Cold Wars 2015 - Gnomes!

With the rash of Gnome Wars cancellations due to Jim Stanton's life threatening Achilles surgery, and simply fabulous bedazzled walking stick, most of the gnome community was bummed out and those who survived the snow wandered around the The Host, looking to play a "normal" game. 

While wandering around looking for a game to play, we came upon a small table with a handful of Brigade Games Gnome Wars figure, and odd collection of "tanks" and a ton of flags.  It was the "Gnomen mit Panzern" game that could have easily been overshadowed by the Stanton Znombie game originally scheduled.   The good news that night was that it got three more players (Brian, Steve, and myself). 

This was not a Gnome Wars game by rules, but we certainly made it in spirit.  The GM, Joe Richards, had concocted some simple home rules for a basic treasure hunt.... in tanks.  Each nationality got a pair of gnomes and despite obvious differences in the tanks (ranging from steampunk behemoths to my converted miniature Barbie Dream Winnebago.  Face down tabs of paper were scattered around the board.  Our job was to visit those spots, notate the location of the treasure on a marked spot elsewhere on the board, and get the treasure before the other gnomes did..

And in between that we shot at each other with wild abandon.

My "tank" was converted from some random Barbie product...

The firing rules appealed to the masses.  You could try and hit anything within sight on the board, but to actually destroy a tank, or kill a gnome, would require tremendous luck.  Tank hits required a second roll, and I only glanced at the chart, but I believe only a 2 on 2d6 would destroy it.  The rest of range varied from a bounced shell to a busted tread to an inoperative turret.  Each player could spend one of their actions each turn and repair the damage inflicted, and each nationality had a limited but varying number of times they could do that total. 

The French find a clue!  And the Swiss and Russians are in hot pursuit.

Once we realized that death was not around the corner SO LONG AS WE STAYED IN OUR TANK, it was a simple matter of running around scrambling for clues, making driving rolls to stay upright, and getting enough hits on our opponents to run them down. 

 

Since I had a wheeled tank, I needed more driving  rolls while going through obstacles, and I ultimately made my rolls only while driving backwards.    I had managed to keep one step ahead from Brian's highlanders, until poor driving put me in the river and good shots destroyed my axle and set the tank on fire!

I'm about to abandon my submerged, burning tank with a busted axle

Lucky for me, Steve's French had disembarked from their tank, and parked it right next to my wreck, so I happily jumped over and stole his (and the treasures inside!)   The rest of the game was the Steve's French trying to get their tank back (I may have run one of them over, RIP Pierre) and the Swiss and their halberds hacking the wooden roof the tank to get it.  I ultimately reached the Irish Pub, which was the safe house.

 

In a rather close finish, Brian ended up with the most money from treasure.  It was a great, fun game, and I recommend Joe's games to anyone looking to avoid the waves of chaos the big Gnome Wars games could create.

 

While the Friday night discussion of the League of Gnomes focused on getting a team together to a big con (GenCon is a bad weekend for us and Origins is way too early in June next year), we had a much more productive session Saturday afternoon.  While certain portions of the discussion are hush-hush, I think I provide three tidbits for the rabid gnomies.

 

1) A revised, universal point system for unit creation.  As Jim loves to say, repeatedly, over both our weekend discussions, was that two Sikhs could take on three Germans and win half the time.  Besides reorganizing some of the newer nationalities, "breaking the code" could allow others to design their own units, nationalities, and, although it won't be specifically mentioned, non-gnomes could make an appearance on your gaming table at home.  For many they already are.

 

2) The Gnomish History/Fluff is officially up and running.  A number of sources will be used to explain the nationalities, magic, evil gnomes, and so on.  Some of the posts I've made on Gnomish History may be interwoven with the current limited fluff in the book, and two articles written by  other Gnomies called The Four Winds and Gnomish Mythology.  I AM NOT IN CHARGE OF THIS, merely a contributor.  If the editing body is looking for additional material, I would post such info as soon as it is confirmed. 

 

3) Still trying to coordinate a Gnome Wars Team for the national conventions.  Real life is a bugger for all of us.

 

Saturday night was the annual Gnome Joust, and the weather did prevent a few regulars from attending, plus with the announcement of Jim's cancellations, people assumed the it was cancelled as well.   We recruited from the crowd and still had at least 20 players for the double elimination tournament.

 

It's not for the faint of heart...

Despite falling in the second round, I worked my way through the loser's bracket  all the way back to the finals, where I unhorsed Sam I Am on the third pass.

 

You have been measured, and have been found lacking....

With time left in the slot, we ran another single-elimination tournament, and I got unhorsed by a kid.  Back to reality.

Oh yeah,  Bald Kevin was robbed!!!!!!!!