind) sausages in ...