I never thought I’d hold a box of 40k Squats again! Squats were my first 40k army back in the mid-1990s, although I had an “army” of maybe 1-2 squads and 40k didn’t really click for Past Martin. When I got back into the game, and really became a miniature painter, in 2020, Squats hadn’t
It’s been almost 30 years Read More »
I’ve finished my first draft of half the countries in The Unlucky Isles! I also have about 60% of each of the other three countries written up, awaiting all the new material and restructuring I’ve done with the first three, as well as a good chunk of the introductory elements. It’s clocking in at around
Making good progress on the manuscript for The Unlucky Isles Read More »
After spending 15 months developing Godsbarrow, getting to actually start up a campaign in this setting was the spark I needed to convince me to give publishing another shot. Today I founded Halfbeard Press, the company I’ll be using to publish Godsbarrow material. Halfbeard Press has a logo, an incredibly spartan website, a (currently empty)
Getting back into publishing: Halfbeard Press Read More »
Yore has been quiet, but I’ve been busy for the past couple of months — hobby-wise, painting Warhammer 40k terrain (which I haven’t gotten around to photographing yet) and starting up the first Godsbarrow campaign. After over a year of lonely fun creating this setting using Worlds Without Number [paid link], it’s absolutely delightful to
The first Godsbarrow campaign Read More »
I’ve set Twitter aside and decamped to Mastodon (specifically, the dice.camp instance), where you can find me as @martinralya. Returning to Twitter during the pandemic made me realize three things: I miss the social connections and serendipitous path-crossings and discoveries that social media can be good at facilitating. I miss Google+ a great deal. As
Mastodon is the new Google Plus (I hope) Read More »
When someone in Godsbarrow dies at sea, the Headless Child lays claim to them. If they died in sight of their own god, or gods, or if their faith was strong enough, the Child cannot take them. But if not, they join the Endless Fleet,[1] serving its unspeakably cruel captain for eternity. And the Endless
The Headless Child, Captain of the Endless Fleet Read More »
I started my 40k terrain collection with pieces from the Manufactorum line, and then added a bunch from the Sector Mechanicus line — enough stuff that, if I built all of it, I could kit out a 2,000-point 40k board. My plan has always been to find a paint scheme that unifies these two themes,
40k Sector Mechanicus terrain color guide Read More »
I’m currently working on three things in parallel, all at different stages: my second Hive Fleet Balaur unit for Kill Team, three Tyranid Warriors; a batch of Manufactorum terrain; and a couple of larger Sector Mechanicus terrain pieces. These guys were every bit as fun to build as my Genestealers. And despite having no names,
WIP it good: Tyranid Warriors and terrain Read More »
Last night I finished my first minis since May 20, 2021: one Hive Fleet Balaur Fire Team for Kill Team, a unit of Genestealers. These guys were a ton of fun to paint, and given that I started them on April 8, went on a short vacation, and worked on my Warriors during the 16
Five Hive Fleet Balaur Genestealers wrapped up Read More »
While I was on vacation, away from my Godsbarrow map and the text file where 99% of my notes live, I kept my worldbuilding streak going by emailing myself Godsbarrow ideas. Once I’d done two small gods, rounding things out with a third felt right. I haven’t explored small gods much yet, focusing instead on
Three small gods: a ship, an inn, and a family of swords Read More »
