Getting Repeatedly Shot in the Head

A CPLT-C1 Catapult, my all-time favorite BattleTech 'mech (and in the classic Ral Partha style), on the hex based map that came with BattleTech before FASA folded.

     It had been a while since I had played what is now known as Classic BattleTech.  I remember Mike Pempek having some of the supplement books for it – if not the rules – in 1985, and we were playing within a few months of learning that it could be a game.  Hell, I remember us slugging it out, Battlemaster vs. Crusader, as we repeatedly made mistakes as to just what the rules were (for example, I sure shouldn't have been able to pick up the Battlemaster's arm and beat the Crusader with it).
     When I was supposed to be getting an education, or at least going to class, I was playing BattleTech with my roommates in Iowa.  Okay, in the interest of accuracy, I got involved with playing while I was still being vigilant about attending class and stopped going for reasons that had nothing to do with the game.  Each of us put together a lance of mechs, and my unit wan named the Ice Demons (using the English D from the Detroit Tigers as the logo).  I played that unit, in tact, for almost three years.  I didn't lose a 'mech (giant robot tank) until a what-if scenario battle between (now Dr.) Jeffery Bergman's Ghost Bear Clan force and the combined forces of Snow Rangers (which included the Ice Demons) and Dave Jendrusiak's forces.

The modern CPLT-C1, nowhere near as fearsome (no matter what is written on the flaps)

     So, after a trip to Mt. Prospect to visit Games Plus, I spent part of my Sunday teaching someone the basics of Classic BattleTech.  How it isn't about just having the most firepower or the heaviest 'mechs.  It is about positioning and timing.  It is about skill, sure, but also about audacity.  But what I forgot to mention was that, much like life, you can win if you just repeatedly shot the other guy in the head (this assumes that the other guy, in both life and the game, is an enemy who would just assume do the same to you).

The CPLT firing in flight

     And that is how I came to be humbled.  To be laid low by someone unfamiliar with my many tricks and talents.  Shoot the Catapult in the head and kill the pilot.  Hit the Awesome in the head four times until the whole structure is gone.  Even the Enforcer, which stayed away from the heavy fighting, took a shot to the head.  I lost two 'mechs with their full compliment of weapons and most of their armor – my opponent's 'mechs were in much worse shape! – simply because I could do nothing about being repeatedly shot in the head.

The AWS-8Q Awesome done up like a Marik 'mech.  Mine had it's head blown off.

     But I still had a good time.  There is something about BattleTech that just speaks of enjoyment with pettiness ad bickering to me (though, to be fair, I do avoid tournaments and the crazier players).  It is a reminded of simpler times.  And it is how I think war should be fought: over folded maps of colored paper with miniatures representing fighting robots.

The 40K Conondrum

     Sometimes I think the video gamers  – a genre to which I do not like the label gamer applied, as I consider gaming to be: roleplaying, roleplaying, roleplaying, miniature combat games, board games, and a few select CCGs – have it right.  Most of their products can be played alone, and online play reduces the need to actually meet other people who want to play the game that interests them.  They can discuss their game in forums without ever having to hear another person's voice.
     These people need not find others who share their interest to justify the expense.
     And this is where I think GW comes in.  People play GW games..  Lots pf people, at least among the non-historical miniature war gamers.  It isn't because they have the best story.  It isn't because they have the best rules (they don't, in any of their games).  It isn't because they have the best looking minis on the market – though many do look good.  It is because other people play GW games.  With other people playing, it means that a prospective miniature war gamer knows there is a rather good chance of finding playmates.
     So what if GW products are overpriced?   The value of a game comes from the enjoyment of actually playing it – well, this is some of the enjoyment – and it doesn't matter if one can play War Machine or BattleTech more cheaply if there is no one with whom to play.  Besides, GW always offers up box sets to lure new players in whenever there is a new edition released.
     But a big part of putting together a miniature army is, well, putting it together.  There are pieces to be glued, and for the ambitious, vehicles to be constructed.  Then there is the painting.  For the supremely gifted, you may end up with something like these.

(GW) Warhammer 40K Baneblade Heavy Tank

(GW) Warhammer 40K Shadowsword Heavy Tank

See?  These look awesome.  I'd love to roll a handful of these around at my opponents in a game (and I don't even know if they are legal in the current rules set).  But these things cost about $80 each.  And most games aren't slotted for lots of heavy armor fights.  Still, if I wanted to field six Shadowswords, I'm looking at close to $500 spent before I get to putting them together and painting them.  The above pictures are professional jobs, and that would a lot more.
     So what do I do for a cheap 40K fix?  Well, for starters I don't play Warhmmer 40K.  I use the units from the game that others have converted for an old PC game called Civilization III.  Civ III remains a favorite of mine, and not just because it has provided over 5,000 hours of fun game play.  There have been a myriad – and there remain a few – of designers who create custom units for players to add to their games as they see fit.  Or the player could wait for scenarios to get finished, but the never happens.  And there, in an example of what has been available for free since 2004, I can get these.

CIV III Baneblade created by Muffins

CIV III Shadowsword created by Muffins

They move – at least in the game – and actually look like they can fight.  Sure, I have to assign sound files to them (and give them combat and production values in the game), but they look good.  Want to move ahead a couple of years?  These were available from 2007.

CIV III Vulture Gunship (created by aaglo) still shot

CIV III Vulture Gunship (created by aaglo) as it looks in-game.

CIV III Valkyrie Dropship (created by aaglo) still shot

CIV III Valkyrie Dropship (created by aaglo) as it looks in-game.

Cool, right?  You don't get to see a lot of air power in your typical 40K game.  But I could go and spend around $60 and get one Valkyrie model.  It comes in a box that looks exactly like this.

So, I can get unlimited dropships – I use them as helicopters – for free (with the catch being that all will be the same color per Civilization or Army that gets them) or I can buy them  and paint them and try to find a way to get them into a game that I know people actually play, but rarely with units such as this.
      But foot units are not neglected.  Heck, I can get nearly everything a Space Marine could want (and most of the units are wholly color specific to their assigned Civilization).  All the armor, too.  I can get super specific units like the Witch Hunters of Adeptus Soroitas Heavy Bolter Retributor.

Here she is, created by LizardmenRule! in 2010.

I can get the Sister Repentia (which I use for an entirely different unit concept).

Sister Repentia, also created by LizardmenRule! in 2010.

     I can get all kinds of Orks, too.  Not much in the way of Eldar save three hovertanks.  The BFG ships have been converted to look like naval going vessels, which I think is a plus.

The attack and death sequences of Muffins BFG Imperial Battleship, from 2005.

     So what to do?  It is more sociable to actually play with others.  But is also much more expensive.  And the rules keep changing.  I know that part of the GW experience is supposed to be this desire to treat the armies as though they figures had an intrinsic value in and of themselves.  I don't feel that way.  I like, very much so in fact, that others have gone through the pains to let me get any kind of 40K (and many Fantasy) units I want and be able to put them on the field and make them fight.
     It just isn't actual 40K.  Which is the conundrum.