Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Suffer No Guilt Yee Who Wield This In the Name of Crom

Holy crap it actually does say that. I've been watching the 1982 Conan the Barbarian film at least twice a year for the last 34 years, and until I flipped the frame, I never realized what the runes on Conan's father sword said (or in fact that they said anything at all).  SUFFER NO GUILT YEE WHO WIELD THIS IN THE NAME OF CROM.  It's nice to find that I can still be surprised. :-)
I've stared at those runes for many years an never got it.  I'm really impressed that they thought to put this kind of detail into the film.  Just one more reason that Conan the Barbarian remains my favorite S&S film of all time.  I really can't wait for the Modiphius Conan RPG.  Crom!

Far Away Land Stories on Patreon

Far Away Land Patreon. 'nuff said. For real.

Seriously though, Simian Circle Games is launching a Patreon.  They put out a great game and are fantastic about supporting it.  If you have a few extra dollars each month, you should really think about donating.  I know that I'm planning too!

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

100th Anniversary of the Battle of Jutland

The Destruction of the British Battlecruiser HMS Invincible

100 years ago today, on May 31 1916,  The German High Seas Fleet attempted to destroy a portion of the British Grand Fleet by luring them into a trap.  The British turned the table on the trap, and what resulted was the largest Battleship engagement of the First World War, known to the British as the Battle of Jutland and to the Germans as the Skagerrakschlacht.  Despite being outnumbered, the German High Seas Fleet made a good accounting of itself, due in part to superior gunnery.  In the end, the British lost 14 ships and over 6,000 men, while the Germans lost 11 ship and over 2500 men.  The result was a strategic victory for the British, and the German High Seas Fleet spent most of the rest of the war in port acting as a fleet in being.  


The German Battlecruiser SMS Seydlitz in port after the battle
Today only one ship from that battle survives.  The British Light Cruiser HMS Caroline is docked in Belfast and is currently being restored for the 100th anniversary of the battle.
The HMS Caroline in Belfast
There is plenty of more information about the battle available in many other locations.  I just like ships.

Monday, May 30, 2016

Miniatures Monday

This week for Miniatures Monday, we have another figure from Fantization Miniatures.  This one is Manannan Champion with Greatsword.  You can get your own copy from Fantization here for $6.99.  I find their miniatures to be very nice, and they don't tend to require a lot of mold line cleanup, which is always a plus with me.  The results aren't bad, but in retrospect, I wish that I had gone with some war paint.  I suppose that I could always add it in the future though.  I can imagine this guy painted like Schwartzenegger when they went to steal the princess from Thulsa Doom's Mountain of Power, but I will probably do something a bit more subtle.