WAR: Age of Reckoning Belt Buckle

As I'd mentioned yesterday,there was one more oddity in my collection that I wanted to showcase before I move onto some other collections (I've still got more WAR:Age of Reckoning items, but I will post those at a later date).

100% pewter casting for the buckle. No signs of it ever having been used.

This is one that I've been trying to find out the origins of, since I managed to pick this up from someone that had at one point worked for Mythic/EA. According to the story I was told about this, it was part of a group of objects that had been found a year or so ago, that had been left behind in a box near an empty desk when one of the people had left the company over the downsizing of the servers for the online game.

I personally had my doubts on the veracity of the story to a huge degree, but I have heard of rapid turnovers and sometimes bad blood causing abrupt dismissals/leavings in some video game studios.

It came to me in a simple white unmarked box with a bit of padding inside.

Steel belt D-ring and belt hook are the only non pewter parts on the buckle.

I know that because of the history of some other items that I have in my collections, that this could have been a gift to the development team early on, as this has a stamp on the back that states GW (Games Workshop) 2007, and if for some reason this is some wild fan creation buckle, it's extremely well made.

Now, the game itself was not released until September 18, 2008. By what we see here above and on the left below, this was made in 2007. That leads me to believe, including some weeks of trying to reach out to former Mythic employees, and asking around on a few forums, that this was not an item that was for anything but internal awarding. 

(Left) Close up of the copyright details and possibly where it was manufactured. (Right) Scale comparison of the Epic RavenHost Stein, the WAR Launch Party Stein, and the WAR Belt Buckle.

Hopefully, someone will step forward and fill in the holes in the history of this nifty little item. Warhammer Online is one of those games that in years to come, people will look back upon with a mix of fondness and frustration, and will be one not soon forgotten. For me, it's already achieving that level of legend that perhaps ranks with Sega's Shenmue.

But then again, I have been following the history of this game since it's first inception way back when the developers at Climax Studios and SEGA had the IP. History has a way of repeating itself as SEGA once again has access to publish Warhammer Fantasy games.

But that will be something I will delve into at a later date...

Thanks for reading! Take care of the loves in your life, support your local artists, promote the well being of history, never forget the Library of Alexandria, and I'll see you next time!

-Mario, the Rogue Hobbyist  

Stats	Rating/Information
Item	WAR: Age of Reckoning Belt Buckle
Made by	Games Workshop
Rarity	Rare/Unique? (I have only ever seen this one.)
Classification	Modern
Condition	Mint Condition - Never used.
Procured	Kansas City
Worth	No idea.
Investment	$50
Further Research	-n/a-
Trivia & Fun Facts	"And now, hopefully, because this may be the last thing I ever write about Warhammer, I’ll be allowed to acknowledge the existence of Chaos Dwarves. Or maybe not. - Carrie Gouskos, Director of Studio Operations at Mythic"

WAR: Age of Reckoning Ravenhost Stein

These steins are handcrafted in the Old-World style with fine-grain stoneware by the world-renowned stein artisans of Ceramarte, our limited-production steins feature panoramic, bas-relief sculpting of exclusive artwork by top Warhammer visionary, Eric Polak. Each exquisite stein stands over 10" tall (25.4cm), weighs a hefty 3 lbs. (1.36kg.), and is topped with a sculpted pewter lid, or for those that want a rarer treasure, a limited signed version topped with an 18K gold lid. 

Two initial designs, one for the Empire and one for the RavenHost debuted what could have led to a very awesome line of stoneware covering many of the other factions that were in the game (and some like Chaos Dwarves which only recently have been hinted to had Age of Reckoning gone on longer...)

This stein is a monster of a collectible. And its grotesque beauty is something to really behold. I had been in search of any version of this for quite some time, and was lucky enough to come across one in an odd set of circumstances.

Colors are rich, details profound and striking. The pewter lid is not as nice of a casting as the 18K ones I have seen in person, but does have a good quality of detail to it.

The first time I held one of these, I was astounded by the even weight and the sturdiness. Filled with liquid (yes, I drank from it after participating in a City Siege) it is very heavy, but easy to drink out of. And of course, NOT dishwasher friendly.

Details, details, details... I only noticed recently that the "unarmoured" areas on the body of the stein appear to represent being made up of stitched and flayed flesh.

The lid has some nice decorative skulls and a Chaos emblem on the thumb lever, while the center of the cap has a nice embossed WAR symbol on it.

The bottom of the standard edition shows the legal and creative information on it, but lacks the signature of Eric Polak that is on the gold lidded versions.

I played Dark Elves almost exclusively when I was in game, and I do have to say that both versions, the Empire and the RavenHost ones were nicely done. But it would have been really nice to see what kind of design would have eventually ever been made for the Dark Elves. 

As luck would have it, a little digging unearthed these images of the initial prototypes and only known public photos of the Dwarven Oathbearers Stein and the Orc Stein.

(Left) Side detail of the Oathbearers Stein. Really love the look of this one, particularly the handle. (Right) Orc Stein featuring familiar greenskin motifs and some brutal themed graphics. These two were both cancelled some month after being announced, and from all I can find out, just these two prototypes exist.

 

The 18K Gold version is quite frankly, amazing looking and just that extra touch of precious metal gives the designs something that is just so much more intense.

Overall, any of these beauties from TavernCraft are amazing additions to the collections of fans of Warhammer Fantasy, and especially those who played Warhammer Online.

Up next in this trilogy of rare items from Warhammer Online, is one that at first I thought was a fan made creation, but the person whom I managed to get it from said it was one of the rarer and more low key items that belonged (probably not unlike the Launch Party Stein) to a few of the members of Mythic, developers of Age of Reckoning.

Thanks for reading! Take care of the loves in your life, promote the well being of history, never forget the Library of Alexandria, and I'll see you next time!

-Mario, the Rogue Hobbyist  

Stats	Rating/Information
Item	WAR: Age of Reckoning Ravenhost Stein
Made by	Taverncraft
Rarity	Rare (Ultra Rare "Legendary" version has gold lid, and only 500 made of each)
Classification	Modern - Release in limited numbers in 2010
Condition	Mint Condition - Never used.
Procured	Kansas City
Worth	$120 to $500 (depending on version)
Investment	$25
Further Research	-n/a-
Trivia & Fun Facts	While playing the MMORPG WAR, a player code enter the provided code with this tankard and get a coveted gift from the great hall of the Warlord Tchar'zanek. Drinking from this stein will grant a +15% bonus to Experience, Renown, and Influence for 120 minutes.

WAR: Age of Reckoning Launch Party Stein - Black Variant

Warhammer Online shut down this past year, and with it, left a bunch of memories for what was often a debated, fan loved and hated, amazing and at times disappointing MMORPG. I was a fan from the beginning, but didn't start playing until well into the middle of it's time online.

I will have a review in the future covering the Collector's Edition release and more on WAR: Age of Reckoning, but for now, I have a few rarities that I've managed over the years to locate. This particular item is one that has started showing up in some collector circles.

Detail of the Emblem

There were evidently two variants of this mug that were available at the WAR launch party. This one is of course the black variant, and there was also a dark red one. 

The Emblem is identical on both sides of the stein.

The stein or I guess it's closer to a giant mug, is very well made, heavy, and simple in it's overall design and look, but I'm a fan of that. The glaze is almost a weird oily leather look to it, very rich in color.

No manufacturer is labeled on the bottom, only a stamp that states it was made here in the United States.

I've only started researching into these steins as from all I can gather, not too much is readily known amongst those that I have contacted so far, and many times they think I am referring to the incredible ones that were made by Taverncraft (of which I will be reviewing the Ravenhost variant in my next blog post).

So if any of you have information you'd like to add, feel free to leave a comment below or contact me at mario (at) mariomora (dot) net. Thanks for reading! Take care of the things in your life, promote the well being of history, never forget the Library of Alexandria, and I'll see you next time!

-Mario, the Rogue Hobbyist  

Stats	Rating/Information
Item	WAR: Age of Reckoning Launch Party Stein
Made by	Unknown
Rarity	Uncommon - Unknown numbers made of two variant colors.
Classification	Modern
Condition	Excellent
Procured	Delaware
Worth	Unknown
Investment	$20
Further Research	-n/a-
Trivia & Fun Facts	Coming Soon.