Friday 22 January 2016

The State of 40K and Me


So, it's been a long time since I've done anything on this blog. I have been doing a far bit of hobby work lately, so I am looking at reviving this corpse of a blog. I think a fitting start is addressing the relationship between 40K and myself.

Other distractions in life have meant that I've spent very little time in the past year building models, painting, or evening playing games of 40K. So far this year I've got a fair bit into painting and decided I need to get my head back into the game. Having started to brush up again on rules, and getting a game in, I've come to realize that there are aspects of this game now which I consider to be broken, and which removes much of the fun of the game for me.

At the end of the day the point in the hobby is to have fun, so if I'm not having fun then something is very wrong. This leaves me with a choice of 2 options. First, I could call it day and say that the game is no longer fun and retire from playing 40K. Second, I could figure out everything that I dislike about the game, and re-rule them to something more sensible and only play against people willing to accept the rulings.

The first option presents the problem that I don't really want to write off the hobby due to what has already been invested in it. The second option presents the problem that finding players that will be happy with the way I've ruled my games. Having said that, if an opponent is not interested in letting me have fun in my hobby then they're probably not worth playing against anyway. So it appears the second option is the way forward for me, the only thing left is to figure out where the problems are and define some sensible solutions.

Unfortunately one of the first decisions being made here is dismissing the Eldar codex as a possible opponent. I feel that the book is poorly written, and breaks too many core rules for non Eldar players to have fun against. So until a more sensibly written Eldar codex emerges, I'm afraid our Eldar players will not be facing me on the tabletop.

The second big rule to address is destroyer weapons. This is a rule I feel really doesn't belong in games of vanilla 40K in it's current state. The 6th edition rule set had a semi elegant solution to using D weapons in vanilla 40K, which was to make all D weapons count as strength 10 instead. I think this is far more balanced than the current rule, so going forward I think I may be employing this rule.

Going on from there, I will be compiling a brief rule document which I will present to a potential opponent. After having a read through, they can then decide whether they feel it's fair and are willing to play. If they don't agree, well then I'll just play against else who actually wants to have a fun game.

I realize that this may lead to me being labelled an elitist player, but if it leads to more fun games for me and my opponents, then I shall wear that badge proudly.