I was reminded of a letter I wrote over 25 years ago, to a dear friend of mine, Mr. Ken Rhodes who owned and operated the local gaming store after losing the painting side of a tournament I attended late October of '98 in Cedar City, Utah (I think there were six, or eight of us total). The tournament was an important turning point for me, because it forced me to realize I was "in fact" a hobbyist! The letter was written November 1st, 1998, shortly after the 3rd edition release of Warhammer 40k. Included are all its incorrect grammar mistakes and typos. I am still friends with Ken to this day, and those stalwart few guys who helped get the hobby going in Southern Utah: Chad Hardin, William Bagnall, Steffan Holmes, Tony Pectol, Mike Kenefick, along with a few others! Thanks, to all, who helped me along this 25 year journey, to claim the prize!!! Below, is the reprint of the letter... crazy to see where the game, myself as a hobbyist, and the community have come!!!
November 1, 1998
Dear
Ken,
I
guess this is sort of a confession of a closet hobbyist that is just coming to
the realization of the fact that I am indeed a hobbyist. I used to view such as geeky-little nerd-oids
that wore Spock ears and officer dress to Treki conventions. I see that this is not the case as I look at
myself in present circumstances and realize that, while 40k is a stress
reliever for me, I am into the total hobby experience as
Games Workshop refers to it.
I’ve
been seething this evening about the tournament today and venting with William (my brother) about some things that took place that made us rather unhappy. I might add, before I continue, that there
are no hard feelings directed toward you, and that anytime you want to get a
game in just call. Having said that, I wanted to write to you that I might
be able to put to bed some things that I have been mulling over in my mind this
evening.
I
have come to the conclusion that the biggest reason why I play Warhammer 40,000
is because I enjoy the people, barring few exceptions, that are associated with
it. It is fun to talk about imaginary
clashes that take place on an imaginary battle field with monolithic war
machines and devastating super-soldiers.
I enjoy sharing in each other’s victories and defeats. I enjoy seeing the latest conversions, and to
hear about the frustrations that went into an ultimately triumphant piece of
miniature artwork and to see the creativity of the human mind displayed in 25mm
scale. Ultimately, I enjoy the smiles
and laughs that come from participating in the hobby. However, I haven’t witnessed the hobby
experience for awhile in the tournaments sponsored by Adventures Unbound. I would even go so far as saying that, while
the title claims it, I have felt anything but “unbound” in participating in
events sponsored by your proprietorship.
Let me share with you why...
First
of all the tournaments have been terribly stacked against those who have tried
to play with the “spirit” of the game instead of trying to go for a strait-up
tournament win. Since the new rules have
come out, I have terribly optimistic about the overall fairness of the
game. I have been patiently waiting for
the next 40k tournament to be sponsored by Adventures Unbound to see how the
new rules were to be reflected. When I
finally got the news about the new rules, I was overjoyed to learn that finally
the total hobby experience was going to be promoted.
Secondly,
when I found out that Army painting and Army selection could quite possibly
earn you up to 60 points I thought, “finally, four years of hard work and
patience have finally paid off!” I went
into a frenzy to finish the many minor changes in my army that I had
started to work on two weeks ago in preparation for this tournament. Reconfiguring squads, adding purity seals,
painting on terminator honors, swapping arms, switching weapons, shaving here,
trimming there, doing everything to make sure that: 1) The theme of my army
maintained its integrity. 2) Every
miniature to be used in the tournament was painted in detail. 3) My army was
evenly balanced and reflected the spirit of the game. 4) All miniatures were
armed as shown. 5) It was a very characterful army that really went right to
the heart of the spirit of the Space Marine chapter that I command. After being given the impression that this
was going to be a major part of the tournament, I tried to make sure that I was
in compliance with every aspect of the rules, both letter and spirit. When this did not happen, I was angry to say
the least.
Third,
I suppose some people would say, “Dude!
Its just a game!” And, to that I
would say,”Yes it is.” But, for those of
us that are hobbyists, (Remember, I just cam to the realization that I am
one.) We get slighted when
just the commandership is the major factor in scoring. When Jervis wrote this recent rendition of
the rules, he seems to have the hobbyist in mind, not just the gamer. What does the gamer lose who just wants to
play for a good time? Nothing. Typically those that show up without painted
armies, and haphazardly thrown together army lists care about one thing and one
thing only; playing a good, intense game of 40K! Well, they still get their needs met. However, for those of us that spend so much
more time in conversions and painting, etc.
(And I disagree that there is no such thing as “I don’t have time,” I
would gladly match my schedule to anyone’s) we get the proverbial shaft.
Fourth,
If you are going to set up some guidelines, please stick to them. I am stating this at the risk of giving you
the impression that you think I am frustrated because I did not win. This simply is not the case. I am frustrated because of the time spent by
myself, and others, to prepare for this event and have it treated so
haphazardly so as to give no value to the time spent preparing for such. I almost went to the extent of typing up a
little booklet and having it bound at Kinko’s to help explain why I chose the
army I did and give a little background on my troops, but also to get extra
points toward the overall presentation of my army. I am so glad that I did not have the time to
do it because it would have been for naught!
I
hope you are not offended by my comments.
You might also know that I am not the only one who feels this way, but
will probably only be the one who takes the time to tell you.
Know
that I will always value our association and that if I can be of any help in
the future, as I have been in the past, I offer my services to you. I want to preserve the hobby of 40K
and continue in associations with those that want to do the same. It is entertaining and fun. Maybe painting classes again, get the club up
and running, I don’t know. But one thing
I do know is that I do not want to participate in another tournament so
haphazardly run. I suppose in fairness
to you, I have no idea what is going on in your life right now, and am maybe
being quick to judge. If I am, I hope
that you’ll forgive me. I would state
once again that I hold no malice toward you in anyway. This is just merely a poor attempt at
expressing a frustration in the hopes that maybe it will be of some benefit.
I
hope life is going well for you, and that the move to your home has been a
blessing for you. I might add that your
association and the chance to game and hobby has pulled me through some low
points in my life when I had nothing else to cling to except my wife. For that I express my sincere appreciation.
Well
it’s late and this letter is getting too long.
But I hope it has been of some benefit.
Looking forward to more memories.
Respectfully,
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