To Blog or Not to Blog

I found myself pondering the lifecycle of a blog today.

This comes in the wake of the news that Coop Devil, erstwhile proprietor of the 80s northern culture* blog FightingFantasist - a name you will no doubt be familiar with - deciding to throw in the towel. Its not that I've suddenly discovered this fact - I noted the posting on the 19th when it happened. 

But as I've been struggling to get around to blogging - and things only seem to be getting harder and harder - I confess that throwing in the towel has seemed like a tempting option. 

Lets put that aside for now - first things first. 

Warhammer For Adults started as a direct result of two events, one spawning from the other. The first event was my reading this post on FightingFantasist. Coop showed me that someone could actually walk away from Games Workshop. Sounds weird now that I think about it, but it was almost as if someone had to show me physically how such a thing was done, because I just couldn't wrap my mind around it. His courageous(?) move galvanised me into action that night, leading to the second event. I declared open rebellion against 8th edition and returned to my little safe inner happy child - a child now equipped with google. That enabled me to find Thantsant's remarkable Impasse at Ortar Pass - the first 3rd edition battle report I had seen ever. 

It must have been about a week later that Warhammer For Adults crawled out of the tarpit. 

So, Coop Devil, we here at Warhammer For Adults salute you and bid you fond farewell. 

Now of course, its not like he's dead or anything. You will be able to meet Coop at the upcoming Bring Out Your Lead 2013! event occurring later this year, where he's kindly offered to run a game of Rogue Trader. Its just that he's elected to vacate the internet.

As to my own thoughts regarding throwing in the towel, at this stage, I'm still happy to coast along for now. I think something has changed in that the original purpose of the blog was to evangelise 3rd edition, help me find players and allow my to vent my wrath about the considerable betrayal of trust that I think 8th edition is. 

As it stands, there is a whole oldhammer movement that has been gaining ground at an astonishing rate, suggesting that the business of trying to convince people to play older editions (or - at least - current editions like adults) is happening all over the place. Evangelism doesn't seem to be as necessary as it was two years ago. 

With regards to finding players, well, that's going alrightish**. Right on my doorstep is Andre, player and writer for this blog. Heading slightly further afield, we have Justin and Goblin Lee (who, as good fortune smiles upon us, know each other well). We're not going to fill a football stadium, but to have three other players within a reasonable distance suggests to me that I'm luckier than most. And lets not forget Bring Out Your Lead 2013!

Which leaves 8th edition. I guess I'm just over that now. It still saddens me to think that GW are not who they used to be, but that has just led me back to a better era of gaming. I still have half a mind to rant about the ever increasing scale of GW figures - not long now before you could play 40k with Power Ranger action figures, really.

So with the original purpose of the blog supposedly covered and a declaration that retirement is not yet an option, a question is begged***:

What now?

Well, I still like talking to you, you know. Yes - you, patient reader. There is something cathartic and visceral about flinging my unprocessed half-thoughts across the internet for others to find. That you find them is nice, but it is also the act of flinging them that brings joy, and often, peace. 

From what I understand, many people, when met with the question 'what now?' will chose to make a list. That seems like a good idea now and so I shall. But, just before that, it feels right to close off some odds and ends:

It might be that you read this blog more than once. Of that small subset of readers, perhaps it comes to pass that you elect to write a comment. If you have fallen into this unfathomably small collection of people, then it might be that you would reasonably have expected some sort of response from me. You know, because it's the done thing. 

So to you I say - sorry. Unreservedly. I should respond to comments more. 

Again, if you are part of that tragic subset of readers that return on a regular basis, it might be that you return because you are tracking our latest**** battle report, The Bridge Over the River Chai. You would have been doing so since October 2012, when the thing started. We are now halfway through May and the thing is not complete. 

So to you I say - sorry. Unreservedly. I should finish what I start. I am a parent now, so I will not make any commitments, but I will labour**** certainly a lot harder than usual to bring this saga to a close. One more turn and an Epilogue to go. 

Also, you might have noticed the visual feast of a table upon which The Bridge Over the River Chai has been played on. A thing which has unforgivably gone unmentioned on this blog is the Indiegogo campaign being run by Dreamfish. That campaign is to raise funds to produce the stunningly flexible and capable table framework upon which that battle has occurred. As of the time of writing, there is still time for you to capitalise on this opportunity and buy a table. 

I've not bought a table. Also, I will not be able to buy a table*****. Life after Lichemaster can be described as 'broke'.

Don't allow yourself to be like me. You can be the envy of all of your friends with your super dynamic wargaming table, which is flexible enough to allow doughnut configurations, or 'L' shaped configurations. You never know when you'll need an 'L' shaped configuration. Be prepared - get one now. 

Now, back to that list I mentioned. What Now?

• I will complete Bridge Over the River Chai
• In a fit of madness that can only be explained in another post, I purchased some old Battlemasters Halberdiers. I am painting them. Instead of the Lichemaster. Explanation coming, honest!
• I will complete the planned goblin force and post on its progress.
• I am planning a battle report. Nothing like the three that have gone before, but something much simpler and easier to produce. I have to be realistic about time and I don't think I could spend another seven months writing a battle report. 
• Andre and I sort of started a narrative campaign, but we've had a chat about that and we will look to reset and restart that in a much easier to consume manner. 
• I guess I'd better get started with The Terror of the Lichemaster. 
• At this stage I have absolutely no idea what army or figures or warband or whatever is going to make it to Bring Out Your Lead 2013! yet. Literally no idea. Of course, I must capitalise on what I have painted, but its just all over the place at the moment. I'll tack it onto the list. 

Looking at the list, it seems to suggest that there are plenty of bullets in the gun. 

The blog goes on. 

*Might be bigging that up a bit. For actual culture, check out his other blog: http://fuckyeahbritisholdschoolgaming.tumblr.com/

**Not an actual word. 

***Okay, its just wholesale slaughter of the English language now...

****Let's apply this term loosely, shall we?

*****Sorry, Dreamfish!