I'd probably work on this more if I had at least one follower. Recent stirrings indicate that the 6th edition of Warhammer 40,000 will soon be forthcoming. I'm only marginally interested. It's nice to have some separation from the game, and having almost 4 years away from it has given me perspective.
Granted, as a proponent and supporter of Privateer Press, my perspective might be skewed, but who doesn't have that problem. Neither the players or their games exist in a vacuum, so how should our opinions be any different.
As my fondest gaming memories are tied to unearthing and decoding the secret language that was the design philosophy of Rogue Trader, I'd much rather dwell within that space than explore anything else.
I've toyed with developing rules for Tau and Dark Eldar, two races that never saw the battlefield back in Rogue Trader. The closest I came was just running them as Eldar, more or less. It wouldn't be difficult to reverse engineer the stats, it's the point cost that would be too difficult to manage. I like the idea of "Counts As" anyway, since it might incline more modern players to take a step back and try out Rogue Trader, warts and all.
I've also heard that Forge World has obtained the molds for the original Land Raider. I'm glad. Maybe I'll throw down some money on one and replace my kit-bashed one I have now.
Getting back to 6th edition and perspective...I've seen the releases for 5th edition, and the models are both better and worse. GW has found a way of sculpting in plastic that is amazing. Some of their model choices are a bit...silly. I'm talking about the Grey Knights Walker-Thing. So ridiculous that I never even bothered to learn it's name. I'm certain that it kicks all manner of ass, but it's silly.
There is no fire within me to see what's new in 6th edition. There seemed to be a shift to more standardized, objective based games, but to me that seemed to show the flaws of the core mechanics. Leaf-Blower armies win games, and the only thing I can predict about 6th edition is that it will be another wild swing of the pendulum.
4th Edition was not a wild swing. It was a nudge. And honestly the game only needed adjustments like that going forward. I understand the need to release new editions of a game, even if that need is solely based on profits rather than innovation or game mechanics. I felt betrayed by some of the rules changes, especially the garbage that is "True Line Of Sight". Rampant Cover Saves (I hate Cover Saves. I absolutely loath the mechanic) put quantity over quality in terms of Ranged Attacks, which to me meant it was becoming more and more like Warhammer Fantasy Battle.
It seemed to me that 5th edition was meant to correct flaws inherent in certain army books, like Chaos Daemons, rather than correcting the few things that needed to be changed (like Rending). Fearless became a huge liability, rather than the advantage it's purported to be in the rules.
What could 6th edition possibly offer me that I don't get from Privateer Press (or even just Rogue Trader)? Not much. The thoughtlessness of 5th edition has rendered the modern form of the game largely toxic to me (and to a lot of other players, too). In 2008 I visited my best friend in New Hampshire. He owns a hobby store. At the time, Warmachine and Hordes was very underrepresented. The store was FULL of 40K and WHFB merchandise. Tons of stuff, plenty of tables, in store gaming, active leagues and a community online forum.
Three years later Warmachine and Hordes have taken over the store. Part of that is due to active advocacy by a dedicated player (who has applied to become a Press Gang Member). But much of that has to do with the decline in interest in Games Workshop's product. 5th Edition made so many random changes to so many armies not to mention changes to terrain, which was an additional cost that I don't think the designers really anticipated. Most stores went from having plenty of terrain that blocked LOS to having NONE that did so. NONE. That forest? You can shoot through it now. For every table you have you have to add another 1' x 2' of terrain that PHYSICALLY blocks line of sight.
A nightmare.
Part of Warmachine's allure to me was the simple and elegant way that they handled LOS: by basing it on the size of base the model comes with. GW doesn't have any elegance in their system, they never really have. I guess that's the reason I decided to go back to Rogue Trader, if I'm going to have issues with the rules, might as well enjoy that aspect of the game. After all, it's not like GW can come to my house and change what's written in the 1st Edition book.
With all that being said, I've decided that GW has gotten pretty much all they are going to get from me in terms of money and support. I might buy the odd Wash here and there, but I'm even moving away from those products, too. If Rick Priestley or Jervis Johnson emailed or called me up to discuss how I felt as a long time player, and asked me to give it a try, I might do it. But I don't see that happening. I don't see them caring about their players enough to contemplate what it means to play their games.
If you are reading this, and you think that 6th edition will make me want to play again, let me know through this blog. Even better, let me know if you want to try to get a game in. Just be prepared to be blown away by my awesome Crimson Fist Beakies...
