Blood Bowl: After nearly a two month break from playing BB I was back in the new Chaos on the Coast League for 2026, this time fielding a Dark Elven side, Metal Doom, named for some of the metal bands I've been listening to on Bandcamp. The team has done alright so far in the new season, starting with a 2-all draw against one of two lizardmen teams on Jan 21, then a 3-2 win in turn 16 over one of the two skaven teams in the competition a week later. Both of them were played at the Central Coast Leagues Club.
Website: Along with this news page, I updated content on the Blutmunth, the blogs, Blood Bowl, sport and home pages today. Four of those pages were considerably out of date, so I made some necessary changes.
Writing: Happy to say that Blutmunth: A Trial by Combat is now available on Amazon Kindle with the PDF version on Drive Thru Fiction having been upgraded to Edition 1.5. Must say there was a fair bit to edit, with a lot of little typos to correct and a couple of rather big errors to amend. As for what's coming up next, well the poetry books are an option, with possibly extra material to add to the three already available before putting up a fourth. I also want to finish off a couple of short stories set in the Shaunovan realm, one which was written nearly 20 years ago and another that was started in 2024. The first is based decades before the first book in the Mageslayer Series, whilst the second is set around the time the uprising in Unsworth has been concluded. That one will feature characters that briefly popped up (or were mentioned) in the first volume, then will be a major part in a later volume in the series. I'm also thinking of adding a piece on the inspiration for the first volume, the somewhat autobiographical nature of it and even notes on the progression of Version 10/Edition 1.5 from when it started in December 2024 to it's availability online.
Writing: Very pleased to announce that Blutmunth: A Trial by Combat has finally been uploaded on Drive Thru Fiction and is available for $4 in PDF format. Due to the nature of some of the book's material, which I'll go into some detail on the Blutmunth page, I've listed the book as having adult themes, which results in the book not appearing in the new titles section, unless one has a DTF account with access to Adult Content. Having examined other titles on the site I've decided to put my poetry anthologies up there as well but currently need to get all of the Blutmunth TBC dealt with, including posting it on Amazon Kindle and updating the blogs and FB pages. I'm glad that I've managed to stick to my personal goal of having it available before Xmas.
Blood Bowl: The Nurgle of Vimes (yeah, a very lazy name for the team) finished with one of everything in 24th place overall for Coastal Karnage on Nov 29 at the Central Coast Leagues Club. I had made arrangements earlier in the week with the TO that if I wasn't going too well, then I would leave to go across the road to watch the Mariners match against Melbourne City. After being thrashed 0-5 in the opening round against the Necromantic (first four blocks from my opponent resulted in three casualties and a knock-out... ), they bounced back with a 1-0 win over Khemri then a 1-all draw against Amazons. It was hardly a record worth staying for, especially seeing the top three finished with 3 wins and a draw...
Writing: I keep finding plenty of stuff to edit despite having gone through this version of the book several times. For example, at the start of the battle (fourth) section of Blutmunth it was a little confliction with the times of early incidents in and around the city, which I've since fixed. Now I'm in the third day but haven't worked on it for a few days due to personal engagements and a little holiday up to the north-east coast of NSW.
Blood Bowl: The OWA season has finished. Despite scoring first in their final match back on Oct 26 against the other early front runners, the skaven, they were dispatched 4-2, failing even to do any damage to their opponents, although Hakflem, their star recruit for the night, was injured trying to dodge away from linewoman tackler Mary Brett-Punish who finished up top of the individual SPP tally for the side and didn't miss a match all season. The team finished with a 3-3-5 record. A local event, Coastal Karnage, will be on at the Central Coast Leagues Club on Nov 29 where I'll be taking a simple Nurgle roster (4 pestigors, 4 bloaters, 4 rotters). It's a one-day event with four matches.
Writing: With both regional and city maps completed, as well as the front cover, Blutmunth: A Trial by Combat, is getting a final edit before being published. I'm currently in the fourth section of the book and it's over 203k words long...
Blood Bowl: My Chaos No Stars, as it turned out, was just one of seven Chaos Chosen teams out of 22 entries in what was the 35th running of MOAB and the 20th time Blood Bowl has been played there. It started promising enough, with a win in the first round, which ended what was almost a record non-winning streak, but after that those little numbered cubes were favouring my opponents more than me and I ended up with a 2-1-3 record for the event, finishing in 13th place. As it turns out, out of the five events I've attended this year, this was my best record so far...
Blood Bowl: The OWA season has totally collapsed, with another two league losses last week. Despite being in control of the match for several turns against Gerry's Necromantic on Sept 22, in one woeful turn the game was lost, with two re-rolls consumed in vain to make successive GFI rolls, resulting in a player being badly hurt. It lead to two more being injured and an inevitable 2-1 defeat in the last turn of the match. Taking the opportunity to get the Round 10 match out of the way as well on Sept 24, the side pretty much capitulated, with hungry Elves taking advantage of every mistake (and there were a few) and coasting to a 5-1 victory. The only joy in the forgettable match was a successfully thrown halfing which lead to the team's only point in the game. The side may still sit in sixth position with a chance of making the play-offs but as far as I'm concerned the season is over with one match still to play against the Skaven. As for the upcoming MOAB event, I have already lodged a Chaos Chosen roster. Nothing too complex - four blockers, seven beastmen and an ogre with a few mutations.
Other Gaming: Plenty of Battletech skirmishes recently against Richard. A one on one duel between a Scorpion and a modified Hunchback on Aug 31. A scenario from the Instant Action supplement, titled Running Retreat, was played on Sept 6, with my 130 ton lance successful in escaping the battlefield from Richard's 155 ton lance. On Sept 13, another scenario called Get the Goods, with both lances at 140 tons attempting to recover salvage and finally on Sept 21, something a little different with both of us fielding hovercrafts, two light, one heavy. Last night (Sept 28) a rare gathering of the old roleplaying group for a game of Daggerheart, where we successfully completed the introductory scenario. I must say the game was relatively easy to pick up, combat was simplified and quick and the game as rather enjoyable.
Writing: The tenth draft has been recently re-edited, with a map of the troubled city of Unsworth added and a front cover completed. I have started work on a Shaunovan Empire map, using the same mapping website, Inkcarnate, that I used for the Feudball regional map in that series.
Blood Bowl: The poor form continues in the league. On August 13 at the Central Coast Leagues Club in Gosford, the OWA managed to get a 0-all draw against Morg n Thorg inspired understrength Underworld side. The only casualties were done early in the match, by the star player. Blitzer Dreymilla Bert narrowly avoided another serious injury thanks to the apothecary whilst two-skilled catcher Dolly Norman was killed. Morg caught a bouncing ball late in the half and look set to score but was forced back by a brave blitz from linewoman Mary Brett-Punish. The side was able to get players off the pitch but their worst injuries were knock-outs. At Elemental Arcade in Gosford on August 24 the commish's Slann side were just too good for side, beating them 2-0 in match where the alliance side only managed three armour breaks for the entire game. Two players will be missing for the next match, with the side currently in fourth place. The side has three matches to go to complete the regular season. Since the end of my short winning streak on June 15 I've only had one win in all matches... :( I have registered and paid for two upcoming events, the first being the Bash at the Beach tournament at the annual MOAB convention on Oct 4 & 5 and the second, Coastal Karnage, closer to home at the CCLC on November 29.
Other Gaming: With the match finishing relatively early at EA, I was able to quickly get a bus over to Richard's place in Narara, where we had our biggest mech battle yet. It was a full lance with a total tonnage of 110 to be made up of light mechs only. Richard fielded a Panther, a Locust, a Mongoose and a Valkyrie. I chose four different mechs - Wasp, Gunsmith, Javelin and Spector. It was an even battle for the first half of the engagement, but when the Locust went down for the first time, the battle turned in my favour. First to go was the Panther, followed by the Locust losing its other leg and finally the Mongoose. The Valkyrie was allowed to withdraw.
Blood Bowl: Tough league match yesterday against the Wood Elves, with Mad As Hell recovering and holding on for a 2-all draw, despite having both blitzers unavailable for the match. The elves scored on turns two and eight, the OWA on turn four of each half. Dramatic last turn with the elves on the attack, a failed dodge leaves the ball carrying elven thrower a little exposed. The halfling runs around to mark her, a lineman marks the wardancer covering her rear, then the dwarven runner charges across, rushes twice and pushes her off the pitch, the crowd killing her. The ball is thrown in towards my end zone, the wardancer opts to leap to escape his markers but fails to land properly. Phew. The side is currently in third place with a match to go before round six is completed.
Blood Bowl: The bubble has been burst and Mad As Hell crashed to their first defeat of the season, with a Vampire team running in three touchdowns without a response. With a blizzard setting in at the start of the game, affecting the OWA more than their vampiric opponents, both blitzers were injured and off the pitch by turn three with permanent injuries, with the thralls seemingly invincible with thier AV 8+, the only casualties coming from a vargeist bite and a crowd surf.
Other Gaming: For something a little different, from May 17, I've been regularly playing table-top Battletech against Richard, a gaming mate based in Narara. With him having received a large collection of material from a Kickstarter project ealier this year, we have been getting used to the rules after long absences from the game. I have even bought two lances online to use in our skirmishes, of which there have been five so far, the most recent of them (July 12) being an assault mech duel between an Annihilator and my favourite big mech the Atlas. It prevailed, but had taken a lot of punishment during the battle and wasn't far off from being put out of action. I currently lead the series 3-2.
Blood Bowl: Before heading off to Eucalyptus Bowl, I managed to squeeze in another league game (on July 2) with The Mad As Hell side. In what was a rather unusual game where the weather fluctuated from Sweltering Heat to Blizzard, they scored first, but with five players left on the pitch in the latter stages of the game, they were unable to hold off their Chaos Dwarven opponents who equalised on the last turn. To add a bit of muscle to the side, a treeman was recruited for the next game. At EB over the weekend of July 5 & 6, the Umina Bunnies Amazons started off well, winning their first round match against their Human opponents 3-2. However, they struggled for the rest of the event, managing three draws (against Wood Elves, Necromantic and Ogres) and finishing with a 1-3-2 record. 148 coaches participated in the event, with all but the Nurgle represented.
Writing: Whilst at EB, I was interviewed for the podcast Down Under World Denizens by Steve Babbage, otherwise known as Babs on the BB scene and his offsider Paul Miller. Talk centred around the first Feudball book, which had it's origins at the first EB tournament 20 years ago after I had picked up a fantasy novel, based on the game we still play, as a prize at the first EB twenty years ago. After reading it, we both felt that we could do better. I hinted at a possible extension of the current series with two further books. Though I've got notes and rough starts for both of them, whether I ever get around to it is a different thing. I'll post the link to the episode when it's posted.
Blood Bowl: Mad As Hell continue on their winning way with a 3-0 win last Sunday (15 June) over last season's winner Tupi. The first half was tough going with the opening point taking six turns, but when the casualties regularly started coming the game became quite one-sided, with the OWA scoring twice in the second half and winning the casualty count 8-4. The team is still on top of the ladder on for and against and currently top the casualties as well.
Blood Bowl: The Mad As Hell Old World Alliance side currently sits at the top of the league after two wins, with a 3-1 win over one of the Slann teams at the Central Coast Leagues Club on May 21, then defeated the Orcs 2-0 on June 7. They lead 1-0 at half-time in both matches and ended up with a player earning a niggling injury. In the first match it was the dwarven runner, whilst a linewoman copped it in the second. I've been able to find suitable miniatures for the team, so my Chaos Pact nun team (mostly made up of Shadowforge fantasy football miniatures, available from Eureka miniatures) is now multi-purpose side, where I can not only use it as a human team (like I have in the past), but now Old World Alliance as well. Because of additional positional changes to races, like Chaos Dwarves, new miniatures are needed, which make two blockers redundent. Thankfully, in this case, a pair of female chaos dwarf blockers in the CD team that I have, needing to be replaced by Flamesmiths, are now finding a new life in the OWA side as dwarven blockers.
Writing: Good progress has been made on Blutmunth - Trial by Combat in recent weeks. I'm finding there a lot of little things just popping up that I need to put into the story, embellishing it somewhat and correcting a few errors as well. I'm finally back up to the actual battle (again) for this third edit (for the tenth version) where I have plans to add plenty of extra material, including additional points of view in some of the engagements and some behind the scenes moments during the quieter hours. I am really pleased with how it is turning out, but I have to aim for a spring release rather than winter. There's still so much more to do like maps and a proper cover for starters.
Blood Bowl: The Outback Cup 2025 was a tournament to forget, with my Dark Elves, the Maplins' Yellowcoats, struggling through the day, finishing with a 1-1-3 record. 3 touchdowns, 1 casualty inflicted and a completion was all they managed, with some horrendous rolling in the opening two matches that will not be forgotten. The overall winner Gnome, fielding skaven, was on the top table for all of the day whilst I spent most of mine at the bottom. Late last month the Chaos on the Coast BB League was concluded, with the winner being Tupi's Amazons, defeating the commissioner's Elven Union side 2-1 in the final. The Emperor's of Rome finished sixth overall with a 5-3-3 record. Registration for the next season is currently open and I have already paid and created an Old World Alliance roster, Mad As Hell, for the new season.
Blood Bowl: There's been a flurry of matches played so far this year, including league, tournament, trials and some dungeon bowl. In the local BB league, I finished the regular season off for the Emperors of Rome II with three straight draws. The first was a tight 1-all draw against a Dark Elven outfit on Jan 12th at Elemental Arcade, the second on Jan 21st at the same venue against the Commissioner's Elven Union team finished 3-all, whilst the third match, which was my Round 11 fixture, was played the Central Coast Leagues Club on Feb 19th, finished 1-all with the undead side earning enough points to remain in fourth place for the time being, until the rest of the league catches up. On March 15th, the third Chaos on the Coast one-day tournament took place at Ourimbah RSL with 28 coaches participating. I fielded a Khorne side, the Gene Hackman Fan Club, which only managed two draws on the day. Their first round match was against eventual winner D'Arquebus, who was playing Snotlings, with the GHFC roundly beaten up in a 0-2 loss, with the side suffering 14 casualties throughout the day. The next events that I'll be attending shall be The Outback Cup, a sevens tournament on May 2nd in Slyvania Heights (same venue for the annual MOAB event) and Eucalyptus Bowl in July which I have already registered and paid for.
Writing: I completed a second edit of Blutmunth: A Trial by Combat earlier in the month, where I've devised an alternative means to read the book. Originally, the reader had a chronological order of events from start to finish, with some versions even going back further to where the Blutmunth curse actually started. However, seeing the book has seven distinct stories running concurrently, I have taken note of what section(s) each day belongs to, so if the reader desires, they could read the stories individually rather than jumping from day to day. All I need to do is add the hyperlinks to each part and create a seperate Table of Contents.
Blood Bowl: After a five week wait for a match, the EOR II took on their round eight Black Orc opponents in Ourimbah on Dec 28. The undead managed to hang on for a 1-0 victory, which temporarily puts them back into the top three, but it came at a cost, with two ghouls killed in the match. One had played 15 matches, the other, a fairly recent edition, registered the winning touchdown and the side's only casualty for the game before being slain late in the match.
Writing: Editing work began in earnest this month on Blutmunth: A Trial by Combat, the first book in the Mageslayer series. After working on a few ideas for books three and four for a couple of months, I decided on Dec 14 it was time to get to work on the first volume, after neglecting it for so long. Most of the work currently is formatting and 'reverting' the technology in the book back to an early industrial world of steam era, though there has been plenty of additions as well. Work is progressing smoothly.
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