The Last Island Fight in Iceland

Drawing by Jack Powning

I just finished reading The Saga of Gunnlaug Wormtongue. Like most Icelandic sagas, this short piece was difficult and often dull, even in translation, containing as much genealogy as narrative. Still, I like to read the old sagas every now and again, because I often find little nuggets of interest. This saga claims to have an account of the last island fight in Iceland.

'Island Fights' were a part of the early Viking law-code. Essentially, it was a one-on-one duel, taking place on a small island. They could be to the death, or to first blood with the loser being ransomed. Generally, such fights were a last resort.

Near the end of The Saga of Gunnlaug Wormtongue, the eponymous 'hero' challenges his rival Hrafn to an island fight, as Hrafn married the woman that he loved. Since Gunnlaug is the challenger, Hrafn got to strike the first blow (that'll make you think about it before you challenge someone). As it happened, Hrafn struck such a heavy blow on Gunnlaug's shield that it snapped off the blade of his sword, the broken shard nicking Gunnlaug on the cheek. Immediately, both men claimed victory. Gunnlaug argued that his opponent was disarmed. Hrafn countered that Gunnlaug was wounded. The other men who had come to view the duel decided that the whole thing should be called off, and, soon thereafter, island fights were outlawed in Iceland.

Of course that didn't end the feud. A few years later, the two met again in Norway, where such duels were still legal. This time, Gunnlaug killed Hrafn, but was himself mortally wounded.

Steampunk Soldiers Pages

As it turns out, the internal pages of Steampunk Soldiers are nearly impossible to photograph. The high-gloss paper, which makes the artwork look so good, also causes any kind of light to reflect back into the camera, blurring the photo. Well, no matter.  I've managed to secure a couple of promotional 'page spreads' (images of the interior produced for promotional purposes. They are low-res, so the text is unclear, but it gives you the idea).  So here they are:

 

Steampunk Soldiers

The second book I have coming out this year is Steampunk Soldiers: Uniforms & Weapons from the Age of Steam, which I co-wrote with Philip Smith. This large, hardback book, features 65 colour plates depicting the various soldiers who fought in the fifty or so years between the discovery of hephastium in 1862 and the outbreak of the Great War of the Worlds in 1914.

Hopefully, in the next few days, I'll be able to show off some internal spreads.  

The book will be available in November and is now up for pre-order on various sites; however, if you are a wagamer, you might consider getting it from North Star Military Figures as it comes with an exclusive Steampunk Soldier miniature.

Bike Miles 9,750

It was an unusually dry and warm September here in Britain. This not only seems to put the whole island in a better mood, but it is also great for cycling. I managed to ride a lot of miles during the month and have just crested 9,750 on my road to 10,000! I was hoping to hit my goal by the end of the year, and while that is certainly achievable, it could, very much, depend on the weather.

With the days rapidly growing shorter, a process that happens much faster here that it did in my North Carolina home, and daylight savings looming near the end of the month, I am running out of time.  I don’t much care for cycling in the dark, and once daylight savings kicks in, it will soon mean that both ends of my commute will be in the dark. Also, the rains will come sooner or later, which not only takes the fun out of it, it also turns the back yard into a mud pit that likely won't dry out until April.

So October is my last really good month for cycling.

Dwarf Rangers

A trio of Dwarf Rangers that I painted up this weekend. 

I think these little plastic figures are some of my favourite models in The Lord of the Rings line. There is just something very Tolkienesque about them. I have heard some people claim that they are supposed to represent Thorin's company (before the new Hobbit movie and before Games Workshop technically had the rights to depict those characters), but I can't see any specific evidence to back such a statement. Regardless, they are some great miniatures.

Ponderings on The Pledge

I’ve only been on The Pledge for the last month and a half, but already I’ve seen a shift in my thinking about the ‘cost’ of miniatures. For most of my life, the only real limiting factor to buying miniatures has been the price. When I was young, that was enough to stop my miniature buying from ever getting out of hand; however, as I have gotten older and made a bit more money, this became much less of a limiting factor. As a hobby, miniatures are relatively inexpensive and it is easy enough to accumulate huge numbers of them without spending huge amounts of cash. Some might consider that a good thing; I do not.

Over the last forty-five days, I have painted 8 miniatures, and I have bought none. In that time, there have been plenty of miniatures, both new and old, that have tempted me. In most cases, the actual monetary cost of those miniatures was not high, and I would have likely bought them in a moment of excitement (or just as likely, in a moment of boredom). With the pledge, I have another consideration to take into account – each of those figures would cost me two hours.

Two hours is about how long it takes me to paint an average miniature. I don’t begrudge this time; I enjoy it. But now I know that every miniature I buy means two more hours of painting time before I can buy another one, and that is something that has to be considered carefully. 

Here’s a real life example. Recently, I have been tempted by the new System Scavengers from Pig Iron Productions (one of my favourite one-man miniatures companies). They come in packs of 5 for £10. While I’m not a wealthy man, especially since the birth of my daughter, £10 is not a huge amount, and, if I wanted to spend it, I would feel comfortable doing so. On the other hand, I have only painted 8 figures in the last 45 days. If I buy those five troopers, I’m going to have to find 10 hours of painting time to get back to the same level of miniature buying power… 

I think that is the true power of 'The Pledge'. Not that it fixes a specific limit on miniature buying, but that it forces a re-examination of the full cost of those purchases.

The Call of Dungeons & Dragons

Over the last few months there has been a lot of excitement in some parts of the nerdosphere about the release of the new edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Old pros call it 5^th Edition (or 5e), but Wizards of the Coast, who are producing the new books, simply call it Dungeons & Dragons without any numerical designation.

Now, I haven’t really played D&D in a couple of decades, but I have watched with interest from the sidelines as various incarnations of the game have come and gone. I grew up with AD&D (1e), thought 2^nd edition was terrible, marvelled at the sheer scope and breadth of 3^rd edition, and finally mourned when 4^th edition wrecked it.

Probably the most interesting point in the history of Dungeons & Dragons came in 2009, right about the time 4^th edition was released. It was then that a schism developed among the D&D players. Some carried on to the new edition, but most turned instead to a new game called Pathfinder. In one of the great marketing backfires of all time, WOTC had created a situation where another company was able to come in and essentially repackage Dungeons & Dragons 3e under a different name. That name was Pathfinder, and it quickly rose to become the most popular role-playing game of them all, slowly pushing aside D&D 4e.

I’m sure that’s all pretty confusing to those who didn’t watch it happen. 

What is interesting to me, however, is the number of people I have heard in various blogs and forums who want to return to Dungeons & Dragons. It is not because they have grown dissatisfied with Pathfinder; quite the contrary, people still seem to love the game. Yet, something seems to be calling people home...

Is it really just the name, Dungeons & Dragons? Is it the association with many ill-spent college nights rolling dice and eating pizza? Why do people care if their game is called Pathfinder or D&D? Surely it only matters which game is better?

Why do I, who haven’t thrown rpg dice in anger since D&D books were printed in black and white also feel the call?