Hello, and welcome to this month’s exciting and thought-provoking Grey
Knight Editorial. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Grant
Dyck, and I am a Grey Knight Captain in Red Deer Alberta. I also am da Big
GROTS Boss, as I run da GROTS – the Greater Red Deer Organization of
Tactical Silliness. And that’s where this month’s topic draws
inspiration – how to wear two hats.
Before I was a Grey Knight, I was running the GROTS in
Red Deer. The club has been around for more than three
years now, and has even been featured in White Dwarf (Canada
issue 2) – something both the GROTS and me are extremely
proud of. We also have the pride of being selected for
the Gaming Club Network. I suppose it was natural for one
of us to take on the role of Grey Knight in our community,
and I can remember the day I talked about it with Kieran
Dunleavy, then GW Trade Sales Rep for Western Canada (cue
the flashback music…).
Our club was very small at the time, perhaps around twenty
or so people. We all mostly knew each other from before
we became a club. We were a tight knit group. So when Kieran
talked about becoming a Grey Knight, I considered what
the commitment would mean to my ability to game. My personal
gaming season runs fall to late spring, and ends with the
warm weather in summer. Any loss of time would be noticed,
as I already was gaming just 9 months a year. However,
Kieran talked me into it, as the commitment isn’t
really that much, just a few events a year.
I entered the program as a Brother, I think mostly because
there were no Captains in my area, and after running a
huge number of events, made Justicar and then Captain in
quick order. I have travelled to Edmonton, Calgary and
Games Day Toronto to run events, and have brought on board
one of my club executive, Shane Fox (upcoming Grey Knight
editorial, December 2007), to be my initiate. He has now
made Brother and is running his own program.
Was the commitment too much? No. Events are voluntary,
with a commitment really to run just 4 in a year. I enjoy
the program so much, I often run 4 events in a month. A
Grey Knight event is possibly one of the most fun things
you will ever do. Imagine being responsible for bringing
in new players to the hobby, based on your storytelling
at the demonstration game, or watching a new painter take
their skills to a whole new level. And mega battles just
cannot be matched. Sure, you can do all these things outside
the Grey Knights program. But the program offers the support
of seasoned gamers like Craig Bodycote, Community Manager.
Have a problem or question? Craig is there. We also have
our own online group, and support each other.
And how does this benefit the club? Well, as Grey Knights,
we are tied in to the events that Games Workshop runs perhaps
tighter than most. I can plan club events much farther
in advance, and can make sure the club is playing games
that will be relevant, such as Warhammer Fantasy Battles
during the recent Battle of da Bosses campaign. Prior to
the campaign, we were warming up our dice and getting geared
up to make a difference.
Painting has always been the bane of the GROTS. We are
relatively, a new club, and with somewhere in the neighbourhood
of 80% of our members in the hobby less than two years,
many of our players lack fully painted armies. The solution?
Grey Knight introductory and advanced painting nights run
on a regular basis; tied in with the GROTS Bosses (our
fancy term for executive) regularly reviewing the armies
on the tables to see painting progress. I anticipate by
Fall of this coming year, our unpainted armies challenge
will be much, much, better.
Tournaments are a great way to get together for some more “serious” gaming,
and a Grey Knight at the Justicar level or higher can run
Hall of Heroes tournaments. At the GROTS I run our spring “War
Springs Eternal – Warhammer Fantasy Tournament” and
the end of gaming season “Doom in June – Warhammer
40,000 Tournament”. Also, with the recent demise
of Conflict, we will be doing something to replace the
event.
Are there sacrifices? Sometimes. I am not a terribly competitive
player, mostly because I sport the record for most games
lost, ever, so I don’t mind running the tournaments.
If ever I wanted to play in one, I am sure I could find
someone to run it, but at the moment it’s fine. I
rarely get to play in the mega-battles because I am running
them, and again that’s something I find entertaining.
The biggest sacrifice comes when running a demo game on
a Saturday, and not playing that day in the club proper.
But the benefit cannot be understated – many of our
newest club members have come from those demo games, gamers
who otherwise might not have joined in our hobby.
If you run a club, and don’t have a Grey Knight
in your area, why not consider the program? I have enjoyed
wearing two hats in my nearly two years as a Grey Knight,
while running da GROTS. You too can bring the program into
your gaming area, and all the benefits of being a Grey
Knight.
That’s it for this month’s editorial. If you
have questions, I can be reached at grots@shaw.ca.
Grant Dyck
Grey Knight Captain (Master of the Armoury)
