[Time-sinks] Wargaming & RPGs

Part 3 in my series on how I fritter away my time will focus on the hobbies that make me a self-confessed geek (and proud of it). It's time to talk about wargaming and RPGs.

When I was 13 or so my parents and I were visiting some family friends. Whilst the adults talked about boring adult stuff, their son started showing me some miniature figures that he'd recently bought. They looked really cool, so he pulled out the rest of his set and we started playing around with them. He also showed me some magazines from the company that made the figures, in which I saw lots of different looking ranges. I was captivated, and as soon as I got home set about trying to find out more about the figures and the company, and where I could get some of my own. Those first models were Space Marines, the company was Games Workshop, and the magazines were issues of White Dwarf. I have barely looked back.

The magazine that started it all: White Dwarf #219 (Credit: gamehobby.net; Games Workshop)

In the following year I amassed a fairly large collection of Games Workshop figures. My focus at first was on their science-fiction game, Warhammer 40,000 (or 40K to its fans). It was models for this game that drew me into the hobby, although I didn't go for the Space Marines that I'd originally seen. I was more interested in the graceful Eldar, effectively elves in space. I then moved onto collecting a large army of Chaos Space Marines, specifically aligned with Nurgle, the god of pestilence. It is from the leader of that army that my online handle is taken to this day. Then I branched out into the Warhammer Fantasy range with the launch of the 6th edition, focusing on the humans of the Empire which appealed to my interest in historic warfare, particularly in the Napoleonic era. From there I moved into the skirmish games Mordheim and Necromunda, then into Battlefleet Gothic (spaceships), Inquisitor (larger scale models) and Warmaster (smaller scale models).

It was the aesthetics that drew me in, but is was the social side that kept me engaged. I was lucky enough to develop a group of friends at school that included a significant subsection who were interested in miniature wargames. We'd meet regularly after school on Fridays to game and chat about the hobby, and regularly met at each other's houses in the holidays for multiple-day gaming sessions. I was more interested in playing games with my models in those days than in painting them. Building them was fun, but it was the tactical challenge that I enjoyed. As I've grown older I've gradually come to enjoy the other aspects of the hobby more and more, but it will forever by the actual playing of the games that really stimulates my interest.

Some of my own painted models. These are from Warmachine, by Privateer Press. (Credit: David Brown)

It was through my wonderful group of school friends that I first tried pen-and-paper role-playing games (RPGs), specifically Dungeons and Dragons was the game that we played. We were young, and much as Games Workshop is the public face of wargaming, D&D is the public face of RPGs; everyone's at least heard of it. I loved the interactivity of RPGs, the imagination required, and the chance to create your own hero character. I've never been much of an actor, but in an RPG I could pretend to be someone else for a while and not get laughed at for how bad I was.

When I went to university I left all of it behind at my parents' house; I pretty much stopped being involved in the hobby for a while. It's looked down upon by many members of the general public as being childish and immature, so I was reluctant to make it widely known that I was interested in it all. I was also very busy with other things, but managed to find some like minded people at the Warwick Sci-Fi society with whom I could discuss gaming. Not necessarily miniatures mind; that was still on the back burner as I had no one to play games with, but at least RPGs. In fact my fondest roleplaying memories will forever by the In Nomine campaign that we managed to sustain for almost 3 full years. Any games reading this will know how difficult a feat that is! The In Nomine system is sadly out of print, and was so even when we started our campaign, but it's one of my favourite RPG systems. I've tried several systems over the years now, including some written by friends of mine, but none have provided quite the same level of enjoyment.

In Nomine. Angels vs Demons for control of Earth. My favourite RPG. (Credit: Steve Jackson Games)

I kept abreast of developments in miniature gaming using online forums and new sites, and gradually came to realise that the vast majority of gamers were at least as old as I was. They just stayed away from Games Workshop stores owing to the generally younger/beginner demographic found there, and the aggressive sales tactics. This resonated with my own experience, and coupled with my gradual maturation at university led me to become proud of my hobby. I eventually started picking the modelling and painting side back up again, and by the time I left university for the first time I was fully involved once more. But my interests had shifted somewhat.; I had discovered that there were more companies out there than Games Workshop. Many, many more, with beautiful model ranges and interesting looking games. Moreover many of them required less investment than 40K or Warhammer Fantasy, both of which require large armies. These new games were skirmish games, for the most part. 

My main game these days is Warmachine/Hordes by Privateer Press. What started off as a side-interest to Games Workshop after I had a read of the rulebook at the Warwick Sci-Fi society has slowly taken over as my main hobby fix. I prefer the way that the game plays, and having giant robots didn't hurt either. My main faction is Cryx for Warmachine, but I'm slowly building up forces for Skorne and Circle Orboros on the Hordes side of the game.

Some models for Malifaux, by Wyrd Games, from a collection that I saw at Skirmish 2011.

 The owner kindly allowed me to photograph them. (Credit: David Brown)

I'm also interested in the ranges from Spartan Games, particularly Firestorm Armada (more spaceships!), the MERCs game (mega-corporation sponsored special operations), the sadly defunct Rackham models (fantasy skirmish), Malifaux by Wyrd Games, Infinity from Corvus Belli, Flames of War, and a host of others that look like fun. This is a real boom-time for miniature gaming, with new skirmish games and model ranges seeming to pop from the woodwork every month. It's a struggle to keep up to be honest, even with news aggregate websites like Tabletop Gaming News and Tabletop Fix.

Since being at St Andrews I've still not found regular gaming very easy. Lifesaving and music keep me busy most of the time, and unfortunately clash with the gaming society here. But my room now holds most of my hobby materials, and it's a rare month that doesn't see me reading books, modelling, or picking up a paintbrush. Last year I discovered a games shop in Kirkcaldy, and become involved in the fringes of the Scottish Warmachine/Hordes tournament scene. I'd never been to a tournament, and after reading horror stories online was sceptical, but decided to take the plunge and was glad that I did. I could get multiple games in in one day, and everyone I met was very friendly, and had lots of common interests. Sadly the aforementioned game shop hasn't made it through the recession, but social media have at least made it much easier to keep abreast of gaming events. I even stumbled upon an electronic gaming simulator, through which you can play miniature games with other gamers over the Internet as long as both of you have the rules. Sadly I've not been able to play many RPGs though. There was a brief foray with a short-lived campaign in my first year, but the problem becomes one of time. RPGs require a regular time commitment of at least a couple of hours, and I couldn't do that. At least with wargames I can commit time to them as and when I am able to, or want to.

A Warmachine tournament in progress. (Credit: David Brown)

Yes, these hobbies may make me a geek. Yes, they may be expensive, and I put a lot of money into them as well as a lot of time. Yes, they may be considered 'childish'. Yes, I may get very irritated every time one of the games that I play brings out a new edition. But to me they are a way of expressing myself, of meeting new people, and of stretching my mind in various problem solving challenges. In the end there are more expensive, more dangerous, and more 'cool'ways of spending my time, and I wouldn't trade this hobby for any of them.