Wednesday, September 28, 2016

RECRUITs: the download

It's the week after, and I'm still exhausted. Well, not so exhausted that I won't be hosting our weekly Thursday night game, but tired.
Thanks to a whole lot of prep work by the Baroness, things at the vendor booth went smoothly. Thanks to CluckAmok and Lead Addict, the games went smoothly.








All the games I ran, have mentally run together, but they all ended with last minute victories and comic timing. Judging by the laughter coming from the other tables, I think they went well too.
I have to sit down with Lead Addict and do some fine tooth combing of what's working, and what's not with Wasteland Warriors. The thing that works with FfoL is that it runs well as a convention game as well as a 1 v 1 duel. Making that work with WW is going to take some doing.
Thanks to everyone who played, bought rules, ran the games while I was taking a restroom break, or just stopped by to say "hi".

Friday, September 23, 2016

Friday, September 16, 2016

Wasteland Warriors pre-RECRUITs playtest

The Basement Generals gathered last night to help me get another playtest in of Wasteland Warriors before RECRUITs next weekend. The scenario involved rescuing an important diplomat from the toxic wastes.
We decided he was Mr. Hanky, an emissary from the Turdians and the first group to rescue him would get 20 points of Renown. Scattred around the table were "Scavenge Points", areas where goods and tech were laying undiscovered, but also chances for danger. For instance, one group found a booby trap and had a mutant blown up.

With 7 players and a 5x5' playing area, the bullets, beams and blasts started flying right off. Once again, Orange Crush and his ladies were chewed up pretty early at the hands of some green skinned mutants.
In addition to the regular awefulness of the Scavenge Points, I threw in the Joker cards. When these are used they act like Aces, but can also activate Events. With a lot of players, this happens alot. Over the course of the game we had a Sentry bot activated that blasted any movement within 24", an earthquake that left several models pinned, a big tenclely beast that was awoken by the noise, an 8 legged riderless mount and a Moon Beast that loved to eat an loot lying around (my answer to the Rust Monster of D&D fame).
Whenever a model was taken Out of Action he leaves behind a Loot marker, which acts another point of contention, and acts as Renown points.
Over all, things went great. Scavenger Hero Award goes to Big Bob the robot. His targeting computer went out early (i.e. he ran out of ammo permanently) and went Hand to Hand the rest of the night. By the end of night he had the brains of 4 enemy gangers on his rusted fists.

Friday, September 9, 2016

Black Powder ACW

We had a nice little dust up last night using Jon's 28mm ACW collection. We used some of the new period rules found in the "Glory Hallelujah!" supplement to BP. They add a new dimension that feels better. For instance, there's no firing if you move more than once and troops are very reluctant to charge into hand to hand.
This was a simple scenario with even forces we threw together last minute. Definitely want to try some asymmetrical fights with some historical based re-fights.


Rebs ended up winning. There was no clash of bayonets.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Wee lads for ECW

Just finished these guys for Simon Miller's English Civil War variant of To the Strongest. These represent 1:2 pike and shot base. They're 10mm Old Glory on one of bases. I put small magnets behind the soldiers to hold a name plate (more on that in a later post).

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

I hate greenskins

Not Orcs, just the way GW has, over the years convinced us the Orcs have green skin. And the exact shade across multiple orcs. Humans don't have the same color skin, why should Orcs? Which got me thinking. In the recent past, when I have painted Orcs I gave them different shades of green skin.
Then I was digging through some old lead and found Grenadier Orcs I painted as a teenager in the 80s. Brownish gray. I opened my Monster Manual from the same period, the only trusted source for all things monster. Sure enough, there it was in black and white:

"Orcs vary widely in appearance as a result of frequent crossbreeding with other species. In general, they resemble primitive humans with grey-green to brownish skin covered with coarse hair. Orcs have a slightly stooped posture, a low jutting forehead, and a snout instead of a nose. Orcs have well-developed canine teeth for eating meat and short pointed ears that resemble those of a wolf. Orcish snouts and ears have a slightly pink tinge. Their eyes are human, with a reddish tint that sometimes makes them appear to glow red when they reflect dim light sources in near darkness. This is actually part of their optical system, a pigment which gives them infravision. "..." Orcs prefer to wear colors that most humans think unpleasant: blood red, rust red, mustard yellow, yellow green, moss green, greenish purple, and blackish brown. Their armor is unattractive besides—dirty and often a bit rusty."

So I went about painting a new orc using one of the many plastic GW orcs lying around the plastic pile.


I really like the results.

Friday, September 2, 2016

Pulp Alley: Into the Caverns of Consternation!


Four brave Leagues entered the Caverns of Consternation from four different openings far below the jungles of Borneo. Each was led there by their own clues, each seeking the Lost Totem of the Dragon Lord, said to be a key to the Underworld.
The Red Raptor, hero of the skies, and his Sky Hunters entered from the vine-shrouded cave mouth where the Raptor's faithful dog Ace immediately found a hidden clue. His dug up a strange bone. Not human, and not reptile, but something in between....
Meanwhile, across the cave, Pecos Pete and the Giddy Up Gang emerged from and underground river.When Black Bob tried to dig a clue encased in a stalagmite, he was attacked by subterranean cave scorpions.
It was then that Virginia Dare, heiress and owner of Danger, Inc. emerged from a maze like side tunnel. They were immediately caught in a crossfire from the Sky Hunters and the Giddy Up Gang. Virginia's poor dog, Wellington, and a helpful Native Guide went out of action. Where's your honor Raptor?!
Taking advantage of the chaos, the Royal Magic and Archeology Society quickly snatched a clue from under a heavy rock. Professor Standpipe found the remains of an earlier explorer. The squashed skeleton was pointing at the great waterfall at the center of the cavern.


The Caverns were soon full of the stench of cordite and the loud reports of gunfire. Several of the Royal Society were attacked by albino blind cave snakes while trying to get to the waterfall, but the dashing Connelly leapt across the snake filled waters to grab the submerged Totem.



While the Royal Society made good their escape, the other Leagues whittled away at each other. It was only when the Cavern was wracked by tremors that the Leagues gave up and headed back to their respective entry points.
What a great game! I cannot take credit for the terrain in anyway. My buddy Warren over at Ludstuff made it for me years ago, and it finally saw the light of day, or in this case dark of night.
I did paint the Leagues at least.
Even more exciting than the game was possibility of the return of Dutch Oven!