The incredibly talented Adam Burn has begun working on the cover to Humanity Machine. This is merely the first element of the composition. Here you can see the SolFleet frigate Valor taking shape, which the main character Vance serves on as its drone controller. It’ll be under attack in the final version.
Pretty cool, huh? In Adam’s own words:
“Starting first with the massive capital ship, quite rough at the moment mostly throwing down shapes and basic lighting so the final will be more refined.”
Yes, ladies and gentlemen. What we have here right now is “quite rough.” I can’t wait to see the refined version. 🙂
So what is Humanity Machine? Well, I’m glad you asked!
Humanity Machine is a story of Manufactured People. Soldiers created on demand using an advanced form of 3D printing. More precisely, this is the story of one such soldier: Vance. This is her journey as she grows from just one more cog in the machine to an individual that can shape the destiny of her people.
Humanity Machine is a story of Intense Space Battles. Highly advanced, self-modifying warships slugging it out in the depths of space. Vance serves as one warship’s drone controller, commanding her squadrons of interceptors and bombers against a powerful and tenacious foe.
Humanity Machine is a story of Divided Humanity. Not by politics or ethnicities or faiths, but by technology. It’s a story about how technology molds a society, and how that technology can make its people seem very alien to an outsider. Imagine a society with no families, no children, and no gender roles. Imagine a two-tiered society of the created and the creators. What would that society be like? What would its people be like?
And if all goes to plan, it will be out this year!
Subscribe to the Holo Writing Newsletter to receive updates on our current and future books.
Time Reavers – Sequel
This is so exciting! People have started asking about the sequel to Time Reavers!
Please allow me to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has inquired about the next book. Your feedback is a precious, wonderful thing. So, on that note, I thought I’d take a moment to talk a little bit about the sequel.
Will there be a sequel to Time Reavers?
Oh, you’d better believe there’s going to be a sequel!
What’s it called?
The working title is Mind Reavers.
What will it be about?
The hidden war between the tau guards and the reavers is about to go loud in a big way. The barrier between our worlds is crumbling. The resolve of the tau guards is failing, and seventeen-year-old Nicole Taylor, with her unique ability to speak to the reavers, may be the only one who can save the Earth.
Also, expect to learn more about the true nature of the reavers in this book. A lot more. Many of the lingering questions from Time Reavers will have light shed on them.
What will happen in it?
Oh, come on. Like I’d answer that. 🙂
When are you going to finish it?
Well, I’ve got to start it first. It’s on the short list of upcoming projects along with the sequel to The Dragons of Jupiter. Right now, I’m focused on making Humanity Machine as awesome and exciting as possible.
FINISH IT FASTER!
I’m sorry. I wish I could write faster too. 🙁
Subscribe to the Holo Writing Newsletter to receive updates on our current and future books
Holo Writing at SC Comicon 2014!
This past weekend, H.P. and I participated in the first ever South Carolina Comic Con, organized by the very hardworking Rob Young of Borderland Comics and Games. The event lasted two days and, according to one of the staff members, drew in over six thousand people! I can believe it too. The convention center was packed. The pictures we took do not do the crowd justice because, simply put, we were so busy when the crowds really hit!
H.P. and I had a blast interacting with people at the convention. We met I.R. Harris, author of the dark epic fantasy Bound Trilogy as well as plenty of talented artists. Tons of cool people, many in costume, stopped by our table.
Many of those who stopped by left with our books in hand. We almost blew through our entire stock. Bear in mind, we ordered extras after the success of Tangled Web’s Free Comic Day. Even with that, we still almost ran out. It was a great weekend for us!
To everyone who purchased our books, THANK YOU! Welcome to Holo Writing!
Holo Writing at SpartanCon!
This past Saturday, H.P. and I hosted a table at SpartanCon. We had a lot of fun doing it. A big, warm thank you to Spartanburg County Public Libraries for extending the invitation to us and letting us host a table at their event.
This picture was taken before things got crazy. And boy, did they get crazy! The head librarian mentioned to us that between eight hundred and a thousand people showed up. We had a wonderful day interacting with plenty of new readers. To everyone who bought our books, thank you! We hope you enjoy them!
The day was a resounding success for us. H.P. and I will definitely be participating in SpartanCon next year.
Of the people who attended SpartanCon, plenty came wearing some superb costumes. Not surprising, since the library hosted a cosplay contest with two 4-day tickets to DragonCon as the main prize. Here you can see me with the winner and her completely homemade Jawa costume.
Yes, there is a lovely young lady underneath all of that.
And there’s plenty more awesome cosplay where that came from. Early in the day, I had my picture taken with an Alucard cosplayer. The young gentleman stopped by our table afterwards and was so impressed with our books he brought his friends over to show them. They too left with our books in hand.
And here’s one more really cool cosplay. Why? Because it’s Dead Space. Does there need to be another reason? 🙂
Again, thank you to everyone who decided to give our books a try. You’re awesome!
Subscribe to the Holo Writing Newsletter to receive updates on our current and future books.
Holo Writing at Tangled Web Free Comic Day!
Daniel McAbee, owner of the Tangled Web, graciously invited us to host a table during his Free Comic Day special. Both H.P. and I stayed the entire day and had an absolute blast. So many awesome people stopped by our table to hear about our books. We really enjoyed getting to interact with our fellow sci-fi/fantasy fans, and a warm thank you to all of you who decided to give our books a try.
We also got very good at summarizing our books quickly. H.P. did a particularly awesome job.
Fan-in-the-Making: The Dragons of Jupiter? What’s that about?
H.P. Holo: Space ninjas versus space marines!
Jacob Holo: There’s more to it than that, but yeah.
Fan-in-the-Making: Cool. And Time Reavers?
H.P. Holo: Teens with super powers versus giant interdimensional cyborg insects!
Fan-in-the-Making: Sounds interesting.
We also had free buttons and bookmarks, which were a huge hit. We actually ran out of The Dragons of Jupiter buttons. People especially loved the “I’m a Dragon” buttons with a piece of the back cover art on the button. I thought a hundred was enough for the day, but the crowd cleaned us out!
Despite hosting the table for eight hours, the day went by in a flash. It’s a good thing we brought plenty of books, because people were in the mood to buy some action-packed sci-fi/fantasy! You can’t see them in the top picture, but there are boxes of books underneath our table. We emptied them. The books you see in the next picture are the only survivors from a fantastic day at Tangled Web (actually minus one, because we sold another shortly before we packed up).
Again, both H.P. and I had a really great time at Tangled Web. Thank you to Daniel McAbee for being a truly stellar host, and thank you to all of our new readers! Welcome to Holo Writing!
Subscribe to the Holo Writing Newsletter to receive updates on our current and future books.
Holo Writing – Fan Art
Here’s the first piece of fan art I’ve received! Please enjoy! 🙂
Warmachine Vengeance Review: Cryx
IN SHORT: Warmachine Vengeance has arrived. Let’s dig in. As with previous releases, every Warmachine army gets a healthy heaping of awesome, this time with an emphasis on speed with exciting cavalry units and mobile warcasters. It also ushers in an interesting cast of journeymen warcasters. The book is printed in stellar full color with plenty of gorgeous new artwork.
Let’s take a look at the new Cryx models.
GORESHADE, LORD OF RUIN: Goreshade’s back and he’s on a horse! Of course, that puts him on a large base, but he’s well equipped to handle that. DEF 14, ARM 17, Focus 7, 17 hit boxes. Plenty of raw defensive power there. He also has access to Occultation to give a model or unit Stealth, including himself. Ghostly lets him ignore terrain and free strikes. And, of course, Cryx has no shortage of arc nodes at its disposal if he wants to hang back a bit.
Goreshade doesn’t have any debuffs, but that’s okay. He comes with two excellent buffs in the way of Scything Touch (+2 melee damage for a model or unit) and Infernal Machine (+2 MAT, +2 SPD, and Terror for a battlegroup warjack). Both are excellent spells. Still, he’s going to favor units that are self-sufficient when it comes to hitting their targets, since he lacks a DEF debuff.
For getting into melee, he has an impressive linear threat range. SPD 8 plus Reach lets him stab targets 13” away. And when he is stabbing, it’s with a P+S 15 sword that inflicts Stationary. He also can cause Stationary with his feat, Winter’s Grasp. Friendly warriors in his control area can be made to explode into 3” AOEs that freeze enemy models not immune to cold. And after he’s spent models in this manner, he can bring them back with Mockery of Life.
Goreshade also comes with two abilities that help with Focus efficiency. Spell Vortex lets him cast a spell for free if a living enemy model casts a spell in his control area last turn. His attack spell, Siphon Bolt, can strip Focus or Fury off the target one point per hit and give Goreshade a point of Focus in return.
All in all, a very exciting and flexible new caster. Can’t wait to try him out.
INFLICTOR: Do my eyes deceive me? A Cryxian heavy with Shield Guard and ARM 19 thanks to its shield? Wow! At 8 points, the Inflictor is an excellent option for many Cryx warcasters. On average, our warcasters can be quite greedy with their Focus. But, they also have these warjack points we need to spend. Well, have no fear! Put those points towards an Inflictor, and let it tank hits meant for the warcaster or squishy solos.
Its stinger may only be P+S 16, but that’s plenty of punch for Cryx since we have so many options for stripping ARM off our targets. And it even comes with a Soul Drive to give it one point of Focus for free every turn. Awesome. Just awesome.
BANE RIDERS: ARM 18 heavy cavalry? Yes, please!
Don’t let the lack of Weapon Master deceive you. These banes hit hard! With base P+S 13 and Brutal Charge, they slam home with 15+3d6 on the charge. Their mounts are also a hefty POW 12, great for impact attacks. They may not be as fast as some of the other cavalry in this rulebook. But when you combine SPD 7, Ghostly for ignoring terrain, Curse for an extra 2”, and Reach on their melee attacks, their natural threat range is nothing to ignore.
They’re also very self-sufficient. Per cavalry rules, they automatically get +2 to their attack rolls on the charge. Toss in Curse, and suddenly they’re at effective MAT 10! Yikes! Bane Riders definitely operate at their peak when charging.
And let me just say we finally have a unit worthy of putting Death Ward on. ARM 20 banes on horses anyone?
SKARLOCK COMMANDER: Here’s a unit attachment for Mechanithralls or Bile Thralls. For only one point, this guy is not bad at all. It’s always annoying when my Mechanithralls get hit with a nasty debuff. It doesn’t happen super often (I’m normally the one doing the debuffing, not my foe), but spending one point on an attachment that can clear those debuffs is handy. The extra bit of CMD is also a nice boon, though the model doesn’t have any rules to help keep him safe.
Still, The Skarlock Commander has a decent set of offensive abilities with Dark Fire, Battle Wizard, and Soul Taker. These can combine for a surprisingly powerful offense. First soak up some souls with kills from the attached unit. Then stab something in melee (boosting with souls if needed), then cast Dark Fire for free thanks to Battle Wizard (again, boosting with souls).
For only one point? Yeah. Not too bad.
AIAKOS, SCOURGE OF THE MEREDIUS: The Cryx journeyman warcasters comes loaded down with awesome sauce. First, he’s going to be hard to pin down with Stealth, DEF 14, and ARM 19 if he’s camping with Escort active. Second, he’s fast with SPD 6 and Jump for an additional 5” placement. Escort also gives +2” to his warjack, which is just lovely when added to the already speedy Cryxian warjacks.
And he also comes with the Deathbringers spell, which allows Aiakos and his battlegroup to ignore Tough and damage transfers. Against Hordes, that’s brutal!
But wait! There’s more! He also comes with Drag to reel in enemies. His harpoon may only have RAT 5, 6” RNG, and POW 10, but he’s got the Focus to boost those rolls when needed. There are plenty of exciting combos with this guy. Too many to count.
Aiakos, ladies and gentlemen. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a few more warjacks in Cryxian lists thanks to this guy. Finally!
Time to dust off my Leviathan.
SUMMARY: Privateer Press continues to release new and exciting models for each of its factions, ensuring that whichever army you play, you keep getting new options to bring to the tabletop. All in all, Vengeance is great release for a game that keeps getting better.
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.
Warmachine Vengeance Review: Cygnar
IN SHORT: Warmachine Vengeance has arrived. Let’s dig in. As with previous releases, every Warmachine army gets a healthy heaping of awesome, this time with an emphasis on speed with exciting cavalry units and mobile warcasters. It also ushers in an interesting cast of journeymen warcasters. The book is printed in stellar full color with plenty of gorgeous new artwork.
Let’s take a look at the new Cygnar models.
LORD GENERAL COLEMAN STRYKER: Stryker got himself a horse, and now he’s all about the alpha strike. He gives Storm Lances Reform (a 3” move after their actions), and his feat, Lightning Charge, basically begs for some horses in his army. When activated, all charge attacks and mount attacks automatically hit and gain an additional die for damage rolls. Ouch! Stryker’s horse also comes with Thunderous Impact, which zaps d3 nearby models when an impact attack lands. Nasty!
Warjacks can tag along too. With Escort, he gives them +2” movement to help them keep up. Throw in Field Marshal [Assault], and those warjacks are still shooting when they charge in. And when all of these models come crashing into the enemy’s lines, Fury gives a select model or unit +3 to their melee damage rolls.
Now do note that Stryker is a large base. This makes him a large target, but he won’t go down easily. With Escort up and a warjack nearby, he can camp at ARM 25. Add in DEF 15 and 18 hit points, and he’s no pushover. He also zaps anyone who hits him in melee.
With Stryker, hit first and hit hard. He certainly has the rules and stats to get the job done.
RELIANT: Here’s another electricity themed heavy warjack. It can fire an electrical 3” AOE that stays in play for a round, allowing it to help out with area denial tactics. It comes with a P+S 17 melee attack with Critical Thunderclap. On a critical hit, place a 4” AOE over the target. Models hit, friend or foe without Immunity: Electricity, become Stationary. And yes, bear in mind that is both friend and foe. Fortunately, Cygnar has a wide selection of models with the necessary immunity.
All this for only 8 points? Not too bad. Critical abilities are always a bit of a gamble, but area effect Stationary is nothing to scoff at.
TEMPEST BLAZERS: A lot of Warmachine involves using the right tool or trick in the right place. The Tempest Blazers (basically gun mages on horseback) bring three attack types to the table, Brutal Damage to hitting harder, Blessed for bypassing defensive buffs, and Electro Leap for taking out fodder.
With SPD 9 and light cavalry rules, they are highly mobile gun platforms, and their DEF 15 is no joke. Solid ranged support cavalry.
STORMBLADE CAPTAIN: What’s better than Storm Knights? Storm Knights with Relentless Charge, that’s what! The Stormblade Captain is worth 2 points for that ability alone. Stormblades in particular are only SPD 5 and don’t have Reach on their weapons. Getting stuck in a rough terrain quagmire or traipsing around it can be a real pain. He also comes with a P+S 13 Weapon Master melee attack with Reach, and thanks to Quick Work, can fire off a shot if he kills anything.
Oh, and he’s a ‘Jack Marshal too, and gives Storm Knights Tactician so they can ignore each other for LOS purposes. This solo is definitely worth the cost when supporting Storm Knight units.
LIEUTENANT ALLISON JAKES: And now let’s take a look at Cygnar’s new journeyman warcaster. 3 points gets you a 4 Focus mini-warcaster. That alone is a very exciting deal.
With only 5 hit boxes and ARM 13, Jakes can’t take much of a beating. And you should expect some hurt to come her way, especially if she has a warjack her battlegroup. Fortunately, she comes with some rules to help keep her safe. DEF 15 can be increased to DEF 17 with Sidekick and a nearby battlegroup warjack. This also grants her immunity to knock down, among other effects. Power Field let’s her camp Focus for ARM 17. Parry gives her immunity to free strikes, and Sprint lets her dash away from the front lines if she destroys something in melee.
Jakes can also give her battlegroup (including herself) a bit of extra speed with Energizer. All of this leads me to view her as a harassing model that nips at the enemy’s flanks, moving in and out to take out high value targets. Squishy, but mobile and hard to pin down.
SUMMARY: Privateer Press continues to release new and exciting models for each of its factions, ensuring that whichever army you play, you keep getting new options to bring to the tabletop. All in all, Vengeance is great release for a game that keeps getting better.
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.
Warmachine Vengeance Review: Retribution
IN SHORT: Warmachine Vengeance has arrived. Let’s dig in. As with previous releases, every Warmachine army gets a healthy heaping of awesome, this time with an emphasis on speed with exciting cavalry units and mobile warcasters. It also ushers in an interesting cast of journeymen warcasters. The book is printed in stellar full color with plenty of gorgeous new artwork.
Let’s take a look at the new Retribution models.
ISSYRIA, SIBYL OF DAWN: This warcaster has no offensive abilities of any kind, be they weapons or spells. She depends entirely on her army to get the job done. Fortunately, she brings a whole host of support to said army along with 8 Focus to play with.
Offensively, Issyria can grant +2” charges in her control area and give a warjack a free attack each round. Her feat can be used by just about any model in Retribution. It lets them ignore concealment, Camouflage, and Stealth while granting them an additional die on attack and damage rolls. Very potent for a powerful alpha strike, be it melee or ranged or a combined approach.
Defensively, she also has an impressive toolkit. She comes with a +2 ARM buff, can negate enemy spells with Arcane Vortex, and can keep a key model safe with Admonition. Her only offensive spell, Blinding Light, serves a dual purpose. It strips enemy warrior models or units of 2 DEF and prevents them from making ranged or magic attacks. This can potentially shut down your opponent’s alpha strike before it gets off the ground, so she’ll want an arc node or two for that.
With so many support options and a powerful feat, Issyria can lead a wide variety of builds. First impressions are a tricky but potentially rewarding warcaster to play. If the key models in her army get wrecked, she’s done. Fortunately with an ARM buff, Admonition, and Arcane Vortex, she has the tools to keep those models safe until it’s time to strike.
IMPERATUS: Retribution gets a high level character warjack. Based on the Phoenix, the Imperatus comes with a shocking suite of rules and an equally shocking price tag of 12 points. First, this warjack is tough to kill. With DEF 13, ARM 18, and a 12-point field that regenerates d6 points in the maintenance phase, it’s sticking around. Even better, if it does get totaled, it just gets right back up with a full power field and one box repaired in each system.
It also hits hard with two P+S 17 thermal blades that set enemies on fire. Its POW 14 gun makes enemies explode into flames, setting their neighbors on fire. Yes, I think Privateer Press took the whole Phoenix thing quite literally with this one.
And it’s fast too. With SPD 6, Side Step, and Reach on its blades, it can potentially get to targets 15” away. Fast, hard-hitting, and tough to kill. It’s what a really expensive character warjack should be.
HOUSEGUARD THANE: This model brings a number of bonuses to Houseguard units. With Desperate Pace, a select Houseguard unit gains +2” movement. That’s a basic useful bonus to those units. But the most exciting rule is Firing Solution [Houseguard]. With this, the target unit ignores Camouflage and Stealth.
Retribution tends to struggle against Stealth. Well, guess what? Houseguard Thane plus Houseguard Riflemen can chew models relying on Stealth to keep them safe. A very nice addition to the Retribution arsenal.
MAGE HUNTER INFILTRATORS: What can I say? These guys live up to their name. Well, the Mage Hunter part, at least.
Gang brings their two attacks up to effective MAT 8 and P+S 11. Mage Killer makes them de facto Weapon Masters against spellcasters. Arcane Assassin allows them to ignore Power Fields and defensive buffs. Stealth, DEF 14, SPD 7, and Pathfinder help to get them there. They’re good at what they’re designed to do, and can definitely put the hurt on most warcaster/warlock models if they get close.
What more is there to say? Well, they can have the next model tag along …
EIRYSS, MAGE HUNTER COMMANDER: Eiryss is a unit attachment in her third edition, and she’s just as impressive as ever. This time she brings the pain to both Warmachine and Hordes, but especially to Hordes. All of her attacks (one ranged and two melee) come with Arcane Hemorrhage. Hit a model, strip it of Focus or Fury, and switch off its upkeep spells. This is nasty against Warmachine players, but can really mess with Hordes players’ fury management.
She can join either flavor of Mage Hunters, and both can benefit from her rules. She grants Fearless, Reform, and Advance Deployment. My personal favorite combo? Try Eiryss, the Strike Force, and a Strike Force Commander. Now Eiryss’s crossbow ignores LOS, concealment, and cover. Just try hiding from her now!
ELARA, TYRO OF THE THIRD CHAMBER: Here’s a journeyman warcaster that looks like she wants to be in the thick of it, but I don’t know about that.
When she kills a living enemy model, she can allocate a point of Focus to a battlegroup warjack. She also comes with Side Step for those extra 2” moves to help her nail two models and charge up whichever warjack she’s controlling. Theoretically, she could kill six models and fill up two warjacks. Not too bad, though this does come with a disclaimer. Her melee attacks are only MAT 6 P+S 10 and don’t have Reach. Not exactly the stuff of legends.
When camping, she reaches a solid DEF 15 ARM 18. Since she has no defensive abilities, she relies on her raw stats much more so than other journeymen warcasters. But her fairly unimpressive melee skills limit valid targets for Extraction.
Her Battle Charged spell does brings some more options to the table. This gives her battlegroup (including her) Counter Charge, allowing them to hang back a bit and then get free charges on models hitting the front lines. And she can always just stay out of the way and keep a warjack flush with focus. For 3 points, that’s still a good deal. But she doesn’t impress me the way some other journeymen warcasters do.
SUMMARY: Privateer Press continues to release new and exciting models for each of its factions, ensuring that whichever army you play, you keep getting new options to bring to the tabletop. All in all, Vengeance is great release for a game that keeps getting better.
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.
Warmachine Vengeance Review: Menoth
IN SHORT: Warmachine Vengeance has arrived. Let’s dig in. As with previous releases, every Warmachine army gets a healthy heaping of awesome, this time with an emphasis on speed with exciting cavalry units and mobile warcasters. It also ushers in an interesting cast of journeymen warcasters. The book is printed in stellar full color with plenty of gorgeous new artwork.
Let’s take a look at the new Menoth models.
SERVATH REZNIK, WRATH OF AGES: Reznik got himself a chariot! He’s now a cavalry battle engine warcaster, with all the plusses and minuses that entails. As with any huge base model, survivability is important because they’re … well, they’re huge targets. Fortunately, Renzik has that covered. ARM 17 and 7 Focus can let him camp up to ARM 24. Those 20 hit boxes aren’t going away in a hurry. Oh, and if he has at least one Focus on him, non-magical ranged attacks automatically miss. Those rules will definitely help with his approach, because melee is one of his strengths.
Renzik can cast Creator’s Wrath on himself, granting an additional die to melee attack and damage rolls and makes those attacks ignore defensive buffs. Given Renzik’s already solid MAT 7 and P+S 13 and the fact that he can boost those rolls even further, it becomes clear what a monster in melee he is. Add in Flame Burst on his spear, and a feat that lowers enemy DEF by 2 and makes them explode into 4” POW 12 AOEs, and he can do a lot of damage before even considering his army.
He also comes with a lot of support options, Death March being the most exciting one in my opinion. There are plenty of units that can benefit from +2 MAT and Vengeance. Free 3” move and attack in the maintenance phase after losing a model? Yes, please! Iron Aggression is a carryover from Renzik’s prime version and grants a friendly warjack (doesn’t have to be in his battlegroup!) boosted melee attack rolls and a free run, charge, slam, or trample. Finally, he can put Lamentation up to double Focus or Fury costs within his control area.
Renzik looks like he has two basic modes of play, along with combinations of both styles. He can go straight in, spear-to-the-face style. Or he can hang back and provide a generous amount of support to his army. If your opponent doesn’t have much in the way of magical shooting, he can do both at the same time.
Pretty awesome. Should be interesting to see him in action on the table.
INDICTOR: This heavy warjack is a solid brick of Menoth-flavored nope. First, it’s got a generous damage grid, ARM 19 and a shield. It’ll take some effort to put down. With Sacred Ward, it can’t be targeted by enemy spells either.
But the big one is Consecration. Within 5” of this guy, enemy models can’t cast spells, channel spells, or upkeep spells. Yikes! Talk about disrupting your enemy’s plans! As an added bonus, its P+S 17 melee attack is magical and Blessed for ignoring enemy defensive buffs. Because it’s always nice to ignore even more of your foe’s efforts.
So yeah, like I said, this thing is a big can of Menoth nope. Very nice.
FLAME BRINGERS: These ladies on horseback are fast! I mean, really really fast! Not only do they come with SPD 9, but they also have Side Step for an additional 2” move after every initial attack that hits. Oh, and they have three attacks. They’re light cavalry, which gives them a 5” move after their actions are complete. All summed up during a round they charge, they can move an amazing 23”!
They come with Pathfinder, so terrain isn’t slowing them down, and when they’re hitting, it’s with P+S 9 Weapon Master swords. Not bad at all. They also come with Critical Grievous Wounds, a devastating ability against Hordes … when it actually triggers.
EXEMPLAR BASTION SENESCHAL: What are harder to kill than Exemplar Bastions? How about healing Exemplar Bastions! This model heals every Exemplar Bastion model in its command range 1 point at the beginning of their activation (including itself).
It also comes with an impressive suite of rules to keep it alive. It’s a Jack Marshal, and if it’s marshalling and in base to base contact with the warjack, it gets +2 ARM and can let the warjack take ranged and magic attack hits in its place. Defensive Strike gives it a free attack when someone walks up to it, once per round.
For 3 point, worth it if you’re fielding Bastions. Definitely worth it. Just imagine trying to shift this guy marshalling a Vigilant or Devout behind a full unit Bastions. Not going to be easy!
INITIATE TRISTAN DURANT: As a journeyman warcaster, he has a wide range of applications, but to me this guy’s rules scream “I want an arc node!”
First, he comes with a solid attack spell in Immolation. This POW 12 attack spell only has a range of 8”, but it causes the fire continuous effect on critical hits. Not bad.
However, it gets better. Durant has True Sight, so he ignores concealment, Camouflage, and Stealth. Now let’s think about how many powerful solos have those rules for protection, but wouldn’t like a POW 12 flame spell to the face? A lot, right? He also comes with Fortify to keep his arc node safe with +2 ARM, immunity to knock down, and a few other effects.
Durant lacks any special rules that help with his survivability, so it’s best to keep him back from the front lines. His DEF 14 and ARM 15 are decent, and he can pull off an impressive five attacks with P+S 11 and Blessed if he has to get into melee. But he’s just doesn’t feel like he’s meant for the front lines.
Alternately, instead of an arc node, he can keep a ranged warjack flush with focus and help it wail away at the enemies. Though honestly, any of the journeymen warcasters can do this.
SUMMARY: Privateer Press continues to release new and exciting models for each of its factions, ensuring that whichever army you play, you keep getting new options to bring to the tabletop. All in all, Vengeance is great release for a game that keeps getting better.
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.
Warmachine Vengeance Review: Khador
IN SHORT: Warmachine Vengeance has arrived. Let’s dig in. As with previous releases, every Warmachine army gets a healthy heaping of awesome, this time with an emphasis on speed with exciting cavalry units and mobile warcasters. It also ushers in an interesting cast of journeymen warcasters. The book is printed in stellar full color with plenty of gorgeous new artwork.
Let’s take a look at the new Khador models.
KOMMANDER ZOKTAVIR, THE BUTCHER UNLEASHED: This guy will wreck your face. First, just in terms of raw hitting power, the Butcher has a MAT 9 P+S 16 Weapon Master axe with Reach. He can cast Flashing Blade to hit every model he’s engaging at the same time, and he has Silence of Death for negating Tough rolls and damage transfers. Absolutely sick!
But it gets worse. His feat lets him refill his focus. Perfect for assassination runs. He also comes with two War Anguses, which are fairly dangerous on their own, but are even more dangerous when they die because that triggers the Butcher’s Vengeance ability (free 3” move and attack in the maintenance phase). They also grant the Butcher Relentless Charge, so he has Pathfinder when he charges in.
But it gets worse! The Butcher also comes with Energizer for up to 3” of additional movement and Impending Doom for drawing enemies within 5” in to be carved up with Flashing Blade. Let’s just recap all those movement shenanigans. SPD 5 base + 3” charge + 2” Reach + 3” Vengeance + 3” Energizer + 5” Impending Doom. That’s 21” of non-linear threat range. Very, very nasty!
The Butcher Unleashed is a pure assassination caster. As pure as they come. His army is nothing but a means to an end, and that end is the Butcher’s axe in the enemy warcaster/warlock’s face.
GROLAR: Here’s an impressive and versatile Khador heavy warjack. First, its piston hammer is P+S 18 and inflicts Ram (knock down plus a 1” push and 1” move follow up). Very nice. It’s auto cannon is POW 12 RNG 8. Nothing too exciting until you see it gets 5 shots! Make the initial attack, spend 2 focus, and fire 4 more shots thanks to Double Strike. That’s a lot of cannon fire!
With Virtuoso and Gunfighter, the Grolar can use its melee and ranged abilities in any combination the situation calls for. It’s also surprisingly mobile. Between +1” for Rams and +2” for Fleet, it can clear a good amount of ground (for a Khador warjack, anyway), all while using both melee and ranged attacks in the same turn.
All this for the fair price of 9 points. Like I said, impressive and versatile.
GREYLORD OUTRIDERS: Greylords on horseback. These guys bring two abilities to the table. First, they can move in, spray down enemies with Frostbite, then move back 5” thanks to being their light cavalry rules. Or they can use Winter’s Wind on a friendly Khador model. Any enemy that ends their activation within 2” of that model becomes stationary. Ouch!
Just think about putting this effect on the Conquest or heavily armored warjacks like the Devastator or any big and tough Khador model for that matter. Since each Outrider can place this on a model, you can in theory have five of these Winter’s Wind areas up, heavily disrupting your opponent’s plans. And disruption is good.
Beyond that, the Outriders also have Snow-Wreathed which gives them permanent concealment, bumping their DEF 13 up to DEF 15 against most shooting. This will help keep them safe while they do their work.
IRON FANG KOVNIK: For 2 points, this guy makes Iron Fangs better. Not too much to say beyond that. He makes them immune to knock down with No Sleeping on the Job [Iron Fangs], and he gives them +2” movement when their shields are up with Shield March. He can also Jack Marshal and is comes equipped with a P+S 12 Weapon Master Reach attack. ARM 15 and Unyielding make him effective ARM 17 when in combat, so he’s not a pushover to get rid of.
A solid support solo for those who use Iron Fangs, though Shield March can apply to any unit that uses the Shield Wall order.
KOVNIK ANDREI MALAKOV: This journeyman warcaster is defined by his Redline spell. With this, a warjack gets +2 SPD and +2 STR, but at the cost of d3 damage at the end of each activation. Just about any Khador warjack can make good use of those bonuses. Perhaps not surprisingly, he goes very well with the new Grolar, being able to keep it flush with Focus while giving it an additional +2 SPD, letting the Grolar charge enemies up to 11” away. For Khador, that’s very fast indeed.
Finally, he comes with Sucker! to keep him safe. Ranged attacks that hit him must be pawned off to a nearby warrior model, so he definitely wants to stick around some infantry. Of course, he can still get nuked with magic attacks. Base ARM 13 and DEF 14 will only do so much, so watch out.
SUMMARY: Privateer Press continues to release new and exciting models for each of its factions, ensuring that whichever army you play, you keep getting new options to bring to the tabletop. All in all, Vengeance is great release for a game that keeps getting better.
Check out the complete list of Warmachine and Hordes articles here.
Iron Kingdoms – SPLAT!
Jacob Holo: The gobber retrieves four circlets from his bag and places them on the ground in front of you. He handles them with thick leather gloves and uses extreme care. At no time does he touch them directly. The wide rings of twisted black metal radiate an aura of palpable evil. Even standing several feet away, you can feel the joy and color of the world starting to fade. Birds aren’t singing. Crickets aren’t chirping. Even the sound of wind through the trees has come to a stop. A strange unearthly chill settles over you.
Erik: I take one and put it on.
Jacob Holo: Of course you do. I mean, why wouldn’t you?
I’m beginning to think these players aren’t taking me seriously. And to be honest, maybe this is my own fault. Because I prefer everyone to have fun. Yes, I want to challenge the players, but I don’t feel the need to stomp their faces into the ground and pour salt in their wounds. No one likes a frustrating, unfair obstacle in the middle of their gaming session.
I am, first and foremost, a story teller. I relish the chance to take people on a journey, and that’s hard to do when they’re taking a roleplaying dirt nap. So, sometimes I bend the rules.
Jacob Holo: The Cryxian helljack staggers upright, foul glowing liquid pouring from the bullet holes in its chassis. It charges Erik, shaking the earth with each thundering stride. The helljack pulls back a fist of wicked claws and … <rolls dice>
Erik: Oh, this is going to hurt.
Ferrous Claw: How much health do you have left?
Erik: One point.
Ferrous Claw: Dude, nice knowing you. I call dibs on his shoes.
Fiz: No fair! I wanted them.
Jacob Holo: <dice roll result is a hit> … Ooh, so close. The helljack swings. You drop to your knees at the last moment. The massive metallic fist sails an inch over your head, taking your hat with it.
Erik: No, not my hat!
And that’s fine. A slightly modified die roll can give the party a bit of good “luck” when they need it the most or can turn a boring encounter into a true challenge, making the game all the more thrilling.
But perhaps I’ve been too forgiving. It’s time for their luck to run out. Nothing focuses a group of players like a brutal and unexpected death. And this crew does some really stupid stuff from time to time.
For example …
Jacob Holo: You carefully examine the narrow iron bridge and find a hinged plate spanning the entire width. No way around it and no guardrail. There’s another hinged plate on the opposite side. The mechanism looks like it’ll give out when sufficient pressure is applied. The gap they form is about six feet.
Erik: I’m going to jump it.
Jacob Holo: You take a step back and pause, glancing down at the inky blackness below. You don’t know how far it is to the bottom, but you guess the drop will be fatal.
Erik: I’m still going to jump it.
Jacob Holo: Sure. Why not. Jumping skill check.
Erik: <rolls dice> Err …I rolled a two.
Jacob Holo: You take a running leap, but your foot slips at the last moment. You stumble forward. The plates give way, and you plunge into the darkness screaming.
Erik: Can I turn around and try to catch the ledge?
Jacob Holo: Your comrades watch you disappear into the gloom below. Your scream fades until it’s abruptly cut off by a bone-crunching splat that echoes in the chasm.
Erik: Guess not.