Week 2ish - A Savage Kick to the Crotch: Man Down!

A couple of days ago I alluded to the Mutant Chronicles (MC) line and the 2 companies involved in its imminent resurgence. As far as I’m aware the 2 companies are proceeding independently

Firstly there is once again a manufacturer for the Warzone and Chronopia properties as they existed in their last editions. The company, Prince August, was the first exposure to the world of modelling and gaming for many of us back then and I’m delighted to say they’re located in my own sweet Rebel County. I was so happy when I saw that these were available again I almost spat and punched a midget, collegially of course.

Secondly there will be, in spring 2007, a CMG based on MC produced by Fantasy Flight Games (FFG). Apart from details on the scale (36mm) info is a bit sketchy as to the scope and style of the game but I’m at least encouraged by the use of Paul Bonner’s original artwork. Check out the FFG site and forum for more info.

I bought my first MC book back in the early 90’s and steadily collected the rulebooks but when the gaming slump hit in ’98 the succession of companies that produced them toppled like incredibly slow dominoes. I finally got the last book, Cybertronic, some seven years after it was released. Together with WFRP this was the only other RPG that interested me at the time. I was 21 and relished both real and gaming life. MC defined what I expected from the hobby and I didn’t want to waste any time on anything that didn’t emulate its quality.

For those of you unfamiliar with it you should know that the both the Mutant Chronicles setting and the associated games were designed by the best and the brightest in the gaming world. These people are now industry leaders and some have moved on to develop their own game lines. The cover of each book, by Paul Bonner, captured the techno-fantasy/horror feel to a tee. The legendary Bill King, my favourite author, expanded on the original setting in both broad strokes and horrifying detail. Check out the Algeroth Sourcebook for a master-class on capturing evil.

When Warzone brought the MC universe to the table top it was again through the hand of Bill King. This allowed an almost seamless crossover and enabled players to bring their own RPG characters to the tabletop games, the first time this was ever properly done in gaming. Through Sculptors such as Adams, White, Copplestone and Klocke the unique pathos/ethos of the RPG was captured at 28mm.

The setting and its games were created as a work of art. This may sound a bit dramatic but if you can get a hold of the games you’ll see what I mean. You can feel the effort that was put into their creation and it’s continuity between the gaming media. This artistry, I feel, culminated in the 1997 release Dark Eden just before the aforementioned slump. While there have been interesting games since then it’s only since the emergence of Privateer Press, specifically Warmachine: Escalation onwards, that I get the feeling a company wants to do it the right way.

The availability of MC products will however bring out in me that most unattractive of qualities. A deep desire to immerse myself in my own adolescence (yes Liam, more so than usual… ass). This is a dangerous and slippery slope type thing to happen and if not reined in inevitably brings out (Wo)Man-Child syndrome. Yes, yes, yes I know no such syndrome exists but it’s as hard as I’m willing to try just now. I’ll illustrate this with two examples. One universal and one personal to show I’m at one with both mocking humanity and my own hypocrisy.

Universal: Original star wars trilogy vs New star wars
“He’s sold out”, “it doesn’t have the imagination of the original” and, my favourite, “it’s not as real as the first one” … Wangs…

I hate but point it out but most of us are not 15 years old any more. Even the original movies, whose actors should have been shrink-wrapped and formed into an altar after Jedi, have lost their impact. Anyone who denies this is either is trying to get you into bed through boyish/girlish charms or has retained the emotional capacity of a 15 year old. All that said I was 3 when the first movie came out in ‘75 and for my money the best of the 6 is still Empire. I did however really enjoy the new trilogy because, as an adult, I fully appreciated the descent of a person from good boy to evil man. Maybe another problem is that the story covered in the over the sic movies is that of the father rather than the son. Men really have a hard time with that old chestnut.

Up to the bit about fathers and sons a variation of this paragraph can be applied to most of the defining events of your childhood.

Personal: 40K Rogue trader vs. any other version
I’m an unashamed fan of GW products I don’t care that they’re seen as the empire, I don’t care that they’re a company first. For all the bitching people do GW seem to go from strength to strength so if their stuff was overpriced the market wouldn’t support them. I love the detail of the settings and the miniatures but don’t like the games themselves, they just keep getting blander and blander.

I had a bit of a mental before Christmas and pined for the halcyon days of 40K where there were no plastics and the largest army you could comfortably field in a 4 hour game was 35 infantry and that cost a staggering £17.50. I therefore picked up all the Rogue Trader books I could get on eBay. Then after looking at our account Sonya had the mental, I felt it was harsh but fair.

I’ve had the books for nearly ten months now and I’d say I’ve spent a total of 30 hours reading through them. There’s no rationale to it but I know in my heart that I enjoy the books from a different, older, place. I used to live with a psychiatrist, by accident, and she told me about this insight thing where an amount of people who are crazy know they are crazy so just get on with it.

Why then do we constantly scramble to regain the experiences our youth? Generally, please note the use of that word, women are more realistic and pursue this lost cause down the path of Looks leading through the forest of Self Worth until inexorably they become a different version of their mothers. There is a grace and a goodness in that acceptance which men should envy yet its emulation eludes us. Please note that as lovely their mothers are most men do not wish to become them.

Men seem to care less and less for looks and self worth and head straight for the instantly gratifying world of toys, fast things and arm-candy. They surround themselves with the detritus of their childhood or, even worse, what they consider the most youthful of the latest trends. They become the 50 year old dressed in a 20 year olds clothes with nothing but scorn for anyone who doesn’t have either the original or the latest and best. It is especially bad in gamers and I call it Codger-likes-imitating-teenage-origins-rather-indecently-Syndrome or “Clitoris” for short. These Clitites (sing. Clit) can be seen swamping the stores and conventions in their Hilfiger shirts and BO. Their opinions are as loud as they are pompous and they tend to offer them a bit to freely. Over time they migrate to historical gaming groups in order to evade the subconscious feeling that they are out of place/touch with the 15-25 year old gamers in their areas.

You can and indeed should look back and try to recapture the spark of why something meant and felt the way it did when you were a kid but leave it there. Don’t dwell. If you meet a person behaving in this fashion, male or female, consider the sentiments expressed in weeks title. A reality jarring event like that puts a lot of things in perspective.

The other reason I gave it this title will become obvious when I say that I formally retract the statement I made in the last column that Astrid Swan is a fox. For the record my wife is infinitely more fox like, very gifted and has, unfortunately, excellent aim… She got both of them in one swift ninja like manoeuvre.

Whammo!
-DB-

Just bought: apart from a bag of ice - Nada. Travelling this week

Currently Playing: Really getting into the UFS card system. I’m gong to order some Soul Calibur sets from Liam and await their arrival with sweaty paws. I think I’m impressed enough to recommend this to anyone whose interested. I’m going to be in London (pronounce Lahndan) so a week of painting I think.

Currently Painting: Skorne are done! Shiny! The Titan put on hold as are the Cadwe until I stop commuting around the country. I’ll bring the Syntha and VASA forces for Urban War with me so I’ll have something to actually paint in Lahndan.

Looking forward to: Getting home

Blessed event: I’d mentioned the Anime RPG/TTG/NCCG elsewhere

Music: Galactica soundtrack when travelling, stops me from clawing my way out of fuselage. Mixture of Evanescence, Queens of the Stone Age and NIN. Sonya has informed me that there will be a bit of a Goth festival in the flat with her as the only person in the crowd. Sounds like a goth mindset to me…

Watching over and over again: Lahndan Scallywags… why lord?... why?...