Welcome

We've wandered through the webway and stumbled in through the back door. Welcome to the Halls of the Black Library!

This is my first post in the Halls. This blog was started to facilitate discussions and explore ideas of all things 40k. In upcoming posts, look for the following:

• Photos and reports of cons and Games Days
• Essays on topics related to the game, such as good gamesmanship, the use of proxies, and balancing life and gaming
• Articles on strategy
• Battle reports
• WIP photos of my new Eldar army
• Replies to your questions or thoughts

About me:

I've been playing 40k for about 2 1/2 years. I'm not a tournament player, though I am thinking of trying out some tournaments in the future. I've been playing miniatures games much longer - have played various games such as Battletech, WH Fantasy, Confrontation, and others way back to the early 90's. I've been painting since about the same time, and though I'm no Golden Demon winner, I'm usually good enough to make First Cut. I'm also a longtime role-player, boardgamer, and most recently, a novelist.

I've currently got about 2300 points of Space Marines. We'll look at my army lists in later posts so you can tell me what you think. My biggest challenge with the army is getting it to perform well without forking out more cash to get the "badass" units of the 'dex: Land Raiders packed full of Assault Termies and Bike Squads as Troops. My Space Marine force is a custom chapter called "Legio Draconis." It's about 95% complete paint-wise. I'll get some photos up in the near future.

After finishing my novel (a 3-year project), I decided it was time to reward myself by starting a new army. Thus began my fascination with the Eldar. I love the models and I love that the army is all about clever tactics rather than brute force. I've just begun assembling and painting the initial units. We'll look at WIP photos and my ideas for larger army lists in upcoming posts.

So, why the heck are you reading this? I'm not a tournament-winning strategy god like Fritz or the guys at BoLS. I'm also not the greatest painter in the world, so if you're good, you'll likely be telling me more than I tell you.

What I can do is write. I do it professionally for my job, and I do it creatively. I'll post some fun fluff up here. I also have a background in philosophy, and there are a number of philosophical topics that aren't really explored much on other sites. Can a player be both a good gamesman and competitive? How do you handle playing against a cheesy jerk? When is the use of proxies justified? How do you balance gaming and life? How do you approach the game - RAW vs RAI, the ghost of Codex Creep, tournment vs casual play, and other topics?

I hope that you'll read because you find my posts insightful and informative. And if not, well, nobody's forcing you to read this!