The Independent Characters - Warhammer 40k Podcast | Radio

In Episode 68 we discuss terrain as the “Third Army” on the gaming table. We touch on some rules around terrain before we talk about the availability of terrain kits from various companies. In the second portion of the show we discuss the building of custom terrain as well as a few solutions for the safe storage of your hard work. We have a rather lengthy hobby progress and games played section in which we also introduce our shows guest for the episode, Jeremy, the winner of this years GW Terrain Contest. Last but not least – we have an interview with Graham McNeil for our latest Forbidden Lore! We discuss The Imperial Infantrymens Handbook as well as his latest release, Angel Exterminatus. We also throw in a little Priests of Mars! There are spoilers in this section of several books. So be warned. This portion of the show is after the closing credits. Note: Unfortunately the room we were recording in had the air conditioning running and we didn’t realize it was being picked up in the background quite so much. Hopefully you don’t find it too intrusive (we are sticklers for sound quality – it isn’t THAT bad but it bugs us nonetheless!). We hope you enjoy episode 68. Show Timestamps Show Overview and intro – 00:00:00 The Workbench & Games Played – 00:04:25 Terrain: Rules and Purchasing – 01:04:30 Terrain: Building and Storing – 02:03:45 Show Closing – 02:42:15 Forbidden Lore with Graham McNeill (SPOILERS) – 02:46:15 Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter – SPONSOR Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland Valley Dwellers Site IKEA Shelving discussed in this episode We recommend downloading the episode as opposed to listening through the site. We seem to hit some type of process limit on days we release the episode, but it only affects people listening from the site directly. The Independent Characters – Episode 68

Episode 67 focuses on how to create and develop great Battle Reports! Whether it is through video, writing, photography or (God Emperor help you…) audio, we are going to go through the pros and cons of each format and how to get the best results for your time and effort. We will discuss how to record games of 40k (either through video, photo, notes, etc) and then how to edit what you have and make it into something you want to share. We also have quite a bit of hobby progress and games played to discuss. In addition we will have a new segment to unveil this episode called The Warrior Lodge. In this segment we get several members of our gaming group together to discuss, in a moderated fashion, a number of hot topics both in our group and across the Internet. Please let us know what you think of this segment. It is part of our overall mission to make you feel like a part of our gaming group. If we get positive responses to this we will make a point of doing it more often! Last bit of information is this: If you are in the Bay Area of California, we are having a Deep Strike Event on December 14th in the evening. We would love for you to attend. There is more information on this event on our main web site, forums and facebook page! Don’t miss it! Show Timestamps Show Overview and intro – 00:00:00 The Workbench & Games Played – 00:04:10 Producing great Battle Reports – 00:46:55 The Warrior Lodge – 01:32:30 Show Closing – 02:10:00 Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter – SPONSOR Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland We recommend downloading the episode as opposed to listening through the site. We seem to hit some type of process limit on days we release the episode, but it only affects people listening from the site directly. The Independent Characters – Episode 67

Episode 66 focuses on how to develop your own background and history for your Warhammer 40k Army. We throw out some ideas for character development and give you our thoughts on the “Do’s and Dont’s” of fluff creation in the Warhammer 40k Universe. The topic of this episode, which is very subjective at best, will surely evoke some strong reactions as to what people think is and is not “cool” for background material. We certainly don’t think everyone will agree with us. One of the great things about the Warhammer 40k Universe however, is that it is so large that really anything can fit in it! Additionally, we announce the winner (and runner-up) of the Custom Army Background Contest, and discuss theirs, and other entries! A longer than usual hobby progress and games played segment is included at the start of the show. We hope you enjoy! 0:00:00 – Show Intro 0:06:00 – Workbench and Games Played 1:07:10 – Tips for creating your own background 1:55:00 – Example backgrounds and contest winners 2:35:20 – Show Closing Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter – SPONSOR Forge World Games Workshop The Codex Project The Black Library Endgame Oakland We recommend downloading the episode as opposed to listening through the site. We seem to hit some type of process limit on days we release the episode, but it only affects people listening from the site directly. The Independent Characters – Episode 66

We change gears a bit for Episode 65 and take this time to talk about a legendary game from Games Workshops Specialist range; Necromunda. This is a game of gang warfare in the bowels of the Hive Cities of the Warhammer 40k Universe. We take our turn playing through the game, spend some time talking about the background and story surrounding it, as well as explain some (all too familiar!) rules. To help us explain the game, we have brough back our long term friend and gamer Thom. He has a ton of experience with Necromunda. This is one of those games that you may have heard people talk about in the past and wondered about, or you are a person still playing it. Even though it isn’t one of the “Big Three” games that GW puts out, it does have some relevance to Warhammer 40k and you may just find, after the show, that you want to try your hand at this gem of a game. Of course we discuss our games played and workbench progress. Last but not least – please vote for us as Podcast of The Year in the Gaming Category at www.podcastawards.com! We have been nominated and would really like to take it the last few yards to the goal line, but we need your help to do so! You can vote once per day from November 1st to November 15th. So please help us out! Thank you and we hope you enjoy the show! 0:00:00 – Show Intro 0:04:50 – Workbench and Games Played 0:37:55 – Necromunda: The background and fluff 1:10:05 – Necromunda: The Rules, Campaign System and experience 2:10:00 – Show Closing Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter – SPONSOR Celesticon Game Convention Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland Frontline Gaming We recommend downloading the episode as opposed to listening through the site. We seem to hit some type of process limit on days we release the episode, but it only affects people listening from the site directly. The Independent Characters – Episode 65

The Horus Heresy Book 1: Betrayal by Forge World and author Alan Bligh (and Team), is the continued topic of conversation for Episode 64. This is the second part of our two part series in which we cover the latest (and greatest!) Forge World release. In this episode we go into some of the units and how the Space Marine Crusade Army List works for the Horus Heresy series. We also discuss, in depth, each of the Legions that are represented in this book and how the background fits with the rules for each of them. During the workbench and games played section, there is some overview talk about the new Chaos Space Marine Codex as well as some of the models that have been released and our experiences with them so far. We hope you enjoy! Editors Note: At one point in the show we discuss the rules around 2000 point plus Space Marine Crusade lists and whether the Force Org slots double for this or not. Carl mentions that he will find out the answer and post it in the show notes. We have checked with the source and the correct answer is that they do NOT double for this. 0:00:00 – Show Intro 0:05:25 – Workbench and Games Played 0:45:15 – Horus Heresy Book 1 – Betrayal: Units and Army List mechanics 1:28:15 – Horus Heresy Book 1 – Betrayal: Legions and Primarch mechanics 2:45:00 – Show Closing Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter – SPONSOR Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland We recommend downloading the episode as opposed to listening through the site. We seem to hit some type of process limit on days we release the episode, but it only affects people listening from the site directly. The Independent Characters – Episode 64

The Horus Heresy Book 1: Betrayal by Forge World and author Alan Bligh, is the topic of conversation for Episode 63. This is a project that 40k fans have been waiting more than 25 years for and it is finally here! This is part one of a two part series in which we cover the latest (and greatest!) Forge World release. In this episode we cover the backstory that makes up The Horus Heresy (and in particular the scouring of Istivan III) as well as the Campaign System and missions that are introduced in this book. Is the book worth it’s high price? We will begin to discuss that in this episode, but reveal our ultimate thoughts in our Bang for Your Buck in Episode 64. You won’t want to miss this coverage though as it has something for everyone. We obviously cover our Hobby Progress and Games Played as well – including our thoughts about the West Coast Podcast Alliance Golden Ticket Event which we attended last weekend! We hope you enjoy! 0:00:00 – Show Intro 0:06:15 – Workbench and Games Played 0:38:06 – Horus Heresy Book 1 – Betrayal: Backstory 1:24:40 – Horus Heresy Book 1 – Betrayal: Campaign and Missions 2:10:10 – Show Closing Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter – SPONSOR Celesticon Game Convention Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland Frontline Gaming We recommend downloading the episode as opposed to listening through the site. We seem to hit some type of process limit on days we release the episode, but it only affects people listening from the site directly. The Independent Characters – Episode 63

Episode 62 sees Geoffs excuses for not completing any Hobby Progress dry up as Celesticon, the Northern California Gaming Convention has now finished. We spend a tremendous time this episode talking about our Hobby Progress and Games Played since we skipped it last episode. We also talk about the Gamer Experience at Celesticon this year and then move into the experience of working a gaming convention such as this one from the organizers perspective. Since Geoff has spent the last few months as the Miniatures Coordinator for Celesticon, he is uniquely positioned to tell us all about it. Finally, after the closing music, we have our Forbidden Lore Segment on Gav Thorpes “Path of The Outcast”. This is the third in the Path Trilogy in which Gav has written an amazing story about the Eldar. And to make it all worthwhile, we have Gav Thorpe himself, join us for this Forbidden Lore! SPOILER ALERT – As with all Forbidden Lore coverage, we discuss the entirety of the book we are addressing, so if you haven’t read this book yet, (or the rest of the Path Series for that matter) then DO NOT Listen after the closing music! 0:00:00 – Show Intro 0:04:20 – Workbench and Games Played 0:57:00 – Celesticon Gaming Experience 1:27:35 – Celesticon Behind The Scenes 1:49:10 – Show Closing 1:50:45 – Forbidden Lore: Path of the Outcast Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter – SPONSOR Celesticon Game Convention G3 Santa Cruz Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland Frontline Gaming We recommend downloading the episode as opposed to listening through the site. We seem to hit some type of process limit on days we release the episode, but it only affects people listening from the site directly. The Independent Characters – Episode 62

Episode 61 has forced us to make a new rule here in the studio. No one holds the mic while recording! We know the occassional tapping is annoying – our apologies. Now on to the show! We have very special guests Scott, Josh and Jordan from the G3 Santa Cruz Gaming Group, here to discuss The Mestre Incursion Campaign event that we attended last month. This was seriously one of the coolest narrative events we have ever attended and we think you will agree. We have an in depth discussion around the organization of the event and the writing of the campaign. This was an amazing event that was truly inspiring – as you can see from the many pictures we have posted on our facebook page and forums. We know you will find this to be an inspiring episode! 0:00:00 – Show Intro 0:02:45 – Introducing the G3 Santa Cruz Team 0:44:15 – The Mestre Campaign Description 1:19:25 – Playing The Mestre Campaign 2:07:10 – Show Closing Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter – SPONSOR G3 Santa Cruz Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland Frontline Gaming We recommend downloading the episode as opposed to listening through the site. We seem to hit some type of process limit on days we release the episode, but it only affects people listening from the site directly. The Independent Characters – Episode 61

Episode 60 is now available and in it we do some in depth coverage of Imperial Armour Aeronautica. Before we go any further though, we have to mention that the heat in The Boiler Room reached an all time high, and during this recording we ended up opening the windows and doors. So yes, that isn’t the crickets of the audience (we hope!) but the sounds of actual nature outside the studio. Hopefully it isn’t too distracting! We spend some time discussing our hobby progress and get a little off topic there, but also give two in depth reviews of Gav Thorpes “Path of the Outcast” and Graham McNeills “Priests of Mars”. No spoilers in these reviews. But in case you missed it, we are going to be covering Path of The Outcast as our Forbidden Lore book, two episodes from now! And last but certainly not least, we would like to introduce you to The Brush and Bolter, our newest sponsor. Known for painting high quality centerpiece models, The Brush and Bolter can work with you to make that Independent Character or special unit stand out on the table. Be sure to click their ad on this page to see examples of their work. We hope you enjoy! 0:00:00 – Show Intro 0:07:14 – Workbench and Games played 1:07:15 – Imperial Armour Aeronautica 1:55:50 – Black Library Reviews 2:18:50 – Show Closing Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR The Brush and Bolter – SPONSOR Celesticon Game Convention Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland Frontline Gaming We recommend downloading the episode as opposed to listening through the site. We seem to hit some type of process limit on days we release the episode, but it only affects people listening from the site directly. The Independent Characters – Episode 60

Episode 59 is a huge one! For those that do not like long episodes, we apologize. However, there is a TON of great information in this episode. After we lead off with our usual Workbench and Games Played section, we dive into the third, and final episode around Competition and Warhammer 40k. To help us along we have brought in some of the big guns of the Warhammer 40k Tournament Scenes. TastyTaste from Blood of Kittens, who follows the ongoing GT circuit joins us for some discussion followed by Ben Mohlie (former Team Captain of ETC Team USA), Mike Brandt (Organizer of The Nova Open), Tony Kopach (2 time winner of The Nova Open and 1 time winner of Adepticon), and last but not least Blackmoor (Tournament Competitor and regular on The 11th Company Podcast). Each of these community players weighs in with their thoughts around competition and a whole lot more! It’s a long show to sit through, but is a fitting cap on the whole series of Competitive episodes we have been running. We hope you enjoy! 0:00:00 – Show Intro 0:02:38 – Workbench and Games played 1:10:25 – Competition and 40k: Part 3(a) 1:33:14 – Interview with TastyTaste 1:10:25 – Competition and 40k: Part 3(b) 2:21:25 – Interview with Ben Mohlie 2:38:45 – Interview with Mike Brandt 3:08:45 – Competition and 40k: Part 3(c) 3:30:20 – Interview with Tony Kopach 3:42:00 – Competition and 40k: Part 3(c) 3:52:00 – Interview with Blackmoor 4:17:30 – Show Closing Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR Model Bits – SPONSOR Celesticon Game Convention Nova Open Blood of Kittens IC Campaign Site Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland Game Kastle Frontline Gaming We recommend downloading the episode as opposed to listening through the site. We seem to hit some type of process limit on days we release the episode, but it only affects people listening from the site directly. The Independent Characters – Episode 59

Episode 58 has a couple of very special guests. We have Jason from The Overlords 40k Podcast (A member of The Hobby Talk Network) as well as our gaming group friend Justin joining us for a discussion of the difference between the US and UK gaming scenes. We of course have a ton of discussion around 6th edition as well. As usual we have a discussion around our workbench progress and games played. We want to thank both Jason and Justin for joining us in this episode, we had a great time and we think it shows through! Make sure if you want to attend our West Coast Podcast Alliance Golden Ticket Event, you send us the “6 Units of The Episode” from Life After The Cover Save, Imperial Vox Cast and The Independent Characters to WCPodcastAlliance@gmail.com to be entered in the drawing! Show Overview and intro – 00:00:00 Guest Introduction, The Workbench & Games Played – 00:03:45 UK vs. US Game Scenes – 00:59:05 Smorgasbord of Topics – 01:42:05 Show Closing – 02:29:30 Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR Model Bits – SPONSOR Celesticon Game Convention IC Campaign Site Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland Game Kastle Frontline Gaming We recommend downloading the episode as opposed to listening through the site. We seem to hit some type of process limit on days we release the episode, but it only affects people listening from the site directly. The Independent Characters – Episode 58

Episode 57 is a short one for us, clocking in at about two hours. Zach was unable to join us for this episode due to the technical issues of living in the middle of nowhere, so our planned Rites of Battle segment is delayed. Carl and Geoff spend the episode discussing how the community seems to be reacting to the major changes of 6th ed and then we take some time to speak to Reece Robbins, Tournament Organizer of The Bay Area Open, about how he and the other TOs are working together to make 6th Edition work for them. As usual we have a discussion around our workbench progress and games played. We hope you enjoy the duck… we mean the show! Show Timestamps Show Overview and intro – 00:00:00 The Workbench & Games Played – 00:08:25 Community Reaction to 6th Edition – 00:38:30 Interview with Reece Robbins – 01:39:30 Show Closing – 01:50:30 Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR Model Bits – SPONSOR Celesticon Game Convention IC Campaign Site Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland Game Kastle Frontline Gaming We recommend downloading the episode as opposed to listening through the site. We seem to hit some type of process limit on days we release the episode, but it only affects people listening from the site directly. The Independent Characters – Episode 57

Our multi-part series on Competition and Warhammer 40k continues this episode with Geoff and Zach leading the discussion on this topic. In addition we have our usual Workbench and Games Played segments, but with a slight twist as 6th Edition 40k just dropped the day before and we give our initial impressions as well as discuss a few games we played of it! This isn’t a comprehensive overview as we have barely had time to digest the tome, and even less time to play with it. Expect that in the near future. And don’t forget our Forbidden Lore segment! This time about Aaron Dembski-Bowdens “The Emperor’s Gift”. SPOILER WARNINGS! If you haven’t read this book do not continue to listen to this segment! We hope you enjoy the show. Show Timestamps Show Overview and intro – 00:00:00 The Workbench & Games Played – 00:02:20 Competitivness – Series 2 (Part 1) – 01:04:40 Competitivness – Series 2 (Part 2) – 01:44:20 Show Closing – 02:17:20 Forbidden Lore (The Emperor’s Gift) – 02:20:30 Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR Model Bits – SPONSOR IC Campaign Site Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland Game Kastle Frontline Gaming We recommend downloading the episode as opposed to listening through the site. We seem to hit some type of process limit on days we release the episode, but it only affects people listening from the site directly. The Independent Characters – Episode 56

You may have heard that Episode 56 of The Independent Characters is going to be a few days late. Unacceptable you say? We feel the same! That’s why Geoff and Carl got together to give some thoughts about the 6th Edition previews that were just released in White Dwarf issue 390. This is about a 45 minute discussion in which we probably say the word “excited” about 45 times. We hope you enjoy! Because you demanded more… You can get it right here or on iTunes: White Dwarf Bonus Preview

It came upon us a bit faster than we expected, but 6th Edition is right around the corner! Before we embrace it entirely, it’s time to say goodbye to our old friend 5th Edition. 5th Edition did a lot for Warhammer 40k and although there is a lot of negativity around it as a game now days, you can’t help but admit it moved things forward and helped to make 40k more popular than ever before. In this episode, we talk about what we did and didn’t like about 5th Ed and briefly touch on our desires for 6th Edition. Zach also attended the Bugeater GT, so we get his thoughts on that event. We hope you enjoy! Show Timestamps Show Overview and intro – 00:00:00 The Workbench & Games Played – 00:04:15 Farewell 5th Edition (Part 1) – 00:51:40 Farewell 5th Edition (Part 2) – 01:45:45 Show Closing – 02:53:20 Links: KR Multicase – SPONSOR Secret Weapon Miniatures! – SPONSOR Smells Like Wargaming – SPONSOR Model Bits – SPONSOR IC Campaign Site Forge World Games Workshop The Black Library Endgame Oakland Game Kastle Frontline Gaming We recommend downloading the episode as opposed to listening through the site. We seem to hit some type of process limit on days we release the episode, but it only affects people listening from the site directly. The Independent Characters – Episode 55