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Terrible Tuesday: Talking Points Article Challenge

4 Minute Read
Dec 6 2011
Warhammer 40K

Samuel Coleridge wrote his epic Kubla Khan after waking from an opium dream.  After (the story goes) a fitful sleep, he awoke with the poem fully formed, ready to leap from pen to page.

You probably know the rest: he was interrupted at his work for about an hour, after which Coleridge learned he’d lost the epic.  Gone forever, never having existed.

This account stuck with me when I heard it for the first time as a student.  Around that time, I was also a fan of Greek and Roman myth – probably like many of you, come to think of it.  Anyway, for whatever reason, back then I associated the preceding account with Zeus’ headache…

…the cure for which was an axe to the forehead, hurled by Hephaestus!  Athena sprang fully formed from Zeus’ noggin.

There’s no real connection, except that which I made in middle school; Coleridge’s epic and Zeus’ most accomplished child, both complete, both perfect.  The power of creation.

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Yea, well, don’t expect that here!  I ain’t selling perfection, as my many critics are already no doubt thinking.  What I have learned, over 66 articles here on Bell, is not to force an article.

They’re either there, fully formed and ready to leap onto the page…

…or not.  That’s me, today.

So I’m going to let you do the heavy lifting!

I’m going to present three topics that almost became today’s Terrible Tuesday article, but for lack of inspiration.  I struggled with them – struggled to make them something worthy of the main page of Bell of Lost Souls… because despite it all, I still think that means something!

Here are the topics; the challenge will follow.  There will be an brief appendix for each topic.

  1. Expanding Scenarios in 6th Edition
  2. Apathy: Reinvigorating Your Hobby
  3. Necron Facelift:  Updating an Older Army

The challenge, should you choose to accept it:

Write an article on one of the topics in the comment’s section of today’s article.  It must be an original comment, not a reply (although replies on an article are welcome).  It should cover the subject appropriately but not necessarily exhaustively, as leaving something for the Mob to comment on is never a bad idea.  It can be written in a personal style but should be accessible to a large percentage of readers.  It should not be pointlessly argumentative or controversial; read that how you will!

More than anything, it should be entertaining and/or educational – it should be something worth reading!

That’s it then – will the Mob Speak?  Or will the silence be deafening..?

Ah, yes; the prize.  Should you win – as defined by your peers through comments but mostly as judged by yours truly – I’ll use what little influence I have around here to see your article published on the main page as fill-in material.  More importantly, I’ll host a guest article in a Terrible Tuesday slot – a valued piece of real estate in the Blogger world – written by you, oh winner, on any subject you feel inspired to chat about!

Yea, this prize will be worthless to a large number of you, but I’m willing to bet there is somebody out there who wants the opportunity to reach an audience as large as Bell’s.

So, thoughts?  Comments?  Hugs and gropings?

Articles?

Appendix 1:
The standard scenarios in the rulebook are seen as the ‘normal’ scenarios by most players, and they appear to define the competitive tournament scene.

Would it be a positive or negative to see these scenarios expanded significantly in 6th edition?

Appendix 2:
Hobby apathy can affect gamers in a number of areas, be it finishing a project or showing a lack of interest in some aspect of the game.

Further define the topic and discuss ways of working past the slump.

Appendix 3:
Brent has an older Necron army that needs updating.  He’s hoping for something competitive but not necessarily optimized.

Currently in his collection are: A Necron Lord, A Destroyer Lord, 28 Necron Warriors, 10 Necron Immortals, 8 Scarabs, 2 Wraiths, 5 Destroyers, 1 Heavy Destroyer, Monolith.

Use as much of this as possible for the base of an updated army.  Assume all models in the book are available.

General:
You can be creative in how you interpret these ideas.  Attaching pictures you would use in an article is a plus.

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Author: Brent
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