VOICE ACTOR INTERVIEW: Assassins Creed: Black Flag: Charles Vane: Ralph Ineson - Ubisoft

With Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag, having been recently rereleased with updates, I thought it would be good fun to bring the interview I conducted with one of the voice actors, Ralph Ineson as a feature on this site.  

Here he chats about vocal acting vs stage acting and we hope that you enjoy this special feature, due to the age of the interview some of the information such as amount of films/tv shows he's been involved in will have changed:

Hello, my name's Ralph Ineson, I'm an actor. I've worked on ninety odd films and TV shows over the last 20 years, I'm a character actor, and in the words of the late Richard Griffiths as Uncle Monty Withnail "I shall never play the Dane". As a jobbing character actor I'm always looking for new work, I have distinctive voice which has lead me into voice over work over the last few years, but until this year I had not had the chance to work on video games. Actually I'm lying, I did appear as Amycus Carrow in a Harry Potter game, but that only required a two hour voice recording session as the facial/body scanning was done during the filming of the movies. Having auditioned in London twice, I was cast as the pirate Charles Vane, the audition process being much the same as for a film or TV show. In fact, to guard against any snobbery towards the project being 'just a game', Agents were told that the project was a TV series. I however have an old mate who just happens to work at Ubisoft in Montreal who tipped me off that I was someone they were interested in and filled me in on the details (not what you know etc.). To be honest, the thought of motion capture filming had never really done it for me, I was excited to be trying something new, but I'd always imagined the work to be incredibly detached and over technical with little opportunity to actually 'act'.

The process of creating a game on the scale of Assassins Creed 4 Black Flag is mind boggling, Ubisoft studios from Singapore to Sophia all combined to create an amazing world; the cinematics of the game were all recorded at Ubisoft's state of the art motion capture studios in Montreal. These cinematics were not shot continuously as would be the case with a film, with mo-cap the schedule seemed to revolve around a week’s recording followed by 2weeks of working with that technical data. This meant I had four trips to Montreal over 3 months. A typical week would involve a day’s rehearsal at the main Ubisoft studio with lead writer Darby McEvitt and cinematics director Kama Dunsmore, followed by 3 days recording in the mo-cap studio. During the rehearsal day we would work through the script and block out the scenes to be recorded, we also had the chance to play the game which meant we could go to the tavern we were about to record a scene in, look around, make a mental note of the view that the character is looking at when doing a certain scene etc.

On recording days we'd start with the suiting up, a strange process where you squeeze into a skin-tight Lycra suit and stand there for about 15mins whilst 3 French speaking animation technicians buzz around you attaching 50 Velcro patches to very specific points on the body to hold the malteser sized white balls that are picked up by the mo-cap cameras. It's an odd experience, like a knight being dressed in armour by his pages, but quite a useful one when you're getting into character for a pirate captain. Next step is the head cam, I have an unusually wide head so this was not my favourite part of the process, the technology for head cams is still in its infancy really so there are not that many available and unfortunately none to fit my outsized cranium. The upshot of this is that I'd spend most of the day with my temples crushed, not ideal but handy character help when playing a permanently angry psychopath like Charles Vane. The head cams would be calibrated and matched up with a matrix of black dots applied to the face (it's a good look). The last part of the pre shoot process is the range of movement test or ROM, another strange and ever so slightly humiliating part where you perform a set routine of movements for the animation software to register.

Now to record, the studio itself is small compared to a sound stage at a movie studio, about the size of a basketball court with 50 motion capture cameras around the walls, it has a badminton court sized rectangle marked on the floor within which we record. It's at this point that mo-cap filming gets interesting for an actor, if you were shooting a scene for a film you would set up multiple shots (wide shot, 2shot,various close ups etc.) and in all probability do multiple takes of those shots. In all of those the actor has to match his performance for continuity, to make sure that he picks up the glass on the same word of the line each take for example. This technical side can often feel like a compromise on film, something that inevitably gets between you and really inhabiting the character you're playing, the way mo-cap works is different. Because all 50 cameras are recording, the Director can take whatever shot they like from the one take without having to edit from different takes, this gives an extra freedom to the actor. The way you can let go, throw yourself into a scene fully without having to think about focus marks, lighting etc. is quite exhilarating and particularly great for me playing Vane with his screaming and howling at the moon. There's something reminiscent of theatre performance about it all.

My first proper taste of working on Video games has been a fascinating experience, there's much more to motion capture than I'd imagined and I hope it's an area I get to do more work in. I hope you all enjoy the world of the Golden age of piracy we've created, there are fantastic performances from Matt Ryan as Edward Kenway, Mark Bonnar as Blackbeard and many more, the writing is superb and the look of the game is just stunning.

Ralph

ROUND UP NEWS: July 6th - 12th July 2026 - Various

Hail Mighty Readers and Followers of the Luck Gods Math Rocks,

To make sure we carry as much as we can, at the end of each week we have a weekly round up for people to find out about other items that haven't made a main article on the site, here is this weeks...

In Malediction news:

"A growing Malediction community needs more than one kind of table. Local stores give players a place to return. Conventions give them a stage, a meeting point, and a chance to test what they have built in front of a wider scene.

At Lone Star Open 2026, Herald Allen Stelly is helping bring Malediction into one of those spaces.

“Players can expect four games of exciting Seeker on Seeker carnage! Everyone will walk away with some form or prize; no one goes home empty-handed. Being a Herald is exciting; while I enjoy the game itself, the community is why I am a Herald - I love meeting new people, and being a Herald enables me to do that”, said Allen.

Events like LSO give Malediction a public place to be discovered, played, and tested. Every organized event becomes a chance for players to meet, learn, compete, and carry the world of Selejia into a new room.

Join us at Lone Star Open and put your warband on the table. Or, if you want to help create more opportunities like this in your own community, become a Herald and help bring Malediction to new players, stores, and events.

The event will feature a Malediction Standard Mode 1V1 Tournament using the published organized play ruleset. Players will bring their warbands, decks, and side decks, with painted miniatures and 3D terrain encouraged but not required. The format is built to keep the tournament organized while making the path into competitive play clear for players ready to put their warbands on the table.

For Allen, the work of a Herald goes beyond running matches. It means helping players gather, learn, compete, and find a community around the game.

Across the events recorded at Mana Vault, 16 Malediction sessions have already been held, with Heralds including Jason Norman, Migual Mahr, and Patrick helping bring the game to the table. Together, they show what happens when a local store becomes a true community anchor: demos become free play, free play becomes players, and players become the foundation of a scene.

That relationship matters. Stores give players a reliable place to gather. Heralds bring the timing, teaching, and table presence needed to make those gatherings repeatable. When both sides work together, Malediction gains something stronger than a single event. It gains a local home.

For Jeffrey Ackerman, owner and operator of Mana Vault Game Shop, Malediction fits naturally into the kind of community his store is building.

“As an avid tabletop and TCG player, I’m always looking for games that bring players together in fresh ways. Malediction felt like the perfect evolution for our shop, blending strategy, creativity, and community in a way that fits exactly what we’re building at Mana Vault.”

Want to help build a strong Malediction community at your local game store, just like our Heralds and the Mana Vault team are doing in Utah? Become a Herald and help bring more players to the table where you live.

Missed the IronAndy Learn-to-Play?

IronAndy Studios recently brought Malediction to Twitch with Herald Matt, also known as Nergil, helping guide a live learn-to-play using the Two Player Starter Box. If you missed it live, the replay is a clear way to see how new players enter the game, how the starter experience flows, and how Heralds help their community to grow.

The timing is also perfect for anyone ready to start playing. The Two Player Starter Boxes are part of the current Loot Studios Anniversary deals, making this a good moment to watch the game taught, choose your side, and bring your first match to the table.  (Go here to watch how it unfolds.)

Lore Update

Finally for Malediction you can go here to see the latest news on Lore Updates.

This one here is for The Seven Rites, and this other one is for The Rite of Honour.

In a new update from Dwarven Forge:

"The Pledge Manager for Caverns Reforged is live, and will be running through August 19th! Whether you backed the campaign or not, you can grab anything in the collection and take advantage of Stretch Pay to split it up into fourth monthly installments with no interest or fees.

We've added a few things based on our backer feedback: new compositions for the Caverns Risers and Short LED Walls, as well as offering the Mine Entrance Door and Cave-In Rubble Wall as individual pieces. We also included some out-of-stock store sets like the Natural Bridge and Dock Pack.

We're over the moon with how well the campaign performed, and it's wonderful to see our Caverns line so fully-featured thanks to your support. If you've been pondering dipping a toe into this biome, we hope you'll join us!

As always, if you have any questions you can reach out to us on social media, or join the conversation on the forums or discord."

More news as we get it

Today, we're proud to bring an unpate from our friends at Converge Games for their kickstarter for "The Mad Kings Ire" which has now hit over 250% of its funding goal.  They had this to say:

"We are so grateful for everyone's support so far, and to you all for following along on our adventure!

We are also about to unlock our next Stretch Goal Premium Token Trays - make your game that much easier to get playing with this game organiser upgrade. This stretch goal was voted for by our backer community.

Our current stretch goal vote is still going but will close soon, and helps us determine our final stretch goal order!

We've had so much fun running our community story vote system and you can back now to get involved!"

More news as we get it,

ThunderMouser

WeirdCo went crazy at Anime Expo demoing Cyberpunk TCG to more than 2500 people, and speaking to thousands more. If you want to catch up with them and learn the fab game before its Worldwide Release on 6th November 2026, you can catch them at the following Conventions:

Japan Expo 2026 - Paris - 9-12 July

Gen Con Indianapolis - Indiana - 30 July - 2 August

Spiel Essen- Essen, Germany - 22-25 October

In other news from Cyberpunk TCG:

"We’re approaching an important Kickstarter milestone. On July 17th, all Backerkit surveys will be locked and charged. This means that you’ll no longer be able to make changes to your address or order after this date. We will also no longer be able to issue refunds.

Regarding addresses, if you are set to receive products as part of our first fulfillment wave, please plan for this to arrive during the first two weeks of September. So, if your address is going to change between now and then, you will need to provide us with your new expected address via Backerkit before July 17th.

If your survey is still incomplete when it locks on July 17th, you will forfeit express wave one shipping, and your entire order will be shipped as part of our second fulfillment wave, provided that you complete your survey before the wave two deadline.

If you have not received your Backerkit survey by email yet, please reach out to our team through Kickstarter so that we can help you fill in your details before July 17th."

In addition to this, Cree "Kawa" Gunning and Paweł Burza in this weeks podcast are looking at the latest card reveals head at what you can expect at the Anime Expo and whats next for the demo decks.  You can view this here.

For more information join the Official Discord and have the latest sent to your implants.

Hail Mighty Readers and Followers of the Luck Gods Math Rocks,

Warlord Games Konflikt 47 has put up a post in regard to the future releases coming for the Game in particular which mini's are going to move from metal/resin to plastic for the rest of 2026.

To read more about this please go here.

More news as we get it,

ThunderMouser

Once again, we wanted to thank Ramona, the designer of the beautiful page break we've been using.  You can follow her here on Bluesky and enjoy many of her art pieces or here is her website where you can also request commissions.

NEWS: Warmachine Pre-order Bonus if you order Dusk Fane of Nyro Army - Steamforged Games

Hail Mighty Readers and Followers of the Luck Gods Rocks,

Steamforged Games have a pretty fab offer on one of their Pre-orders for Warmachine.

If you're looking at pre-ordering the Dusk Fane of Nyro Army - Death Whisper (released on the 28th July 2026), it comes with a pre-order bonus, a Fane Stalker Variant, for free.  

More updates as we get them,

All the best,

ThunderMouser

LATEST NEWS: Conquest: FIrst Blood: How to pick your Army - Para Bellum Games

OK, you've been seeing the name Para Bellum Games and know that they have two fab games out that use the same miniatures, Conquest: Last Argument of Kings and Conquest: First Blood but you have no idea where to start.  Well you've come to the right post to direct you to the right place.  Our blog friends, Jacob and Joel Rasmussen (who we had the pleasure to interview a few weeks ago.), have created a guide on where to start.  You can read it here.

If you want a brief overview of how to play, you can catch up with Leo in the video below:

More news as we get it,

ThunderMouser

NEWS: Tuesdays Pre-orders for Warmachine and Wednesday Madness - Steamforged Games

Hail Mighty Readers and Followers of the Luck Gods Rocks,

Steamforged Games are bringing some extra good stuff for Warmachine's  Pre-order today.

Whilst the key release, is The Mind Thief (available to pre-order from Warmachine here.)

Lazy soldiers would do well to stay sharp when watch fires burn low, lest the Mind Thief come at night. When a mercenary takes payment in the form of live prisoners, it’s no wonder they struggle to find welcome almost anywhere in the Iron Kingdoms — with a few notable exceptions. For example, the Mind Thief’s comfort with underground warrens, a product of its cephalyx origins, proved most useful in seeking out Orgoth’s entombed Deathless. 

This set contains the unsettling mercenary, the Mind Thief, to build, paint, and play. Deploy them in your Cryx Necrofactorium, Orgoth Sea Raiders, Orgoth Reaper Covenant, or Dark Operations army*.

The Mind Thief doesn’t discriminate between friend or foe when it comes to drawing power during battle. Distasteful to some, tactically versatile to others, and indisputably terrifying, in true cephalyx style. 

Constance Blaize and Gallant

Alongside Constance Blaize and Gallant whom you can either pre-order here or if you are an annual subscriber to the Warmachine App, you can get for free by following these steps.

Download the Warmachine app and create your account

Purchase an annual subscription

Get your unique reward code* (currently that is either for Constance and Gallant or Exulon Nostilla & Aberration)

Follow the link to the subscription reward models

Add your chosen model set to your basket (and anything else you fancy)

Enter your reward code at checkout to claim your reward (with free shipping!)

Finally there's Journeyman and Ramhead

Big armour and even bigger guns. 

The Journeyman & Ramhead are bringing sheer backbone and raw power to the Southern Kriels Kithguard, courtesy of trollkin ingenuity and enough firepower to flatten just about anything standing in their way.

The Journeyman keeps the Ramhead fuelled with focus while the super heavy tears through infantry, monsters, and warjacks alike. If your battle plan involves hitting the enemy exceptionally hard, you'll want these two.

Want a closer look? Read the rules preview and pre-order yours today here.

BREAKING NEWS:

As part of the June mid-year balance update, Cryx players already got a glimpse of what's coming next. Get the first look at the upcoming Mechanithrall Swarm Warden, direct from Mat Hart’s painting desk!

Coming to pre-order next week, the Warden brings valuable support to Mechanithrall Swarms and opens up new options for Necrofactorium players.

Officially licensed Fane of Nyrro accessories are now available to pre-order from Baron of Dice, including premium resin dice, combat gauges, tape measures, and a stylish storage box to keep your gaming essentials organised. 

Whether you're measuring for Shadow Shift or rolling for a crucial attack, you'll be doing it in true eldritch style.

More updates as we get them,

All the best,

ThunderMouser

NEWS: Duncan Rhodes puts together test miniature of Sir Coates - Death Reaper Miniatures

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Duncan Rhodes, from his painting academy fame, has recently put together a test miniature for the forthcoming Death Reaper Miniatures, with the key figure being Sir Coates.  which from the look of the video is a really clean crisp print.  We can't wait to see what is going to be coming from this company and are eagerly awaiting each post to make sure that we're fully up to date.  To watch the new video we've lnked it below, and here is a link to Death Reaper Games own YT channel so you'll never be out the loop again...  To keep up to date sign up here for their newsletter.

All the best,

ThunderMouser

KICKSTARTER: Pirate Borg: Boarding Party Summer: From the Depths Below - LIMITHRON

One of the games that grabbed our attention at UKGE was Pirate Borg with the deliciously dark and tempting supplement "From the Depths Below" (which hits kickstarter today as part of Limithron's Boarding Party Campaign which is three campaigns together (the other two being: Westfalia's Pirate Borg Miniatures and Limithron's Pirate Map Collection.)  We were lucky enough to grab a bit of time with Will, creator of "From the Depths Below," and as we can't wait to dive into our own supernatural adventures on the seven sea's we just had to find out a bit more about this title as well as about Will themselves...

Totally Pawsome:  As a creator of From the Depth's Below, what inspired you to design it and with it coming to Kickstarter what do you feel it brings to a table that will have people falling in love with the setting?

Will RD:  Creating different settings for Forbidden Psalm has always been the goal so that people can play whatever setting that they like the most. Pirates was one that I got asked about a lot and when I started chatting with Limithron last year it all fell into place. It was a no brainer and soon as I started the project it flowed so easily. Making a game that was both fun to play, silly and horror themed all at the same time was such a blast to do.  

TP:  What would you say is the best selling point of your expansion and what does it have in common with your other releases?

WRD:  As a stand alone game it offers everything a player needs to get playing. If you've played Forbidden Psalm before there is a whole new campaign, ship to ship combat, pirate captains and so much more. If your new to Forbidden Psalm there has never been a better time to get involved. This game adds everything you need with no other books required to play. With the Pirate Maps by Limithron, miniatures by Westfalia you can get everything you need to play From the Depths Below. If you like skirmish wargames, narrative games and random tables this might be a game for you. The game is still based off of the core rules of Forbidden Psalm, so its easy to pick and learn and the award winning game design is still in place. But now you get to add a whole manner of madness and fun to your games. New monsters, weapons, a full narrative campaign and pirate captain hats. 

TP:  Within From the Depths below do you have a favourite character that you designed and why?

WRD:  I think that less a character and more a piece of equipment haha. So each captain has a pirate captains hat and my favourite is the living octopus hat that either gives you or your opponent benefits in combat depending how the octopus feels. I am also fond of the Deep Sea Corpse Collector a shark variant of the same creature from Forbidden psalm. 

TP:  How do you see From the Depths below developing the Pirate Borg setting and what can you tell us anything about future products?

WRD:  From the Depths below adds a whole narrative campaign to Pirate Borg that offers a detailed story of stopping a cosmic horror from beneath the waves. It adds monsters and new weapons to the RPG but also stands as its own skirmish wargame. So if people are RPG players or more into miniatures there is something here for them. It can also be run along side the TTRPG to add more tactical combat to games of Pirate Borg. Future projects end of this year there is a redesigned edition of Last War coming with all new art and layout [core rules have not changed] and a full expansion called into the Dead Woods! 

TP:  When you created the book what were the key things you wanted to include and why?

WRD:  Unlike in other Forbidden Psalm games where you do not have a leader in the same way I wanted the pirate captains to be a major feature and so crew creation is very much centred around who your captain is and what class they belong to. I also wanted ship to ship combat as felt that it would not be a pirate game without the ability to fire cannons at each other and NPCs. 

TP:  Who do you think would love to play your Pirate Borg and why?

WRD:  If you like roleplay games that take no time to learn and get you right into the game Pirate Borg is for you. Pirate borg is the perfect blend of the OSR philosophy and silly fun. If you like pirates you should check it out.  

TP:  Where do you see your TTRPG writing career taking you in 5 years?

WRD:  Honestly no idea, when I set out to make games 6 years ago I did not predict it would be my full time career. so now that it is I guess I hope that remains the same and I keep making things people like. Failing that I might become a hermit or live in the woods somewhere. Lately I have been doing more and more of my own art tho and that has been a blast to do.  

TP:  If budget was not a problem and you had an infinite fund to call upon, what do you think you'd like to develop and bring to the fore?

WRD:  I would love to convert Forbidden Psalm and its family of games into turn based combat video games if budget was no option. Another dream of mine is to create a big art book based off of my roleplay groups game that has been going for around 20 years now. The word and setting have been shaped by players and I would love to see that realised. 

TP:  Who do you admire in the Independent TTRPG writing space and why?

WRD:  For me it is the authenticity of it all. You see people making art, sure to make money and live but mostly because they feel driven to create weird, wonderful and inspiring worlds and games. The refusal to give into AI, to 'sell out' and to make things people want to see made. Speaking with other creators and seeing people so passionate about games regardless of who will play them is a joy. I want to be clear I also see value in the mass produced TTRPGs as well. It's like some people want that mass produced food and others want a home cooked meal. Both can fill you up but they come from a different place and offer different experiences. 

TP:  What got you into TTRPG's in the first place?

WRD:  I was the typical nerdy kid, bullied and too shy to do other things. Meeting other people that wanted to play games is what got me into them back when I was 14. What has kept me is the way the way in which RPG players come together to undertake a ritual of storytelling collectively, that is as old as mankind. 

For more on this campaign, keep up to date with us alongside others in this Summer of Boarding Fun as we prepare to hoist the mainsail and keep those scabrous dogs in order...

Thank you,

ThunderMouser