Friday, January 17, 2025

(Painting) Transnitrian Light Tanks and a GEV for OGRE Miniatures

A few more items that have been perennials on my painting bench are finally off... 

More of the original plastic OGRE Minis, namely, three light tanks and a GEV, with the light camo, dirty wash style of the Transnitrian Scientific Republic (TSR)


I believe this clears OGRE Minis off the painting bench, as well as the next bag of "filler" minis.

In the Queue:  Gnomes, Zulus, and more Death Planet Iota terrain.

Project 350: A nice drop (finally) to 472  (305/167)  from 480 (311/169).   The #CharacterCreationChallenge is going smoothly, I'm current with the actual plays, and some other projects will see the light of day shortly.

(BECMI D&D) Bronte, New Acolyte of Mere

 Kicking it old school for Day 17 of the #CharacterCreationChallenge, a little Basic D&D action.


Bronte Argento - 3rd Level Lawful Cleric of the Church of Gulluvia
Strength:       12
Intelligence:  12
Wisdom:        17   +2  (10% xp bonus)
Dexterity:      14   +1
Constitution:   9
Charisma:     17    +2
Hit Points:   7
Armor Class: 0  (Banded Mail +1, Shield,  ROP +2)
Weapon Prof:  Mace (Skilled), Hammer 
Skills: Acting  17, Ceremony (Church of Gulluvia) 17 ,  Law and Justice (Gulluvia)  17 ,  Persuasion 17.

xp: 5,000
GP: 25

Weapon: 
Mace (2d4 skilled damage, -1AC/1)

Spells, 2 1st level. 
In town:   Detect Evil, Detect Magic
Dungeoneering:  Cure Light Wounds x2 or Cure Light Wounds/Light

In the Barony of Gulluvia, the good Lady D'hmis has absolute power over the military, over the church, and over all her subjects.   Bronte is the third child of a petty noble, destined for an administrative post in the church, and to be honest, her frail health and personable charm destined her for an influential post after a long career.  

Bronte had other thoughts, participating in numerous trainings not only with the martial clerics, but the feared baronial knights.  Sure she's taken her lumps, but she's earned the respect of the others... and the preferential treatment of the armorer's.  Compared to even the sergeants and captains of the Guard, she's nigh impenetrable against goblins and kobolds, and is apt enough to dispatch one after a single swing, two at worst.  

Word has trickled through the network, that werewolf may have ventured through the Village of  Mere and killed a well-liked acolyte of the church, Brother Barry Manaslow.  The faithful flock was relying on the declining wisdom of Father Joseph, and his new acolyte, a mere girl, no more than thirteen at best.   It would be up to her, with papers from High Priest Carathmus, no less. to be an a new protector of the village, and find why there had been so much activity with the Baronial Guard in the past year...

Thursday, January 16, 2025

(D&D 5e) Helene Pilsner - The Key Mistress #CharacterCreationChallenge

Day 16 of the #CharacterCreationChallenge and I may have discovered my fatal flaw for failing to complete last year's challenge.  No, it wasn't apparent absence of alliteration, rather the the challenge being bereft of 5th Edition D&D characters.

If notes that this 2024 edition is more akin to 1st-to-2nd Edition evolution than the latter ones, and upon viewing all the 5e PHBs on store shelves, I think I'll stick with 5e for awhile, warts and all.  

With that said, here's Helene Pilsner, The Key Mistress of Saltmarsh

Helene Pilsner,  The Key Mistress, 3rd Level Human Burglar
Age, 21 5'7" 140 lbs
ST: 12 (+1)
DX: 16 (+3)
CN: 13 (+1)
IN: 14 (+2)
WS: 12 (+1)
CH: 13 (+1)
Hit Points: 25
Armor Class: 14  (Leather plus Dex Bonus)
Initiative: +3  
Speed:  30 

Skills: Deception +3, Intimidation +3 , Investigation +4, Perception +3, Sleight of Hand +5, Stealth +5

Languages: Read/Write Trade Prythax (Common), Read/Write Halfling

Speak: Common, Thieves Cant

Equipment: Thieves Tools, Leather Armor, Shortsword, 2 Daggers, Burglar's Pack, Crowbar, set of dark common clothes, hammer, 2 locks,  1-inch cube, with each side painted a different color,  21 gp.

Special Abilities: Expertise, Sneak Attack, Cunning Action, Fast Hands, Second-Story Work

Proficiencies: Simple Weapons, Light Armor


The success in Saltmarsh hasn't lured all of the finer citizens to the port. Some persons of ill-repute like Helene tag along on the journey and set up shop quite cozy.  

Helene isn't yet twenty, and she's renowned for her ability to get most things open.  Whether picking it, bashing it, our somehow finding a match on the numerous keys on her body, she will open things to the highest bidder. 

Helene has gotten in trouble with Kreb Shenker at the Empty Net.  The conniving thug has double-crossed her and held onto a chest that was always hers.  What Kreb doesn't realize is that Helene's not interested in the gold and personal effects in the chest, but rather a certain something in a hidden compartment that only the finest thieves would be able to notice, much less open.

Personality Traits:  I always have a plan for when things go wrong.

Ideals: I don't steal from others in the trade.

Bonds: "Something important has been taken from me, and I vow to get it back."

Flaws: "Innocent people are in prison for numerous crimes I've committed.  I'm okay with that."

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

(Mini-Review) Gamer's Edge - Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania

The Dating Life of ViscountEric (TM) continues, and this past weekend, I descended upon Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, after a long time away.  

Stroudsburg is the directionally deficient neighbor to East Stroudsburg, and my college stomping grounds at East Stroudsburg University.   Many a trip was taken over both bridges for the local comic book shop, some non-BK fast food, or a trip to the Main Street Jukebox.  We would never visit drinking establishments.  

Stroudsburg had already been invaded by New Yorkers 25 years ago, but now you can call it fully gentrified.  Traffic for a Saturday night was insane, parking problematic compared to my arrival time, but the trees were still lit with white Christmas lights, making things bright and cheery.

I was super-early for meeting up, and not wanting to give up a perfect parking spot, I wandered down the street to Gamer's Edge to peruse for 15 minutes.  

I reviewed Gamer's Edge almost 7 years ago.  and once prior to that in their original location.  

So, my thoughts after being away for 7 years.  

It's improving. 

Wargaming:  GW (and D&D minis)

Board Games: solid but not overwhelming inventory. 

RPG:  Mostly D&D with some odd ducks, and a few USED RPG books at reasonable prices.

CCG:  Pokemon/Yu-Gi-Oh/Magic. Packs and Singles.

Video Game:  Used systems and games.

Open Gaming: Large area in the back for various forms of tournaments.   The clientele for a Saturday night seemed to match my crew from my 2018 review, and probably every iteration of a FLGS in Stroudsburg leading from the late 20th Century on.  I don't know if "Warhammer Moms" are still a thing, but I felt uncomfortable going back there, so I can't imagine anyone else who would be out of their element. 

This was from the 2018 review, this section, and this clientele remains the same.

Gamer's Edge is at 580 Main St in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.  I do feel it's gotten a wee bit better, but it still retains my 3 1/2 out of 5 gnome rating. 
I'm not starting up a competition with Barstool, but two extra reviews:

Bovino's Brewery - 610 Main St Stroudsburg - Small brewery, bar, and restaurant.  We had flights of various beers and sandwiches.  Beers are varied, all were well made, some just not to our liking.  Sandwiches hit the spot.  Staff was super nice.  Date was superpicky at prior brewpubs, and loved everything.   4 1/2 out of 5 gnomes. 

The Renegade Winery - Far trendier feeling place that was packed when we went to Bovino's.  We stopped in after dinner and the place was empty at 8:30pm, and they were open to 10!  We tasted some wines, and despite completely different palates, most of of the wines we tasted were horribly bitter, and much to my date's chagrin, the lone wine I picked, simply because it had "unicorn farts" in the description was only one we both liked. What was advertised as an overload and fruity and sweet, was more of a refreshing summer wine.    2 out of 5 gnomes.


(RISUS) El Guerrero Serano, Mariachi of the Rising Sun #CharacterCreationChallenge

Day 15 and it's time to steal a classic RPG meme, whom I'm naming El Guerrero Serano, "The Serene Warrior."


El Guerrero Serano, Mariachi of the Rising Sun
Famous musician from a desert land of fanciful outfits (4)
Honorable swordsman, trained from the isolated islands of the East (3)
Shy nobleman whose culture is JUSTICE (2)
Stuttering poet (1)

Equipment:  Guitar, Katana, Mariachi costume

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

(Gamma World) Beyond the Eastern Barrier #1 - A Rescue in the Nightwood

The town of Cliffside was bustling, loads of bricks getting moved to be dried, others moving into storage, further teams downriver harvesting lumber for charcoal. 

With most of the adults doing the work of the town, there were few available for de when a pack of children, already in trouble for ditching school, run back into town with even graver news.  

After getting a stern hollerin' to by one of the elder constables, moreso about waking him up from his nap than ditching school, he assembled the town council that was available and small search parties were formed, with a more concerted enough getting organized when folks got back from their shift, if little Timmy hadn't shown up all by himself by then.  

Montese the Hamster Scout's job was finding people, but there was no way he was getting lumped in with a random search party.  He would work solo, or better yet, with the help of a friend.

Montese the Hamster
While a steep cliff separated Cliffside from the Infernal Run below, there was also a substantial cliff to above the town.  Attempts at quarrying it yielded mixed results, so it was largely abandoned, save a few vagabonds and loners who live atop or even within the cliffs.

One such entity was Soul'Miz, a Mutant Venus Fly-Trap.  
After Soul'Miz agreed to help, the duo traveled straight in the depths of the Nightwood. 

"I know exactly where he'll be," Montese proudly declared.

Once a month, the lumberjacks of Cliffside would stop harvesting down along the Infernal and stay up near town to "manage" a small section of the Nightwood.  It was much harder than their normal work, but the yield of fine and rare trees, as well as an open buffer to protect the town, benefitted all. 

But once the duo got through that open buffer zone, the world almost went dark.  The Nightwood got its name from the thick canopy it created, nearly blocking out all sunlight.  Bioluminescent mushrooms and moss dotted the ground, giving the whole region a mysterious tone on top of the random creatures that lived within.  

They had cautiously walked a bit of woods, when Montese cried out,  "Soul'Miz, duck!"

A series of rocks, tied to ropes, swung down from the high branches.  The Venus Fly Trap was not prepared for fast action, but luckily her short stature was enough to save her.  Each rock peaked and swung back and forth innocently until they stopped.  

A ghastly little trolls barreled down the hill where they had been hiding, their hoots and hollers piercing the eerie quiet of the woods. 

These were Um'brallers, once the fiendish races that somehow from the Nightwood liveable, if not completely pleasant.   They rarely visited Cliffside, but they were the number one suspects on Soul'Miz's list.

The base of the plant began to expand, forming bags of gas that allowed Soul'Miz to float above the reach of the creature.  

Montese, always a secondary target, and somehow vanished from everyone's sight.  While the Um'Brallers were jumping up, trying to touch the plant, the hamster re-appeared between them and bashed their heads together.  

"I really wished you weren't such a pacifist."  was all Montese could get out.

"Hey, if they accidently fall into a coma and land in my mouth, I'm not adverse to slowly digesting them.  I just don't want to hurt them.  We're on their land."

"With our kid..." 

A bit further, and they had another encounter with a lone Um'Braller, a much larger monstrosity, probably keyed to the previous ruckus.  Soul'Miz stared the beast down, raised a tendril, and suddenly the Um'Braller was floating.  She barely had enough energy and focus to move the creature into a nearby tree.  The smaller Um'Braller were quite nimble, but the larger "Gum'Brallers" developed a fear of heights for some reason, and they would frozen in fear for a number of minutes until they would start to cry out for help.   That gave the pair enough time to make a hasty exit from the area.

The Um'brallers (Two from the rock trap, and the one that chased our heroes)

They travelled for most of the day, although they could barely tell the sun had already set, until they fell upon a rare "bald", an opening the Nightwood.  A New Moon in the sky barely changed things, but the bald did create an interesting sight.  

Dozens of small tents and few small fires filled the void.  It appeared the Um'Brallers, who were afraid of most light, took advantage of no moon and decided to camp out amongst the stars.  

Located on the edge of the camp were three woven cages, a mixture of branches and briars.  One of them had little Timmy.  

Montese moved up undetected, and opened all three cages, quieting waking up and coaxing out Timmy, a woman with glowing eyes, and a man with very pointed ears.  The three prisoners making even the most mild stretching actions, as the cages were quite tight, was enough the alert some of the guards.  

A long chase commenced.  Our duo grabbed Timmy with them, but the other two prisoners split off in opposite directions. 

For most of the night, the Montese and Soul'Miz dodged search party after search party Um'brallers, no small task with a scare seven-year old human boy in their possession, but near dawn they stumbled upon one of the Cliffside search party that foolhardily decided to make camp inside the Nightwood.  Together they made it back to the buffer zone, where the human woman with glowing up was sitting on a falled log...

The Mystery Woman

Next: #2 - 

(Toon) Gouda King Fromage #CharacterCreationChallenge

 Again, you go down the rabbit hole which is AI, and you're forced to stat out the oddest pictures in the #CharacteerCreationChallenge

Gouda King Fromage, the well-aged ruler of the Fridge.  


Name:  Gouda King Fromage

Species:  Big Cheese

Natural Enemies: The Lack-Toes Intolerant

Beliefs and Goals:  "The Fridge Should Be a Perfect Land"  "Kosher is an Abomination, Let the Meats and Cheese themselves choose who they wish to be paired with. 

Hit Points: 9

Plot Points: 0

Possessions: Royal Scepter, Royal Crown, Cloak, a ball of rubber bands, Cheese slicer

Muscle:  5
Break Down Door -   5
Climb                     -  5
Fight                       -  7
Pick Up Heavy Thing - 5
Throw                    - 5

Zip:  6
Dodge                 -  7
Drive Vehicle     -   6
Fire Gun             -  6
Jump                  -  8
Ride                    - 9
Run                     - 6
Swim                  - 7

Smarts  6
Hide/Spot Hiden                 -7
Identify Dangerous Thing  - 9
Read                                   - 8
Resist Fast-Talk                 - 8
See/Hear/Smell                 - 6
Set/Disarm Trap                - 7
Track/Cover Tracks          - 7

Chutzpah!   4
Fast-Talk                           -6
Pass/Detect Shoddy Goods  - 5
Sleight of Hand                -4
Sneak                                -4

Schtick:
Incredible Strength (5)
Coat of Arms (4)