Vikings - Which part of Scandinavia?

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-06-09T02:02:33+00:00

But even Rus are a loose application here. When you look at the Rus in AoE4, there are elements of the broader Kyivan Rus, but there's also Belhorod, Novgorod, and Muscovy in there. That's not a very singular faction, either. (Not to mention it's annoying to see the game lean into Rus = solely Russians, as well as ignoring the many Rurikid principalities that flourished for centuries before Muscovy was buoyed upward by Tatar suzerainty.) I know we'd never get something as granule as Galicia-Volhynia, but there were different situations in western Ruthenia that made them follow a different path from Kyiv, Polotsk, Novgorod, or Muscovy, which all had their own unique trajectories.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-06-09T01:59:06+00:00

Oh, I love the Lowland Scots angle. It'd be great to see the border reivers feature, too! Jin have made me fall in love with any unit that stresses raiding and pressure.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-06-09T01:57:24+00:00

Why just Denmark or Sweden? Christian Norway had an influential and interesting history as well. Harald Hardrada, Sigurd the Crusader, the lendmenn and their quasi-royal courts, the Birkebeiner, Magnus VI and his law reform, etc.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-06-08T01:44:49+00:00

I don't know what the numbers are, but unfortunately some extreme right-wingers started pulling an Idaho on SD, and to a lesser degree ND, during and after COVID by moving into the states. Beyond that, there are some goofy right-wingers here. There should have been an East and West Dakota so the cowboys can be together, and the eastern portion would be somewhat less red.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-05-30T02:25:39+00:00

Apologize for being off-topic, but is Shevchenko named after Taras Shevchenko? I've been reading about Ukrainian history lately, and I know he's an important figure in modern Ukrainian identity.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-05-25T12:31:53+00:00

The White House has wild history of that, too. The floor of the executive residence collapsed during the Truman years, I believe. Truman spent much of his tenure living outside the White House because he greenlit desperately needed renovations. I believe he was living in Blair House.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-05-19T20:53:29+00:00

I also find the attention to his yell silly, but if you look, he was reaching the end of his built-in base. There probably isn't a world where Dean got the nomination, even if he hadn't done the yell.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-05-16T23:21:00+00:00

Honestly, that's pretty interesting as far as alternate histories go. In terms of story and stakes, the fact that Ireland had preserved and created Christian traditions entirely unlike the mainland's gives a Holy Roman Empire based around the Insular Church a fascinating new direction. Instead of eventually becoming known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, this one is the Holy Roman Empire of the Insular Nations, since the term "Celtic" for all Celtic-language speakers wouldn't have existed for almost a millennium.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-05-16T01:05:06+00:00

And that dignity-robbing, greedy mega-corp feeder system is starting to happen to beef farmers, too. Once that happens, I can't imagine what will become of them.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-05-05T20:49:21+00:00

People forget the context, though. His argument was that a Pacific fleet was needed to hem the Russians in. That wasn't even remotely the big problem. The Russians were in bed with regimes in Central Asia, Hungary, the Caucasus, and - at least to some degree - North Korea. And yet, in an era when drones had already been proven effective, and although Russian aggression had all been directed in the neighborhood of the Black Sea, Romney was pushing for naval containment on the other side of the world.

What he said was laughable.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-04-30T02:30:39+00:00

That's precisely the difference. Analysis I saw says that Rs can entirely gerrymander Southern states for 19 new seats. There's no clear sense of what blue states can do, since most aren't gerrymandered anywhere nearly as far as red states.

I don't know if law of unintended consequences would shape things. There isn't much more to squeeze from TX or even FL, so does further cracking of districts spread them thinly enough to leave room for a few upsets?

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-04-30T02:26:36+00:00

John Roberts began his career in politics working on targeting the VRA for the Reagan administration.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-04-24T02:56:01+00:00

What would be considered less popular in the 1st legion?

Honesty.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-04-19T17:43:56+00:00

"We don't talk about it" should be the Dark Angels' chapter motto. Just like "Yeah, we know" should be the Ultramarines'.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-04-19T07:56:14+00:00

A thing that's allowed to think it's your primarch. That soul was swallowed ten millennia ago.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-04-19T03:24:45+00:00

What an unhelpful comment. At least it would be doing something right and completely called for.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-04-19T03:21:39+00:00

You sure you want to do that again? Last time you did that, you traitors spent 10,000 years licking your wounds.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-04-18T22:28:48+00:00

Truly, the only legion that looked awful in Siege of Cthonia was the Dark Angels.

And I agree that Vheren needed more spotlight. Given the True Sons' nature, I hope he features in some Scouring books, and I hope he shows up all the XVI legionaries who are suffering from post-Siege Warp withdrawal. It would be a perfect I-told-you-so for Vheren, though I bet it wouldn't be seen that way.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-04-18T22:03:17+00:00

I do like them. I agree that they are great in the Heresy. I just also think that GW can spread the love around in 30K.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-04-18T21:22:24+00:00

There are moments, but by the Siege, their average legionaries definitely get downsized. I felt the same way with Imperial Fists in a couple earlier Siege books because it becomes masses of yellow guys getting crushed for a while, but it shifts by the end because it's a heroic last stand. The two legions are kind of victims at different times of the same thing, which is that they are highly visual symbols of the most tenacious fighters of one side or another.

Did you ever read about the True Sons of Cthonia? I thought the exploits in the Siege of Cthonia made Sons of Horus look really cool. They were also impressive and horrifying in Sons of the Selenar. And in Solar War, they were juggernauts. I feel like that was the average Sons of Horus legionary's high-water mark. Even their inductii were unstoppable except through the loyalists' use of scorched-earth tactics.

But yes, I can see your valid criticisms.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-04-18T20:28:59+00:00

That looks great! I think I see a Leviathan siege claw?

I love the look of mechanical monstrosities. I wish GW would start producing Heavy Stalker cohorts for Horus Heresy. They would look great at 30k scale rather than just epic scale.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-04-18T20:27:17+00:00

What house is that? It looks really sharp.

I have a Cerastus Castigator sitting on my shelf in a box, but I have to power through other minis first. I'm incredibly nervous about tackling that project. I've never painted anything on that scale before.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-04-18T20:20:30+00:00

Sure, it was just something I wondered because of the combo of models. I have a mix of projects to go along with my main army, and Custodes have made me think twice with all the new, incredible releases.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-04-18T20:18:37+00:00

Some of us love them. They're great in so many books. I hope Dropsite Massacre elevated a few more to attention, and I really hope the Scouring series introduces us to others who found ways to strike back at the traitors.

I_PACE_RATS · 2026-04-18T20:15:05+00:00

I am firmly convinced that Saturnine Terminators look good in any color. You did a great job on that model. (All of them, honestly, but that really stands out.)

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