The End is Nigh!

As the kids used to say, it's a little cray-cray out there. 

I'm wrapping up the last days of our busy season at work, even if it's felling like the last days of Pompeii sometimes.  It's either 11-hour days or running out early to catch the kids' games for the evening.  I'd like to sit at my desk at work unmolested or sit at home unmolested.

I've traded kids active with travelling gymnastics with kids overactive with basketball.  Five out of seven days a week have something basketball related going on, and when dance finishes this weekend with a recital, it will move up to six!

Maja is on THREE teams, Millie is on two, and thankfully they play together on one of them. 

Back in February I was complaining about the number of posts lingering in the back end, between posts scheduled to be published, and a big pile of ideas, stolen AARs, and placeholder posts.  The scheduled posts vary between finished projects getting spread out and filler holiday posts (some holidays are set up for the next decade... most gnome-themed), so I'll never get down to 0 for them (35 might be a workable total... someday).

There were 368 posts behind the scenes back there.  I tried for a few weeks and managed to get the list down to a completely arbitrary 350. 

And that is now a distant memory.

Between the crazy schedules, weather, and general exhaustion, it has not been productive to game or paint, and the backlog is creating an accordion effect, where posts compress together, and I spend time reviewing things and manually moving them to a longer schedule. 

Of course, the last time I did this around project 350, I moved all the "LATER" posts to the first week of January.  I just finished playing the accordion again, I spread out projects even further.

Speaking of projects, I actually got paint on figures this week.  The basements relatively dry, a  full pump system is ordered, and some dark orange has been put on my "Martian Spider Riders."   I know what needs to be done for the next few games, but I'll take anything just to break the rust off the painting machine.

One of the cats has commandeered my bench as a safe haven for sleeping, and has used all the newspaper laid down as a scratching post.  Thank goodness, she hasn't left any presents. 

November, role-playing-wise was pretty good.   I got to play classic D&D (Castles & Crusades), modern D&D (5e), Call of Cthulhu, and Illuminati University, and that's with my disaster of events  at Mepacon.

Blog promises for the holiday?  Try more hopes and dreams. 

1) Monday Night Online Gaming- Don't tell my DM, but if a session isn't in my wheelhouse, I might be working on the blog.   When it is firing all cylinders, I'm a happy guy, and when the game's cancelled, things default to me as a GM.  I've got THREE ongoing filler campaigns (CoC, IOU, and Red Box D&D), but like last Fall, the sudden sweep of cancellations has wiped out my ready-to-run material.

2) Pulp Gaming/Pulp Alley - The child-renowned "Egypt Game" has been stalled since the Summer, the next sessions are pretty easy to run, but I just need the time for set-up.   Best yet, the demented part of me really wants to throw a wrench in the works with a few test games of Pulp Alley.   Another part of me would loooove to have the next three sessions done before New Year's Weekend.  We should have a new sinks, new floors, and new furniture right before Christmas, so a big Clue-like board for episode #3.8 would look awfully classy.

3) Lost Dispatches - Outside of my Fall-In! AAR and the lovable write-up for Gritty, the Lost Dispatches of Feraso episodes are some of the more popular posts in recent memory.  The prose style isn't going to win any awards, but six of my top ten posts since October 1st are Lost Dispatches.  The good news is that they come back to Tuesdays 1/18/2019.   The next three are written up, and I purchased some legit "research material" to write up February's entries.  Of course, I'm dealing with dungeons, and there's a logical progression I have to go through to see how the inhabitants reacted to the old D&D group and the Elsderth's group, post-attack.  NOT something I can sneak into a Monday night online session that isn't tickling my fancy. 

To be honest, I'm enjoying myself building up the Kingdom of Ras-Prythax in a dormant campaign than I did 25+ plus years ago.

4) Holiday Game - It might be unpainted, or block painted at least, but I need a big Gnome Wars game to end the year. 

5) Painting - Oh, this would be a treat.  Martian Spiders, Fita-Fita, and getting the kids to hold a brush would be great accomplishments before the holidays kick in.  Thoughts and Prayers appreciated.

Apathy of the New Releases (Dec '18)

Another month, another list of solicitations in Game Trade Magazine #226

ViscountEric's Want List
Nothing

My Money-is-no-Object Want List
Goodman Games
Original Adventures Reincarnated #2 - The Isle of Dread ...... $49.99

Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Flash Gordon RPG:  Box Set .................................................. $149.99

The Imaginary Store List (The Pegleg Gnome)
Arc Dream Publishing
Delta Green: The Complex ............................................. $24.99

Asmodee Editions
Baba Yaga ....................................................................... $24.99
Treasure Island ................................................................ $59.99

Avalanche Press
Great War at Sea: Mediterranean Ultimate Ed ............... $99.99
Second World War at Sea - Horn of Africa 2nd Ed .......  $49.99
Second World War at Sea - Midway Deluxe .................. $99.99
Second World War at Sea - The Cruel Sea ..................... $99.99

Bandai
Dragon Ball Super Booster
Dragon Ball Super Special Pack
Dragon Ball Super Starter

Burning Wheel
Middarmark RPG Supplement ..................................... $20.00

Catalyst Game Labs
Shadowrun  RPG:  Kill Code Core Rulebook ............. $49.99

Chessex Manufacturing
Staedtler Water Soluble Markers ................................. $2.60 each
Black, Blue, Green
Glass Stones in Tube ................................................... $3.29 each
Small game accessories, appropriately priced for the impulse buy area at the register.  Rinse, repeat, profit!

Creative Goods Companies
(CATAN) Glass Robber Pawn ..................................... $25.00 each
(CATAN) Luggage Tag ................................................ $ 7.00
(CATAN) Pop-out Phone Holder ................................. $ 8.00
(CATAN) Slate Coasters .............................................. $24.00
(CATAN) Zipper Pull ................................................... $ 4.00

Cryptozoic Entertainment 
Challenge of the Superfriends Card Game .................. $15.00

Days of Wonder
Ticket to Ride: First Journey ........................................ $34.99

Decision Games
Modern War #40 - Chechen War ................................. $39.99
World at War #64 - Rats at Tobruk .............................. $39.99

Evil Hat Productions
Fate Dice:  Accelerated Core (12) ............................... $15.00
Fate Dice:  Infernal (4) ................................................ $ 8.00
Fate Points:  Accelerated Core Blue ........................... $12.00
Improv for Gamers  HC .............................................. $20.00

Fantasy Flight Games
Genesys RPG:  Shadow of the Beanstalk HC ............ $49.95
Star Wars Armada: Super Star Destroyer ................... $199.95
Star Wars Legion: Imperial Specialists Expansion ..... $19.95
Star Wars Legion: Rebel Specialists Expansion. .......  $19.95
Star Wars Imperial Assault - Skirmish Map Coruscant Back Alleys

Gale Force 9
Galactic Warzones: Objectives  ................................. $20.00
Large Corner Ruin ..................................................... $35.00
Medium Corner Ruin ................................................ $30.00
Ruined Walls.............................................................. $25.00
Small Corner Ruin .................................................... $25.00

Games and Gears
Brush Care Master Set .............................................. $30.00
Epic Brush Set .......................................................... $70.00
Brush Set Kolinsky Sable (0000,000,00,0) .............. $45.00
Individual Brushes .............................................  $12-15.00
Masters Brush Cleanser Bottle 50ml ........................ $18.00

Green Ronin Publishing
(5e) Lost Citadel RPG: Setting Sourcebook .................... $44.95
(PF) Return to Freeport .................................................... $34.95
The Expanse RPG ............................................................ $49.95
The Expanse GM Kit ....................................................... $24.95

John Wick Presents
7th Sea Khitai Core Rulebook ........................................ $59.99

Kobold Press
D&D: 12 Peculiar Towers .............................................. $19.99

Konami Digital Entertainment
Yu-Gi-Oh! Legendary Duelists - Sisters of the Rose Booster
Yu-Gi-Oh! Savage Strike Booster

Onyx Path Publishing 
Cavaliers of Mars ........................................................... $35.00
Monarchies of Mau ........................................................ $50.00
Scarred Lands: Wise and Wicked 2nd Edition .............. $24.99
5e and Pathfinder Editions
Scarred Lands: Players Guide ....................................... $49.99
5e and Pathfinder Editions

Osprey Publishing
Frostgrave: The Wizards Conclave ............................. $25.00
Reality's Edge: Cyberpunk Skirmish Rules ................ $35.00

Paizo Publishing
Pathfinder RPG: AP Tyrant's Grasp 1: The Dead Roads ........... $24.99
Pathfinder RPG: Flip Mat - Bigger Sewer ................................. $19.99
Pathfinder RPG: Flip Mat - Hill Country ................................... $13.99
Pathfinder RPG: Campaign: Return to the Runelords Map Folio .... $19.99
Pathfinder RPG: Flip Tiles - Urban Perils Expansion ................ $19.99
Starfinder RPG: AP Dawn of Flame 1- Fire Starters .................. $22.99
Starfinder RPG: Pawns - Against the Aeon Thrown Pawn ......... $19.99
Starfinder RPG: Pawns - Alien Archive 2 Pawn Box.................. $44.99

Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Flash Gordon RPG:  Box Set .................................................. $149.99
Flash Gordon RPG: Rulebook HC .......................................... $ 39.99
Flash Gordon RPG: Rulebook SC ........................................... $ 29.99
Flash Gordon RPG: Double Action Deck ............................... $ 19.99
Flash Gordon RPG: Kingdoms of Mongo ............................... $ 39.99
Flash Gordon RPG:  GM Screen and Journey to the Center of Mongo  .... $19.99

Reaper Miniatures
Bones Ultra-Coverage Dungeon Dweller Paint Set: Dungeon Colors ........... $21.99
Bones Ultra-Coverage Dungeon Dweller Paint Set: Monster Colors ............. $21.99

Restoration Games 
Fireball Island: Wreck of the Crimson Cutlass .......................... $39.95

Steve Jackson Games
How to be a GURPS GM .......................................................... $19.95
Munchkin: Unicorns and Friends ............................................. $26.95

Stonemaier Games
Scythe: Encounters ................................................................. $20.00

Troll Lords Games
5th Edition Adventures:  C6 - Ends Meet ................................ $ 9.99
Castles & Crusades: A Throne of the Earl King ...................... $ 9.99

Warlord Games
Black Powder Second Edition

Wizards of the Coast
Transformers TCG:  Metroplex Deck Display

WizKids
DC Heroclix: DC Rebirth Boster Brick
DC Heroclix: DC Rebirth Dice and Token Pack .................. $ 9.99
DC Heroclix: DC Rebirth Fast Forces .................................  $16.99
Marvel Heroclix:  Captain Marvel Movie Gravity Feed
Pathfinder Battles: Playtest Heroes ...................................... $34.99

STAR TREK ATTACK WING: FEDERATION FACTION PACK -
TO BOLDLY GO .................. $29.99

STAR TREK ATTACK WING: KLINGON FACTION PACK - BLOOD OATH  .... $29.99

STAR TREK HEROCLIX AWAY TEAM: THE NEXT GENERATION - FAST FORCES  ... $16.99

STAR TREK HEROCLIX AWAY TEAM: THE NEXT GENERATION - RESISTANCE IS FUTILE
GRAVITY FEED

(IOU) Vesperado

After a fight against the Culligan Man so epic, they needed two episodes to close out the storyline, the fair students of Illuminati University went back to their own social circles, only now they would give a knowing nod to each other as they passed on the Pent. 

To ensure an all-inclusive student body, the Administration took outrageous rents to fill a handicapped parking lot with a multicultural assortment of food trucks.  Of course, our hero students took part, especially since their cafeteria flex cards were accepted (with a hefty surcharge to the ArchDean).

For Pepe the King Prawn, he was scoping out the ladies, and found a suitable group congregating around a Vegan Organic truck.  His recovery from his fight with the Culligan must have taken a long time, as he had missed the change in culture on campus.   His Fiery Latin Lothario (2) was no match to the combined force of the ladies' #MeToo (6).  

However, one woman named Shanequa seemed distant from the empowering groupthink, gave Pepe, a slap upside the head, but still allowed him to follow her around, dropping every cheesy pick-up line ever conceived. 

For Keith Stone, he took a bee-line straight to a Semi-Truck with the extended sleeper converted in a kitchen.  It has a simple sign, calling itself, "Ethnic Foodtruck."  A very Orthodox Jewish man behind the window warmly greeted Stone, and asked for his order.

"Brisket on a Stick, of course, Arthur" 

A screeching voice emanated from the back of the semi, "Arthur, is that Keith Stone?  See if she's willing to date Miranda?  Our daughter need a good Jewish boy like Keith, and he needs to eat more of our cooking!" 

Arthur did his best to sell his daughter, a librarian, working a restrictive collection in the second sub-basement of the local library's auxiliary location. Perhaps another brisket on a stick was necessary, or the stripped down food truck Arthur was towing behind. 

Or what was that high-pitched humming?

Everyone's favorite Black Power Black Bruin, Huggy Bear was having none of this multi-cultural mess, Caribbean sounded good on the weekend, but right now soul food was the only thing on his mind. 

He strolled up to the truck and asked about collard greens and cornbread, but was shocked to find a bespectacled white hipster with a hair net covering his oversized beard, stick his head out and explain his cornbread recipes with such foreign terms as "Gluten-Free Organic,"  "Free-Range GMO Free Corn," and "Japanese wasabi infused Collards"

Caribbean food sounded much better. 

Keith had finally convinced Arthur and his wife to trade a brisket and the empty food truck for a date with their daughter, even convincing her Mom to siphon gas into the truck for the ride home.  Running into Huggy Bear, he showed off his deal, but the high-pitched hum was getting louder, and a cloud of dust coming from off-campus. 

The pair tried to find Pepe to get out of there, but he was still working his ineffective magic on Shanequa.

Finally, something emerged from the cloud, dozens of Mexican men, with sombreros and weapons, driving into the parking lot on mopeds. 

The student body panicked..... the Vesperadoes had arrived. 

They began circling certain food trucks and groups of students.  Arthur had secured his truck with armor plate, but soon, the Taco Truck "El Guaco" was up in flames. 

Our trio of students tried to flee towards Keith's new food truck, but Pepe was delayed by Shanequa.  Apparently, a small strange man encouraging a woman into a white unmarked truck with two other guys set off some alarm bells in her head. 

Pepe did not want to delay any more,  "Shanequa, my love, flee to safety, but give me your number first," he pleaded, still holding her arm. 

"The only number you'll get from me is my size 9!"  *Ka-PLOW!!*

Now cut off from the truck, the group split up.  Wishing to avoid any sort of riot, Huggy Bear quickly walked away.  As he neared a campus police card, he noticed a gentleman handcuffed in the backseat.  The campus police distracted by this near-caravan of Latin men, Huggy Bear opened the back door of the patrol, asked the man what they got him for, and upon the correct answer, "I didn't do nothin'," promptly let him get out of the car.  Unfortunately, he ran right into the violence and chaos, and two mopeds holding a chain nearly decapitated him. 

Huggy Bear casually strolled back to his dorm room. 

Keith Stone knew of one man who could handle this mayhem:  Steve Austin.  He dashed away to the nearest gym and found a bunch of guys in the Pro Wrestling LARP Society practicing. 

"Does anybody like Steve Austin?  I've come with a mission from him to kick ass and save the day."

Only one wrestler raised his hand, a wirey Freshthing that weighed no more than a hundred pounds.  "I need to go back to my dorm for a few things, but it would be an honor."

Meanwhile, Pepe was trapped within the pillaging of the food trucks.  He screamed like a small child and begged many people to take him with them.  All refused. 

Huggy Bear had almost gotten back to his dorm, but got caught in a demonstration by the Anti-Environmentalists trying to throw away TVs and microwaves into the regular trash.  Luckily campus police don't carry handguns.  Unfortunately,  they do carry AAAAA+ Critical Intergalactic Pepper Spray, and hit him spare in the ass . 

Keith Stone arrived back at the bro-ha-ha with his new sidekick.  The sidekick, whom he was calling Winston, held a large wrench in one hand and a toolbox in the other.  Keith had grabbed to a random folding chair to keep things authentic, and tossed that to Pepe.  Pepe made quick work of the Vesparadoes near him, but soon a pack began circling him just outside his reach. 

Keith tried to make one more valiant charge towards his new vehicle, but got caught in a cacophony of gunfire and explosions.  He dove into a large blue barrel meant for trash.  When the smoke cleared, he flipped the barrel upside down, and Looney-Toones Style, tiptoed away from the melee, avoiding open man hole covers and tunnels painted on walls.

Winston was overwhelmed by the mayhem, but he was the only one who noticed something peculiar about the man Huggy Bear  let escape out of the campus police car and was laying on the ground.   His recently cut-off arm was sparking.  Winston dashed to the man.

Pepe used he's years working as a poor-man's mime to created a magic forcefield around him.  Unable to penetrate the defenses, the Verperaroes continued to circle him.  Pepe could do nothing but sit down on the dented folding chair and ponder how much air his mime box had left. 

Winston scanned to the electronic components and whispered under his breath, "I have the technology, I can rebuild him." and proceeded to fix the young man.

Keith hadn't recruited a fan of Steve Austin the wrestler, he got the biggest fan of Steve Austin, the Six-Million Dollar Man. 

After getting repaired the mystery man from the police car began a rampage against the Vesperadoes.  Soon they were routed, but not before Pepe began a tiresome act of physically moving his mime box, foot by foot, over one of the open manhole covers and dropping in (the mime box never had an established bottom.)

He dashed through the sewers, but could hear the one marauder say, "Snake Gandhi will be unhappy we didn't capture the Shrimp." 

Hours later, Keith and Huggy Bear were resting their wounds in the Student Union.  Huggy Bear was sitting in a dairy concoction that was alleviating the burning on his butt.  Keith was completely out of character, sipping on a bottle of water, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. 

A dirty, smelly Pepe came staggering in, "You guys, I managed to escape, ok?  No help from you, ok?"  In fact, I met a guy in the sewers who helped me get back.  His name is Grimey and he's my friend."

*END CREDITS*

GM Notes:  Yes, I went there.  A caravan of Mexicans.  #MeToo women. Cultural Appropriation, and yes Police on African American violence.   At some point I did have a group of red-hat wearing students scream how this was ruining America, only to get hit with an RPG round, but I don't think that came close to saveing it.  I may have crossed some lines with this one, and I'll probably do it again next time.  

But regular readers might have put together the Taco Truck in the write-up is the same driven by Tuesday Hart, whom I introduced as Taco Tuesday earlier this week. 

This scenario wasn't just a chance to Keith to date beyond his Joe Dirt demographic, this is the origin story for Taco Tuesday.  More on this will come in later weeks.

(IOU) Tuesday Taco

Taco Tuesday 

Mexican Food Truck Operator Tuesday Hart by Day, Avenging Taco by Night

Short Order Cook for a Mexican Food Truck (4)****

Taco-Shaped Super Hero Avenging Rudeness (3)***

Outrageous Salsa Dancer (2)

Amateur Maraca Juggler (1)*

Equipment:
****Mexican Food Truck "El Guaco"
*** Lucky Party Hat
*Maracas

This is Maja's attempt at her first Risus character, with a little nudging by dear old Dad.  To be honest, the toughest part was convincing her that Tuesday could be a girl's name.  Taco Tuesday, coming to an Illuminati University game.... someday.

Written by: Maja

Next:  A special three-episode holiday release of the my 1990's Canadian Call of Cthulhu game, Curse of Nevoz. 

(Kickstarter) The Royal Court of the Garden Gnomes by Midlam Miniatures

I thought the holidays were going to be okay this year, so  I actually pledged on a Kickstarter last week.  Now all the cool stuff has appeared like a deluge, and Midlam Miniatures isn't helping matters.

Midlam Miniatures has recently released a short Kickstarter for their 13-figure "Royal Court of the Common (or Garden) Gnomes."

They aren't big enough for full Gnome Wars action, but by golly, they are perfect in most other aspects.  

SATLOF and Scythe

My wife and I give each grief over a lot of silly things, but no matter how crazy life is turning, we agree on one thing.

But there is always SATLOF.

Back in college, my roommate Steve (known for Professor O'Hara, Fonzie, and Echelon) introduced our extended group to FATLOF, the Friday After Thanksgiving Left-Over Feast.  He and his high school friends would get together on Black Friday, bring some leftovers from the previous day's festivities, and eat too much, imbibe a little trash can punch, and play some games.  Our social group, The Society of Neffs, ultimately adopted the same concept on Saturdays, hence the SATLOF.

For two decades, we have kept that date open, as the one time our college friends, as well as extended friends and family, may have a chance to meet up and reconnect.  The festivities have migrated south over the years and we had assumed it's permanent location had been established a few years ago.

Except that some of our friends are having issues not suitable to go into detail on a blog, and SATLOF needed to move.

Enter again my college roommate, Steve, and his wife Angi, who opened their house and downstairs bar/man-cave to the usual crew of hooligans.

Correction:  the usual "friend of a friend of a friend" list was heavily curtailed, and even before some declines came in, was relegated to the old college crew and a few beloved ragamuffins (plus Steve's brother, a fun and righteous dude).

The spread was perfectly sized for our smaller soiree, the beer was opened, and with my girls acting as willing busgirls and bartenders, ("We've seen Coyote Ugly, we know how this works")  we shot the breeze and ultimately Steve broke out a game from his "Wall o' Kickstarters"

I might have a dalliance or two with Kickstarter, but Steve has a full-blown addiction to crowd-funded board games.  Surprisingly, he's only gotten caught with one or true bombs.

A portion of the wall....

 He has so many Kickstarters, that as they come in, he puts them in a closet, and when a holiday or birthday rolls around, family members can pull an item out of the closet to use as a gift.

And that closet is quite full.

With a captive audience and just enough room, he broke out and set up Scythe by Stonemaier Games.

 After playing, it I can confirm that the hype is well-deserved.  Even without all the fancy add-ons and stretch goals, the game is solid, interesting, and thrives on replayability.

Saxony focused a little late on the happiness of its citizenry, and that cost me points in the endgame that put me in the middle of pack. Still, I recommend this game wholeheartedly.

I was enjoyed it so much, that my wife didn't mind leaving an hour and a half later than we agreed so she could go home and go to work this morning.

There is always SATLOF, and I love my wife for understanding that.

Rejoice and Be Glad, SATLOF is Upon Us!

Drink from the trashcan punch, eat your twice-warmed leftovers, and celebrate the friends you have and the games you play with them!

The trials and tribulations of middle-aged married life with kids have finally struck hard upon the group, and we've been forced to relocate from our usual stomping grounds.  Hopefully, I will get a game report in, as usual.

New Releases from Brigade Games

As usual, Brigade Games is hosting a number of promotions for Black Friday-Cyber Monday.  Check 'em out!

But following through their promotional e-mail, I found some new releases in their Post-Apocalyptic range:  

The Walkenator

Houston

These two are simply great.

I appreciate the Angela Merkel mini, but the Baby Trump is far more disturbing that any of the mutants in the Post-Apoc range.

Black Friday Mortal Kombat!

If you plan on braving the odd hours and strange store employees for odd Black Friday deals you'll forget about before 2019 hits, just careful out there.

Happy Thanksgiving

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #8 - Accusations, Hearsay, and Circumvention

To His Lordship, the Viscount Wilfrick of Verbobonc,

This faithful servant has certainly spent more time in the Marholm than I would have previously thought.  It might be the hospitality of the enlightened Jarl, Runholf the Dandy.  It might be the wealth of Wyrmnal knowledge that I've acquired, including basic competency in speaking their language and reading their primitive runic alphabet.

Or it could be the two cases of wine from Verbobonc vineyards that just happened to appear with your envoy. I am grateful for your impeccable timing.

The concept of a royal or noble court is foreign in Wyrmnal, but there are still numerous circles of influence.   I have nestled my position with Runholf somewhere between foreign novelty and persistently useful sage or scribe,  My belly is full and my coin purse remains steady, thanks to the generosity.

With these worthy platitudes recorded for his His Lordship, I must swiftly change the topic that my I may have worn out my welcome here, and hopefully did not unintentionally sabotage the trade negotiations of your envoy, Rainier.

As your unofficial representative, I have striven to act friendly yet professionally to all.  It is not a secret with the Jarl's great hall that I have not only the approval of Runholf, but of at least two of his wives, Hridul and Myhilde.  Equally intriguing and intelligent, I have spent many a long night in depth conversation with these women on topics the local men deem unimportant to a woman.

Things were going swimmingly until it was discovered the Myhilde is with child, and she has not been part of the attentions of Runholf for quite sometime.  Others who do not approve of wisdom and learning in the Great Hall may have spread rumors that I am the father of Myhilde's child.

While I guarantee My Lord that this is an outright lie, I have discovered that the true father may, in fact, be the dastardly elf, Talanth Blackash.

While I am personally aghast that the child will be of vile half-breed stock, the reaction of Runholf to this infidelity most certainly would be her death.   Using some of the Jarl's funds, I have arranged to have Myhilde spirited away by a merchant vessel to parts west, perhaps the Barony of Markovia, perhaps some seedy port in Crosedes or even Albion, to start a new life with her little elven bastard.

As I finish this letter, my barbaric enemies with the Great Hall are currently riling up the others, probably to torture me, or worse, kill me outright after torturing me.  I'm of firm belief that a quick leave moments after giving this to a courier will buy me some time before someone wishes to extract misguided vengeance.

My goal is to work my horse, Mary, south along the horsepaths I've seen on Runholf's maps.  I may have to change appearance, alter my persona to a more viking one, or hide out for awhile in some hovel off the main trade road.

I will make it back to Verbobonc, for this Millbottom is not the meek expert of calligraphy and trivial affairs that left the Viscounty months ago.

Your servant,

Elsderth Millbottom

DM Notes:  When I first thought of writing up my original AD&D campaign that started back in 1990, I imagined a quick set of letters between coming from an eager servant to a disinterested liege.   I really thought that by episode eight, we'd be nearly finished with the original campaign and moving on to other in-world games and campaigns I've run, right up my Ballad of the Pigeon God.  

Two factors changed that: (1) Access to modules and issues of Dungeons Magazine to rekindle my imagination.  (2)  A desire to watch Elsderth grow as a character, with his own adventures, while he catches the after-effects of the antics of Talanth, the Stupid Ranger, and the Drunken Warrior.

We're certainly out of proper chronology for the actual campaign, but we'll address the further fall-out of the elf and his treasure hunt, and perhaps Elsderth will finally make some form a close friend.

With the holidays coming, Lost Dispatches will go on Tuesday hiatus until the New Year.   It will give me some time to write up a few more episodes, to purchase a few essential pdfs *for research*, and post a few other Actual Plays, including my Curse of Nevoz Call of Cthulhu game set in early 90's Alberta, Canada.  

Next: #9 - Elsderth Gets Drafted

Mepacon Fall 2018 vs the Santa Parade vs Cranky Viscount Eric

Over the last few years, I've managed to keep my crazy Fall workload to a manageable level to pull off conventions visits to Fall-In! in Lancaster and Mepacon in Scranton.  The fact that they've been on back-to-back weeks the last couple of years has been a boon and a bane at the same time, but at a level I can work through.

This year, I knew Mepacon wouldn't be my normal schedule for non-work reasons: my wife had already gotten hockey tickets for a family night.  So, I rearranged my schedule to accommodate the normal blocks of game I run and acknowledged I would miss the raffle, auction, and the other cool stuff around 6pm Saturday night.

Then the kid's basketball schedules came out, and with the early Thanksgiving this year, the opening game on their schedules were now Saturday afternoon.

No problem, I could still go to Scranton Friday night, come back Saturday morning, run two session of My Little Ponies, and get back home just after tip off. 

That was the revision of the revision of my plan.  And to quote Leonard Snart:

"Make the plan.

Execute the plan.

Expect the plan to go off the rails.

Throw away the plan."

With the details of a major project at work swinging in the breeze, my 2pm departure for the con turned to 2:20, 2:30, and at 2:45, things were completed, only to have my boss pull me into the office for a final recap on the financial impact at 3pm.

At 4:02, I snuck out of his office when an even bigger Friday afternoon blow-up occurred (completely out of my scope).  By 4:38, I was on site, badge in hand, struck with the painful discovery that my only full session of My Little Pony was 4pm Friday.... and they spotted me 20 minutes at the table before bailing.

This was disheartening, but I proceeded to carry out my plan for the evening.

The usual 6pm pasta dinner, welcome reception to benefit the con's coffer, during which I would continue my prep for my Octonauts -Scavengers game.  Except, while perusing some signage, the 6pm welcome reception was now FREE and in the lobby?

My desire to carbo-load for the long weekend ahead was crushed by a very nice spread of appetizers for us attendees.

Mini-potato pancakes and quiche, although very well prepared, was not going to power this motor, so I moseyed over to Subway for something heartier.

As the evening session arrived I knew normal fear of an odd game not attracting players came true (the table for the new Star Trek RPG took the evening share of non-D&D games) so I did something I don't remember doing for years.

I actually played in a Friday evening slot... as a player!

My friend George was running T1: Village of Hommlet, using Castles & Crusades.

I may have found my spirit player-character:

Einhard and eight other characters at the table (plus a fox) ran through a version of moathouse twenty years after the last group of heroes "succeeded" in clearing it out.

George runs a good game, just enough role-playing and game mat time intermixed... and I think everyone love the giant mutated three-eyed squirrels to warm the group up to combat.

The moathouse, in its classic form, is gone...

Already after midnight, I packed up, hit Chick's Diner, my usual post-con stop for bite, and headed home.

Saturday morning, I discovered both children wanted to stay home in anticipation for basketball, so I gassed up the car and headed back to Scranton, just in time for the first morning session.

Then, I traffic appeared out of nowhere.

At first I was confused by all this gridlock oozing back onto the expressway, but after seeing a pick-up towing a trailer holding Snoopy's doghouse (and the Red Baron), I was horrified to realize that the tents I saw along local businesses while I took my dinner run weren't for a sidewalk sale.

They were for the @#$^!@#$ "Santa Parade."

Thousands had converged into downtown Scranton for the annual holiday parade.  The regular flow of traffic was all re-routed, so by the time I got to the traffic light to make my turn, I realized that numerous streets in that direction were outright closed.  I tried to go take a more outside approach, avoiding the traffic at a dead-stop, but the three alternate routes I took were also closed.  By then, the second session was nearing, and with all the family functions in the afternoon, I found a release valve out of the city to the north, got back on the highway, and headed home.

**FULL DISCLOSURE** I saw the convention provided the correct alternate route to reach the hotel (before the parade started at least), posted to Facebook just minutes prior to me arriving back home.  If I had sat in the gridlock longer, I may have notice a through street**

I do remember needing to last-minute cancel a weekend over the last almost twenty years of Mepacons, but never have I double-bailed on events at the con.  It was a perfect storm (and parade) that I had no time, patience, or tolerance too. The worst part for me was that my full Friday afternoon table were all my favorite regulars from previous cons, who had brought their Pony character sheets back to play them again.

So, with my limited time there:

Events:  As usual plenty of events, a little light on attendance.  It was also Friday, and a day after Mother Nature dropped 6-10" of snow and ice on everyone.  Still saw a number of the regular faces, if I only talked to about half of them (I had a whole morning slotted for that on Saturday... or so I thought.)  The recent remodel of "side rooms" was a great place to store all of the Organized Play RPG players, although the ballroom seemed very empty, even for the evening slot.

Vendors:  The expanded vendor area brought in the usual crew, one blossoming game creator, some sort of a vlog, and an expanded list of "side-geek/geek chic" vendor selling Harry Potter, Star Wars, and other paraphernalia, and the newest trend in geeks: laser-cut wood projects (mdf too).  Alas, I didn't spend a dime on any non-cupcake.... I had a minor shopping list for Saturday, but it was nothing I couldn't drive to the vendor's physical location on Saturday and pick-up if it was still there.

I did get one small gift from the con's founder and recently retired director, Ed:

Don't know when I'll be running gnomes again at a local con, but it's nice to be known for something other than the cranky old Grognard who was at all the predecessor conventions to Mepacon.

Auction:  I don't think moving away from the "everything starts at a buck" auction bothers me as much anymore.  Things still start a buck, but items with a pre-auction buyout price start at half that value.  I did catch the Facebook Live stream of the auction this morning, and I'm still amazed what people think a reasonable buy-out bid.  The fact that people expect someone to buy a used, punched, contents unknown board game for about retail boggles my mind.   And even the half of retail auction starting bid causes most bidders some great pause.  It's never going to the GenCon or Origins level auctions.  It's a great place to get rid of your excess stuff without worrying about eBay.

The next Mepacon will be April 12-14, 2019 at the Hilton in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  The theme will be Cybernetic Futures.

Cyber-Ponies?  Savage Rifts?  The mind can begin to wander.

(Kickstarter) Don and Hillary

It's been awhile since I did a "someone already did your Kickstarter better" post, but this one was glaringly obvious.

Joe Corsaro and Dragon Bait Miniatures are launching a simple Kickstarter for Don and Hill hit the Apocalypse.

Pledges of $22 (+$5 S&H) gets you Donald and Hillary, prepped for the apocalypse, as well as the zombie versions.

Not a bad deal, not bad sculpts, but seriously, the Apocalypse Zombie Hillary  and the 2018 Election Duo  figures from Brigade Games are better figures at comparable prices.

So, if you need a zomibie in the White House, this is still the Kickstarter for you.

(Kickstarter) Sandstorm Wars Sci-Fi Skirmish Miniatures

It appears that Sandstorm Miniatures has purchased the molds for some of Macrocosm Miniature's previous Kickstarters, this has resulted in their first campaign:  Sandstorm Wars Sci-Fi Skirmish Minis.

There are tons of cool figures that came over, plus a few that I don't remember (new?), but for Gaming with the Gnomies, the Planetary Control (previously known as the Macrocosm Diggers) tickle my Gnomish Space Marine fancy. 

My Spoils from Fall-In!

I normally end my Fall-In! AAR with a quick snap of all the stuff I acquired over the weekend.  Unfortunately, life is more insane than normal.  To be honest, last night was the first time everything was in one spot at the same time (One of the books defied physics and ended up underneath the passenger seat of my car... Huzzah!)

I defied the gigantic Dealer Hall want lists I normally assemble and never fulfill for most cons with two simple goals. 

• An MDF Marketplace Set from Things From the Basement
• The main rulebook (yes 1st Edition) of Pulp Alley, now available through Recreational Conflict.

While I was at the Recreational Conflict booth I also picked the main card deck for Pulp Alley.  We might transition away from Savage World/Showdown, and some of the most enjoyable AARs have used Pulp Alley.  I figure a few test games are in order before I by more books/cards/figures from the line. 

My final purchase of the con was back in the dealer's hall for a copy of Back of Beyond for Contemptible Little Armies. Simply fantastic stuff, highly recommended.

Maja's Haul

• Dead Horse (Black Powder - Historicon 2016 Giveaway)
• A Porpoise - she bought this intentionally to fight the Flash.
• The Flash heroclix
• Bag o' Plastic Spiders
• A free Penguin bag from the Wargaming Company
• Two 54mm plastic dudes, Maja told me they were free, but I don't remember where.
• 13 Plastic 40K Imperial Guard. I already had a twenty out to pay when the gentlemen at the flea market said something like "Girls need to play more games, it's yours."  As a token of gratitude I perused some similar purchases at his table and came away with a great deal for...

The rest of my stuff

• 40 Plastic 40K Space Marines - Mostly stock marines or Grey Wolves

• 16 Metal 40K minis.  Beakey Assault Marines?  A Sanguinary Priest?  More miscellaneous Grey Wolves?  Definitely characters for a sci-fi RPG

Also...

• Arab Revolt Camels
• Macho Women with Guns 3rd Edition
• MWWG: More Excuses to Kill Things
• Castle Falkenstein

And of course the cool drawstring bags (I can walk around with Lenin on my back!) with the laser pointer pens.

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #7 - Treasure Hunt

To His Lordship, the Viscount Wilfrick of Verbobonc,

Per my previous letter, here is the tale from Runholf the Dandy, in its entirety:

"There was an elf not too long ago.   In fact it took a few days for the news to finally reach my hall.  He had arrived in port, all by himself, sailing in long-dead King Villenea's funeral longboat, still intact, still seaworthy.  I would expect no less from our shipbuilders but time does its toll on everything.  Especially those things we no longer thought existed."

"On the fourth day I summoned for him after learning him spending an obscene amount of gold on foreign clothes, jewelry, books, and whores."

"A LOT of whores."

"His name was Talanth Blackash.   When my men weren't violently jostling him, he was surveying my great room.   His Elven clan name he gave sounded like he came from an Elven village beyond the Andrafjorden, but by his darker complexion, he could easily pass for one of your vile elves of Agenmoor."

"He explained that he had been kidnapped, set in shackles, and used upon a pirates slaver ship, but not a longboat, a full sized vessel, like the merchant classes!"

"A squall hit the ship crashed into many pieces across the rocks.  With little shelter from the elements, he freed himself from his dead companions and ventured through the beach on into the rocky forest."

"He and a woman name Mellinda rescued an old man from a skirmish between orc pirates, looking to loot some temple, and goblins pirates, looking to set up a new stronghold."

The old man, Keestake, was apparently a resident of the island, and had been running for his life from the newly arrived orcs and goblins.  He led the pair safely around the island."

Orc and goblin pirates?  How quaint....

"The next morning, the skies were still brewing another torrential downpour, but they had enough time to go to the old temple of the slain King.  Mellinda surprisingly spoke volumes of our dear goddess Freya, and also appeared to possess knowledge on the Hak-Kubra Orc Pirates that she hadn't had the night before. "

"Despite the old man betraying them, and hordes of orcs guarding the temple and catacombs underneath, the duo successfully found a ship within the tomb of the King and escaped before the ill winds of Freya sundered the island."

"With only two of them aboard, they could only manage to sail east.... to Valgard.  There, Mellinda, got in contact with her father's agents and Talanth was given a sizable reward."

"He hired three men to help him nurse the ship here to Dremman, and possibly further, but when my subjects spotted their arrival, two of those men were dead, and another jumped ship with a bag of the treasure."

Runholf gave a reward for the longship and a few items aboard.

"I could sentence him for death for looting a grave, but he seemed to be telling enough of the truth."

News had already been relayed to Good King Harald Gudmunssen, the Jarl of Jarls in Norrvik.  Everyone believed he would be pleased with his "discovery."

"The elf had made mention that he had befriended two malcontents in town:  One was a fine woodsman and forest guide and a simpleton in other.  The other one was a drunkard with a very big sword.  He wished to return to them as they might find their true luck far far away."

"I granted shelter to the elf, but the day before he was to depart, he disappeared with a few relics, and an enchanted war shield  missing, right of the walls."

"I'm not quite sure how he picked that very common-looking magic shield from the others hanging around my great room."

With that, he offered the same shelter to me for two nights, with the caveat, "If any of these shields so much as fall off the pegs we hang them on, you're a dead man."

A solemn stillness smothered the room until one of his older lieutenants burst out in an infectious laughter.

But I'm certainly keeping my distance from any and all shields.

Your Servant,

Elsderth Millbottom

DM's Notes:  As I compile the adventures of my original campaign in this correspondence form, after 28 years of nostalgia and memory loss, I have forgotten much more than I remember.  

N4: Treasure Hunt was NOT my first module I ran.  That is coming very soon.  But I actively remember running at least one player through the 0-level module and at least one new PC it created was very similar to another elf character run in the campaign by the same player.  Like other mythologies, the truths were merged to form the myth of Talanth Blackash, Elven fighter/magic-user/thief.

Here also marks the first appearance by two legendary characters, remembered only as the Stupid Ranger and the Drunken Warrior.  For posterity, and the geographic changes, I've dubbed their campaign names Gulli Odmusson (Drunken Warrior) and Colgredd (Stupid Ranger).  They will be the stalwart allies of Talanth from this point forward. 

Next:  #8 - Accusations and Hearsay

Another Part of My Middle-Age Gone in Lancaster

As one gets older, most can see the outward signs of time rambling past them.  Beloved entertainers and sports stars of their youth pass away and important landmarks of nostalgia either are razed or become completely unrecognizable.

I didn't expect parts of my adulthood to go under the knife so quickly.

While I know the Continental Inn wasn't the best, or the cheapest, hotel on the Lincoln Highway, it had that stable old-fashioned hotel "resort" feel, the sheets were clean, the breakfast tasty, and prior to the traffic light installation, a Frogger game away from the Lancaster Host, home to many an HMGS convention. 

Recently, it's been the go-to location for my family on their near-cations, and where my daughter and I stayed for Daddy-Daughter time at Fall-In!  It was an old glove:  worn out in a few spots, and not as trendy as this year's line, but it was warm and inviting everytime we stayed there.

It's no surprise that I had some trepidation when it was announced that Dutch Wonderland purchased the Continental and immediately closed it, cancelling all reservations for Cold Wars, laying off all the employees. and starting a massive renovation with no timetable. 

Recently, the future of the resort has been answered:  a full themed-hotel conversion to the first Cartoon Network resort.

With both girls in the midst of grade school, I've already had quite enough with the themed-anything bs.  I also see this as a dying breath of a network that's lost half its viewership in the last ten years.  I'm assuming they're now catering to the parents who once watched Cartoon Network, have small children, and are willing to plunk down discounted dollars to visit Dutch Wonderland?

All I know is, another little piece of my life has transformed into a monstrosity, and no sir, I do not like it.

Fall-In! 2018 AAR

I've returned from Fall-In! this weekend with my daughter Maja, and I'll cover the rabid, septic, elephant in the room before covering my normal story:  The old gray corpse of conventions, the Lancaster Host.

I'm a pretty tolerant person (and a fan of the Host  in days gone by... and more recently), but this renovation has made my children's possible sporting events a secondary reason to skip Cold Wars in March.

I was well-prepped by the HMGS Board of Directors shooting out an FYI on a recent visit they conducted, but when I arrived at Host at 10am Friday morning, and the only parking spots left were in the hinterlands of the overflow lot (which was filled with pile of dirt and a camper with a flat tire), I realized that we would need to enjoy ourselves in spite of the site.

Old main entrance?  Still cordoned off.
Kitchen?  Apparently gutted... but the off-site caterers did a fine job.
The Bar?  Temporary... but effective.
The Distelfink Ballroom?  Cut in half, with no carpeting, but fresh drywall (and HVAC... more on that later).
The Expo Center?  Still dark room with a hill more akin to a minor ski slope than a wargaming convention.

This was what we had to work with in Distelfink.

No matter what version of the story I was told by fellow attendees, I'm haunted by the idea the somewhere in the remodel the new Host managed was made aware of numerous site deficiencies that weren't going to be hand-waved again like the good ol' days.  After the third or fourth story, I moved from the hopeful and practical "gut and remodel" camp to the not nearly as cynical as I once thought "raze and rebuild from scratch" club.

The downstairs bar right by the steps leading to the "Tennis Barn"

The postitves?

• I saw staff everywhere, unlike some previous ghost town feelings.
• The outside caterers provided the best food I've eaten on sight in years... and it was hot dogs and fries.
• The outside door to the Expo Center balcony was open and accessible, making the return trip back up the hill feel like a dream compared to the rain-soaked march up the hill.  
• If I ever build a "Last Stand at the Host" game, game companies will get rich with the number of 25mm shipping containers I will need to purchase.

Did not hear any true complaint out the outside food vendor... who was literally outside.

With that all being said, my daughter Maja and I had a great time.  And here we begin the regular portion of my report.

Friday I got the youngest on the bus, and Maja and I departed for Lancaster, with a few random stops along the way.

We arrived at the Host with the previously mentioned parking predicament.  Badge pick-up with the scanner code for pre-registrations was quick and painless and Maja and I discovered the fun and excitement everyone got in their "swag bags":  a pen/laser pointer.

Awesome warning label + average wargamer = How is everyone at the con not blind?

Our first stop was Hobby University for Jim "The Gnome Guy" Stanton's class, "How to Paint a 2-Footer."  I'm certainly dating myself, but the last time I took the class, the fledgling Hobby U was relegated to a tent beside the outdoor pool, Baltimore was a curse word for HMGS members, and I don't believe Maja was even born! 

A refresher for me reminded me of how much stuff I had retained/adapted over the years, and for Maja's first time painting a figure with these guidelines and time restraints, she did spectacular.

Maja's two gnomes on the left, with a little pirate flair

The list of recommended paints to achieve a pleasing mini from two feet away have evolved slightly, but the approach always works.

From there, we wander the Byzantine construction corridors, investigating all the changes for the renovation, with quick stops at Wally's Basement (aka the flea market) then over to the Dealers Hall.  My must-have shopping list with the vendors was quite small this time so we picked up three items and trudged back up the K-12 in the bone-chilling rain to wander back the car, hit Golden Corral to fill Maja's hollow leg with food, and check in at our off-site hotel down the road.

Golden Corral and a dirt-cheap hotel on the Lincoln highway met all our (low) expectations, but let me take a second to mention the other item directly across the street from the Host, The Continental Inn.

I didn't hear many rumblings about how the hotel is being turned into a Cartoon Network theme resort hotel, slated to open in 2019.  From even as close as the Golden Corral, I only see curtains removed and no obvious activity, but since Maja doesn't watch Cartoon Network, she had the very old soul series of questions, "It was a nice place to stay, why mess it up?"

Somehow, this nine-year old missed the hotel/restaurant industries ploys to get more money out of her demographic (and her parents).

 After checking into the hotel, we spent two hours post-gluttony, recovering and finishing up few items for my Saturday game.

Coming back from at the normal dinner time, I was able to secure a better spot near the front of the overflow lot, but the torrential rain and wind still drenched us.

Friday night was spent in my normal hunting grounds, Gnome Wars.  When not commandeering the MBA castle at Historicon, the Gnome Wars have tried to follow the Siege of Tsingtao.  It took all of Cold Wars to get the amphibious landing inland, and now the "Allies" met the the disorganized Germans on the outskirts of the city.

Sure, there were fewer supernatural entities, Swiss tunnelers, exploding trucks, and rampaging war elephants named Rodney in the actual historical battle, but everyone had a hoot. 

In the official report, this massive fireball from two trucks was blamed on co-ed seating.

 Near the end of the game, an employee from Host, oddly asking us how much longer we planned on playing.  No nefarious purpose, other than to let us know they planned on switching the heat on in Distelfink at midnight.  Considering I hadn't realized it wasn't one, even after a rain-required change of clothing at the hotel, would bode poorly on Saturday.

After cleaning up some of the Gnomes, Maja and I returned to our hotel, where I continued organizing the Saturday morning game I was going to run, and Maja fought back sleep while curling up in her blankets, watching Nick at Nite.

Despite a painfully late night, Saturday morning stilled rolled around.  We checked out early, re-loaded the car, and hit IHOP before my 10am game.

I decided to run a game this convention based on two factors: the theme "Revolutions and Civil Wars and Those That Start Them" and the H.A.W.K.S. sponsoring the "Battle in a Box" contest.   The theme allowed me to break out my (Second) Samoan Civil War figures and try to keep it small and manageable.

Deciding that a 2-D terrain map for trees looked ridiculous, coupled with the Fall-In Battle in a Box was rescheduled, I got everything safely packed up, including palm trees, into TWO 17-Liter Really Useful Boxes.

No felt on this board, it's all flannel!

 I instantly remembered the heat had been turned on, when I started to set up and felt two small jet exhausts pummel me from above.   I don't know about the rest of the room, but I was suffering from summertime Host flashbacks from the 00's.

As ten o'clock rolled around, other games picked up, but my table was just Maja and myself.  Then Maja ran off with responsible adults to Hobby U and another class.  However, by 10:30am, I had four excited players who at least feigned interest in my ramblings about Samoan history. 

Outside of a few odd issues that can come up, I love playing with Contemptible Little Armies.  The rules are simple enough to grasp at a convention that everyone expressed an appreciation of the rules.

It also might have been that I played the Americans and my Marines were simply overwhelmed by the Samoan rebels, and supply train absconded with.

Maja had returned just in time not only to clean up, but to safely get all the materials, including dice, rulers, minis, terrain, and cloth, into one box!  I might have ventured over to the H.A.W.K.S room to express my success.  Of course, it was noted by one of the members, that I have a second perfectly good box, from which I can create a second Battle in a Box.  I already have something in mind.

A walk down US 30 for lunch filled the other hollow leg of my daughter and soon we were back in the Dealer's hall to trade in some game rewards I've accumulated over many past cons but never remembered to redeem.

Maja ran out to play in her Lego pirates game, and I got a few moments to wander a bit, peruse the flea market, and check out the other games.

Lego Pirates Plunder

Gnome Wars:  One Day, the Allies Will Capture Tsingtao

A custom German Gnome on a Rabbit

The Toys for Tots area was a happening place.

By 5pm, both of us were pretty beat, so we made a stop to Wawa for human and car fuel, and headed back home. 

As usual, the official breakdown:

THE HOST: Ugh.  I've reached the point where even deluded nostalgia can't keep me from seeing the dumpster fire they're slowing improving.  One day I hope it becomes a Wyndham hotel we can't afford to use, but for now I might take my grandkids there many years from now.

Maja's quote:  "These halls and stairs remind me of scary scenes in Doctor Who."

Parking:  When someone finally does a "Last Battle for Host" minis game, I truly hope they do the parking lot (in)justice.  They seem to continually seek to remove more spots every con. 

Dealer's Hall:  the exterior is continuing it's transformation to a "destination" wedding area for pictures, hootenannies and whatnot.  Steps up the balcony to that exit prevents numerous hill workouts. 

The Swag:  Car is still waiting to be unpacked for the usual swag picture.  Like I said above, limited shopping list.  The new mdf marketplace set from Things from the Basement was item #1, and Recreational Conflict now stocking Pulp Alley was #2.  Add the Back of Beyond sourcebook for CLA at Brigade plus a free penguin bag for my daughter, and we that was as far as we went. 

The flea market had an equal budget.  Maja found some Imperial Guard  40k figs she feel in love with and before I could even hand him cash, he told her to take them.  One day, wargamers may stop succumbing to her cuteness and politeness and give her things to help continue the hobby.  If that does happen, she better have these IG painted up (and a Black Powder dead horse marker she also got for free). 

For me, besides a few miscellaneous Pulp figs, and a great deal of Space Marines from the same fellow who gave Maja the IG (and we don't play 40k), I found some great finds in the RPGs bins.

• Castle Falkenstein 
• Macho Women with Guns
• MWWG: More Excuses to Kill Things

Fall-In! 2019 will be November 14-17, 2019 at the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia, PA.    The kids' sports schedule will run havoc with that one, but I'll be delighted to pay for tolls on the turnpike to get there, IF there are no renovations.