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Some dudes wanted to compare Ghar to space orks earlier- Rick Ps thoughts:

The Ghar are only primitive in Antarean terms - I mean they use metal for goodness sake - held together with magnetic couplings - I mean to say! I think the Studio guys were very keen to not make them look 'orky' because they do share some characteristics in terms of inescapable brutality and single-mindedness - but the same could be said of Daleks of course - and the Ghar are quite 'Dalek-like' too in many ways. But no - there are no official colour schemes - and even if we develop them I'd like variation to be part of the backstory - so players can always choose a scheme to suit themselves.

So.. single minded warriors capable of inescapable brutality who have mastered metalworking and the science of magnetism who are less advanced than the very human looking empire(s) that are the big boys of the galaxy... and that is supposed to distinguish them from single minded orks who are also capable of extreme brutality (both within and without) who have also mastered metalworking (orks aren't particularly known for their carpentry skillz) and magnetism (tankbusta bombs, KFF, etc) who are less advanced than the imperioum? Sorry but that's about as different as apples (washington) and apples (golden delicious)... Now, please note that it doesn't mean they're identical (either visually or thematically) but the similarities and parallels between the two should be obvious. In the end, I don't really care except to correct the misconception that they're not somehow related thematically when you look beyond the superficial (they do admittedly look completely different).

If Rick Priestly wants his not-orks in Gates of the Imperi... Antares then he can have them just like Mantic can have their not-squats, not-eldar, not-skaven, and even more similar not-orks (mantic didn't even bother changing the look like Warlord did).

 warboss wrote:
So.. single minded warriors capable of inescapable brutality who have mastered metalworking and the science of magnetism who are less advanced than the very human looking empire(s) that are the big boys of the galaxy... and that is supposed to distinguish them from single minded orks who are also capable of extreme brutality (both within and without) who have also mastered metalworking (orks aren't particularly known for their carpentry skillz) and magnetism (tankbusta bombs, KFF, etc) who are less advanced than the imperioum? Sorry but that's about as different as apples (washington) and apples (golden delicious)... Now, please note that it doesn't mean they're identical (either visually or thematically) but the similarities and parallels between the two should be obvious. In the end, I don't really care except to correct the misconception that they're not somehow related thematically when you look beyond the superficial (they do admittedly look completely different).

If Rick Priestly wants his not-orks in Gates of the Imperi... Antares then he can have them just like Mantic can have their not-squats, not-eldar, not-skaven, and even more similar not-orks (mantic didn't even bother changing the look like Warlord did).

So to sum up they've borrowed some ideas from previous sources and then put their own spin on them and this is bad how? I mean I personally thought of them more as daleks than Orks (which are just orcs in space, and orcs gw certainly didn't invent). I'm just don't see what there is to cause such underwear bunching as seems to be going on.

It really isn't a big deal; my boxer briefs are definitely not bunched. I just find it odd (similar to the Mantic threads) when folks hear no similarily, hear no similarity, talk no similarity despite what is staring them in the face. As I said above,

If Rick Priestly wants his not-orks in Gates of the Imperi... Antares then he can have them

Just don't try to tell me there are three lights.

Ghar really aren't like orks. You can do a laundry list of orky traits and find similarities but the crucial thing is, orks have a sense of humor and fun. If Ghar were inspired by anything, it was certainly Daleks. It's hard to imagine Ghar not screaming EXTERMINATE! but I can't imagine Ghar speekin' anyfink in dis kinda lingo.

As far as I can see the only thing similar between Orks and Ghar (besides being 4 letter plurals) is them being warlike and being made to be warlike.

Yeah pretty much, they both were engineered to fight and nothing else and neither species can get past that. But you look any deeper and they share very little.

I must confess, I'm in love with the Ghar. Tachikoma Daleks, what else can be said?

Manchu wrote:
Yeah pretty much, they both were engineered to fight and nothing else and neither species can get past that. But you look any deeper and they share very little.

Yep yep yep. Also, the "engineered to fight" spin on Orks peaked on 3rd edition during 40k's brief but intense infatuation with the Old Ones, but has been downplayed on later codices as the Necron backstory changed.

Gameplay-wise, they remind me of early Tyranids: Hulking, high-value infantry backed by horde-ish elements.

I played Orks in 40K in the past. I simply cannot even force myself to feel that Ghars are same as Orks. Some similarities in traits may be.

 warboss wrote:
So.. single minded warriors capable of inescapable brutality who have mastered metalworking and the science of magnetism who are less advanced than the very human looking empire(s) that are the big boys of the galaxy... and that is supposed to distinguish them from single minded orks who are also capable of extreme brutality (both within and without) who have also mastered metalworking (orks aren't particularly known for their carpentry skillz) and magnetism (tankbusta bombs, KFF, etc) who are less advanced than the imperioum? Sorry but that's about as different as apples (washington) and apples (golden delicious)... Now, please note that it doesn't mean they're identical (either visually or thematically) but the similarities and parallels between the two should be obvious. In the end, I don't really care except to correct the misconception that they're not somehow related thematically when you look beyond the superficial (they do admittedly look completely different).

If Rick Priestly wants his not-orks in Gates of the Imperi... Antares then he can have them just like Mantic can have their not-squats, not-eldar, not-skaven, and even more similar not-orks (mantic didn't even bother changing the look like Warlord did).

I have to be honest, reading the background for the Ghar in the rulebook not once did I think of 'Orks'.

There are elements in the there (a race that has been created for destruction, lower technological level than their adversaries) but I think that is where that ends.
I've read about that sort of concept while reading sci-fi several times, most notably in Iain M Banks Consider Phlebas, where the main protagonists are the Idiran Empire; they wear giant suits of armour, have a war culture that is directed by their military (which compensates for their lower tech level) and even have three legs - I would say that has much more of an influence than Orks, although ultimately this kind of concept is always going to draw inspiration from somewhere.

And to say that they are on a par with Mantic's (quite deliberate) copies of Orks, Skaven, Eldar etc. I think is stretching things a bit far..

Talking of Ghar, today's top tip for tight-fisted gamers...

The spare Ghar heads will make excellent drones, and there are 12 left over. Fill in the attachment hole at the back and/or paint it as a small thruster.

Assembled everything last night - nice models, go together fairly easily. Plastic cement makes repositioning the Ghar tripod legs pretty straightforward; Concord arms are tiny but involved only slightly more than the usual amount of swearing to get everything attached.

 warboss wrote:
So.. single minded warriors capable of inescapable brutality who have mastered metalworking and the science of magnetism who are less advanced than the very human looking empire(s) that are the big boys of the galaxy... and that is supposed to distinguish them

Honestly it doesn't have to distinguish them. This is an entirely new game with new background, story, and tech that doesn't have space orcs in it. 40k players like to look at other games and write off certain factions as 'Oh thats so ORKY' or 'those are the space marines'! but it is entirely unnecessary. (the worst time being when I painted up my Resistance for DZC and the first thing people said was "ORK", even though they're clearly influenced by Mad Max).

The Ghar WERE human at one point, just like the other races present. They don't believe in magic, they don't have gods, they don't talk like morons, they don't use ramshackle technology that is held together by teeth, they don't use horde tactics, etc.etc.etc.etc.

A nice little article up on the Warlord site about area terrain:

http://www.warlordgames.com/beyond-the-gates-of-antares-area-terrain?utm_source=Beyond+the+Gates+of+Antares&utm_campaign=dfc9addf2b-IMTel_update_19111511_19_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1b8ffaade4-dfc9addf2b-160767717

Also:

"For everyone preparing their battlefields we have more good news – tomorrow sees the launch of our first Antares terrain sets from Sarissa Precision. So don’t miss the newsletter!".

 mugginns wrote:
Honestly it doesn't have to distinguish them. This is an entirely new game with new background, story, and tech that doesn't have space orcs in it. 40k players like to look at other games and write off certain factions as 'Oh thats so ORKY' or 'those are the space marines'! but it is entirely unnecessary.

Funny considering 40k is basically Dune mashed up with Moorcock, 2000AD and pretty much any other SF the authors liked. Just remind them that their Sardaukar and their God-Emperor of Mankind are not as interesting as the originals, nor their Chaos Warlocks and Terminators...

 Swastakowey wrote:
As far as I can see the only thing similar between Orks and Ghar (besides being 4 letter plurals) is them being warlike and being made to be warlike.

But it's so much more fun to invent your own convenient narrative

right guys

Sarissa do great stuff, will be interesting to see what tomorrow brings.

 RobertsMinis wrote:
Sarissa do great stuff, will be interesting to see what tomorrow brings.

I have seen them - the barricades and barriers are awesome. The Orbital Transmat is way cooler than the pre-launch freebie. However I don't like the generic buildings that much to be honest.

Momotaro wrote:
Talking of Ghar, today's top tip for tight-fisted gamers...

The spare Ghar heads will make excellent drones, and there are 12 left over. Fill in the attachment hole at the back and/or paint it as a small thruster.

Assembled everything last night - nice models, go together fairly easily. Plastic cement makes repositioning the Ghar tripod legs pretty straightforward; Concord arms are tiny but involved only slightly more than the usual amount of swearing to get everything attached.

You're speaking my language.

 judgedoug wrote:

 Swastakowey wrote:
As far as I can see the only thing similar between Orks and Ghar (besides being 4 letter plurals) is them being warlike and being made to be warlike.

But it's so much more fun to invent your own convenient narrative

right guys

You should tell Rick Priestly then to change his go-to points about the Ghar that he posted in his video on the warlord page then because his own convenient narrative borrowed quite liberally from rogue trader orks. He's the one who when asked to describe the ghar chose to focus on saying they're genetically engineered warriors wielding relative primitive weapons with little regard for their own safety from a time long past whose original masters have long since disappeared but the slaves continue to fight as that is "their way"... which pretty much described what he and his fellow GW employees created as the backstory for the orks 30 years earlier. Do they look different? Absolutely (unlike Mantic's Orx which I stated before). Do they lack a sense of humor? Sure.. but relative primitive brutality is what I consider the orks defining feature in 40k and not their lower class Victorian english accents and quirky sense of humor. Are there differences in the backstory? I'm sure there are once you delve deeper but my point is that when questioned the creator of GOA chose to stress the parts of the backstory that pretty much were the same his previous creation. That was his choice when asked about Ghar, not mine. I'm just repeating them.

In any case, it's a bit of a derail at this point (especially since some folks' browsers apparently replace words like "similar" and "similarity" with "exactly the same in all facets") so I won't personally belabor the point further. Feel free to get in the last convenient narrative word.

You are seriously missing the forest for the trees. Let me put it this way, if you were trying to explain Ghar to someone who knew nothing about Antares, comparing them to orks (as opposed to contrasting them to orks) would give that person the totally wrong idea.

People just wanna see 40K in EVERYTHING. Their choice.

BOLS put up a flip through / review of the main rulebook.

If this isn't cool I can delete it, but NWS Online posted the Ghar and Concord starters for $47.39. Likely the best place in the USA to get a cheap starter. Pretty insane price, $1.15 per model.

 mugginns wrote:
If this isn't cool I can delete it, but NWS Online posted the Ghar and Concord starters for $47.39. Likely the best place in the USA to get a cheap starter. Pretty insane price, $1.15 per model.

Nice find!

Wow, that's a ridiculous price.

Nothing even close to that in the UK, think the cheapest I have found them here is about £45..

That's a tempting offer indeed!

Momotaro wrote:
The spare Ghar heads will make excellent drones, and there are 12 left over. Fill in the attachment hole at the back and/or paint it as a small thruster.

Thought about this too, the spare heads in the starter set allow for three additional units with ~20 points each. Some plastic card, 25mm bases and clear poles is all you need.

The BOLS video is quite good

That is a great deal, would snap that up over here in the UK.

A little preview of one of the Sarissa buildings has been posted on the facebook group:

I like that

New army deals up for Boromites, Algoryn and Freeborn £75 or $120, they save from £37 to £48 UK on retail prices:

http://store.warlordgames.com/collections/antares-army-deals







Also the scenery is up:

http://store.warlordgames.com/collections/beyond-the-gates-of-antares-terrain

Aha, new Army Deals. That's what I was waiting for. Now I need to know how the factions play :-)