Aface ared in fields avune Aveins, a pulse apower attune
With cloven hoof he crushed red grain A gory mark on face and mane
But all who'd felted wash of blood spied a noble grace In eye and maw of goring beast a warm familiar face
Emerald Panther In forest deep the treasures sleep averdant eyes naysleep He guards with maw on silent paw with jaded thew and claw But from those seeds an envy feeds and drinks upon the soul For wealth untold sees green now old in empty lonely hole
Fairy Squirrel Beneath the boughs astage a spiteful play Bewitch-ed magic holds its court of grey Be seeking her in only grave dismay Beware the nut and thorn and end of day Before her eyes all veils afall away Beneath the boughs astage a spiteful play
Longly Viper Longly Viper slick and quick New heights his only drive
With every writhe, he'll rise and climb Upinto darker mind
On his quest he'll snick and sly Leaving foes for dead
Yet no quest can touch asky Cold stomach left unfed
Bespotted Wasp Bespotted Wasp Alone and free He'll always be
True to innerself Gold that cannnot bend Special to end
Never longing of stripe A life led always true Ah! No finer virtue
Fat Crow
Unblacketh oily silkyquill unfatteth rolly bird Inbranch away he taken fliyt awy awo awerd Cawdun croak and crack and cray a coven voice dun hallow In warns of great unglotten fest and faminous unfallow
Now heeden close if yam harth aught A wazzock's words low sense or nought Yet hark them riddling rhymes and bluster Afore yam cannot gawp or chunter
Elsewhere I’ve been enjoying diving into a box of old miniatures, working on a recently acquired Epic 40k box. This is the 3rd edition of the game, much maligned because it dared to burn the previous system to the ground and begin with a new set of highly abstracted and streamlined rules. Something about it definitely speaks to me.
In a similarly nostalgic vein, Goonhammer has a fascinating article about another short-lived GW game from the late 90s, Gorkamorka. Of particular interest is the conflict between the creative and business sides of GW.
Gorkamorka was very much a product of its time and the tensions inherent in the increasingly fraught structure of GW, but even within that tension, the design team really had pulled off a minor miracle getting the game to market. Those competing contexts cast Gorkamorka into several very different lights. In the context of the new demands of the VISION, it was another release to fund growth. In the context of the design team, it was a barely copable burden slotted into a tough workload. For Sales, the teams who had demanded a change to the status quo – and got one – it was a bet.
What would a 1990's Games Workshop run by and for its Mail Order department look like?
Games, worlds, stories and systems created specifically to maximise the volume and range of bits (not kits) manifested and to maximise the demand for those bits. A world where Gorkamkorka was not the end of a failed evolutionary branch, but the beginning of one. Gorkamorka II, Necromorka, then Warhamorka, Warhammer Fantasy Bitsamorka.
This sort of deep dive into 90s GW is like nostalgia kryptonite for me.
Most Knights don’t begin the game with a sword. Getting hold of one can be a story in itself. Perhaps you’ll find one while investigating a myth, a grateful ruler might grant you one, or you might find a smith with enough expertise you forge you a brand new blade. If you find a Knight you consider to be unworthy of their sword then do the world a favour and take it for yourself.
There is also The Blade, but that’s a story for another time.
But what if we wanted to make a really special sword? Well we’re always rolling two dice, so let’s say there’s a special effect when those dice match.
Expect the full post to drop in next week’s blog.
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