For those of you not on the Facebook group, here's the second Gundabad Ogre sculpt, and two lengthy writings on the future releases:
And here a lot of semi-coherrent things from the Warhammer European Open Day about the future releases:
"So.. went to the Warhammer European Open Day today.
Wasn't sure what to expect and whether the event (predominantly Forge World and all that's now part of it) would be of any great interest to a Middle-earth enthusiast, but figured I might as well go and find out! With the renewed support for the game and increased presence of the team outside of the UK, it was time to live up to that 'support your Hobbit hobby' mantra, especially if 'supporting' entailed 'going to that one place in the country that for one day only sells the Witch-king diorama'. Also quickly painted up some Middle-earth models for the Golden Demon competition - not that I expected to stand a chance (I didn't), but just to have them there (turns out my two entries doubled the LotR presence in the competition - worth noting there were no system-specific categories, just 'unit', 'monster' etc.).
Anywho: had a great day, and would certainly recommend dropping by any of these things whenever they appear in your neck of the woods. Nice chats with the painting studio crew (of course, a love of painting transcends game-system boundaries), an interesting presentation about designing miniature kits, sneak previews of the upcoming Bloodbowl re-release, but spend a lot of time talking to the terrific Jay. Would almost apologise, but then again, it's what he was there for, and the same is true for me. Was lovely to get some insider knowledge of the plans for and ideas behind upcoming releases, as well as the behind the screens processes. For at least the third time: thanks so much!
So: news. This is a bit tricky now, as they basically had the entire new book there (pdf printout of tiny pages.. but readable to the very last letter. Thank the Valar for my short-sightedness). Spreading any of that info is more a leak than a sneak preview at this stage, aside from the fact that I didn't exactlly bother reading every single one of the 130 pages. (Will leave that for when the actual book is released, in a more agreeable font size.) I can confirm that everything I was hoping to see, was there. More named heroes for Laketown. Azog equippable with heavy armour and flail? Done. 'The chariot' is justifiably insane, and could be (and beat!) an army in it's own right with those well-known Dwarves as the crew. New wraiths, named but not as we know them, priced in such a way that they'll conveniently fit an armylist not unlike the Champions of Erebor. On a related note, the Keeper of the Dungeons really isn't called Golb.. but at least he's there. Plenty of new warriors for evil too, so a good deal of models to be revealed (worth pointing out those new profiles in book didn't have a picture next to them. Perhaps awaiting approval, quite possibly not finished yet!). And the scenarios.. all the scenes you want to recreate, and more. Good thing those lovely Laketown buildings are coming soon.
And what of the far future? What would you say of a little system that encourages not just thematic lists, but also thematic alliances, while discouraging (but never outright stopping!) the very much less-historical ones? A bit of love for those less-privileged armies that haven't seen an update since the game's release 15 years ago? And what if armies currently not fully playable due to a lack of unnamed heroes, won't become more playable by getting new unnamed heroes, but simply not requiring any to lead them?
Plenty more information whirling around my head, some of which I simply can't share. The book will be out in about two months. You won't be disappointed. The models look even better in person than from pictures. So much to look forward to. Of course, I believed the game was going to be in good hands from what I had read and heard. Now I know.
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A few more things from the Warhammer European Open Day that I hadn't yet written down here:
Remember how it was said that near-enough everything you have seen in the film would be in the new book, and people joked if that even included Azog's signalling tower banner thingies? Well, unless typical substances from Amsterdam clouded my senses, even Azog's signalling tower is in there. Very expensive, and haven't a clue what it does - there was a full page of rules dedicated to it if I'm not mistaken.
The "everything you've seen in the movie (or read of in the book)" is also very much the strategy for the many potential releases for the years to come. This could include a lot of topics already visited in previous supplements: Pelennor Fields was specifically mentioned as a possible first expansion, as it's iconic and features a lot of different forces, providing an opportunity to get the other Fiefdoms in the game as well as Elfhelm (maybe we'll see a proper profile for Skully too?). Helm's Deep and a more book-oriented Last Alliance (e.g. tying in Mirkwood - and yes, giving those poor Numenoreans some love) were mentioned as well, among many other things (basically, there is no shortage of ideas!).
In terms of rules, more recent releases have had a tendency to make troops or heroes unique via special rules (logical given the limited scope the profiles provide), and this is a trend that's very much to continue - including in the big 'revision of the LotR-era profiles' that's coming up. This could be true for both troops (Easterlings vs Warriors of Minas Tirith) as well as heroes, especially those classics that are just captains with an extra point of Might (even worse when they're duplicated, as with Grishnakh and Gorbag). Although one particular profile has in fact seen a number of changes over various editions, he isn't much better for it: the poor Balrog. I've got Jay's word for it that he'll definitely live up to his cost of 400pts. Looking at the terrific, scary and fantasticly thematic rules that little Smaug has, I sure am looking forward to this one.
Finally (I think), the new studio is part of Forge World in more than just name, something which will likely become visible in the miniature releases too. For example, we'll see heroes released with fancy display bases, either being supplied with a seperate gaming base, or having the latter slot in to the display. While the current focus may be on making models (or indeed entire armies) playable by having figures for each profile available, there also seem to be quite some ideas for 'updated' (more dynamic or just better) versions of existing miniatures.
Long post again, but ah well.. if you can get through the Silmarillion, this is a breeze."
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