(Kickstarter) Psi-Paladins and Techno Barbarians

Ganesha Games has launched yet another Kickstarter, this time Psi-Paladins and Techno Barbarians, an miniatures and rules expansion for their Mutant and Death Ray Guns Sci-Fi rules.

The core pledge is the seven figures above plus a pdf of the rules supplement.  Higher pledge levels include pdf or softcovers of Mutants and Death Ray Guns and/or Project Simian Ultra X

Although I'm still not completely sold on the Song of Blades and Heroes rules for anything and everything, I was extremely pleased with their Axe and Brimstone campaign.  If half the stretch goals as that are met, this one will be a bargain (even if I have to pay shipping this time.) 

The first stretch goals intrigues me.  Not only do I want the three ComBots, I may want an add-on option to buy additional robots. 

(Hackmaster) Burning Trogs Redux #0.2 - Prelude - The Rest of the Trogs - Twelve Years Later

Upon the cessation of the war, our ambassadors were awarded with estates along the coast in Treibezond in Barthey.  Retirement was a word discussed within the group and the first year or two was a series of visits to each other's estates, a few parties, and relaxing.

Gwen was the first to leave.  The beach was nice, but the interior of Barthey was not to her druidic preferences.  She missed the forest.   Her new husband, Carlino Oakland, elf fighter/mage, agreed.   Two things happened on her journey back.

(1) She ran into the Mutumbo family, who had finally left the spartan confines of Trogs HQ in Celsior to purchase the local trading post in Verge.  Traffic through the village had increased, so business was booming.

(2) She met within the enclave of the Druids of Traldar, and the council named her Druid of Traldar! The chaos in the world had claimed a number of high level druids, so she was the most powerful druid in the land.  She and the Druids of Weissmach and Vlachia/Hermetus serve the Druid of  the Steppe Border, who help keep the Galmar Barbarians in check.

Regardless, she moved her official druid's grove from Eltan's Spring to a smaller grove south of Verge. Her mute halfling bodyguard, Ramsa, can be found in the taverns of Verge from time to time.

Terval Sit was next to go, or perhaps he was travelling back and forth from Marakeikos.  Soon after Gwen set Verge as the druidic capital, Terval had set up as the resident magic expert at Mutumbo's trading post, greatly increasing the traffic and inventory of the trading post.  Mutumbo now is regionally renown for their selection of magic items for sale, and the ability to take in as many magic items as adventurers bring in.

Mutumbo and Nina were happy to uproot their limited life in Celsior and turn some of Mutumbo's adventuring booty into a career with the Verge Trading Post.  Overland trade routes have picked up along with part of the kingdom, heading into Danaan, Argivia, and Barthey. Their first son, Takem is now a teenager, and they added a second child, Givem, 7 years ago.  Yes, you can pet a camel with a giant gold chain in the petting zoo.

Coreena Ruddledater, the Trogs' young torchbearer, retired even earlier.  Less than a year after the war, she travelled back to Celsior to live with, and work as a nanny for, Mutumbo's family.  She travelled with them to Verge, and has worked the store, gone to school, and now spends many of her days relaxing in the surrounding woods

"Whitey" Smallfoot, was named Seneschal of Zorin's Barthey estate.   He spent most of the time inside, managed the estate well, and fed the staff some amazing meals.  A few times he has left the estate to rejoin Zorin hunting slavers, but a few accidents later, and he was back to Barthey.

"New Generation" of Trogs  - Although the original Trogs have essentially retired, their name alone has attracted a legion of wanna-be-adventurers.  Between Gwen, Mutumbo, and Terval, a few have been found worthy... of something, and granted a membership.  Largely these weaker Burning Trogs have hired themselves out for caravan guards, and militia support for goblin attacks, and on a rare occassion, rescue overwhelmed newbies trying to tame distant Cloudland Castle.  Of course, rescues have a substantial fee.  Most day to day operations are controlled by an old war friend of Zorin's, a normal gnome named Abicaw Whayott.

Janus Redrock - In 1140, Janus disappeared from her estate, with most of the estate's fortune, and has not been seen since.   Barthey announced the estate abandoned in 1143.

General Fonzie Schlepprock is still in Treibezond, sipping cool drinks on the beach.  Sure, he jumped aboard a slaver-chasing ship with Zorin once or twice, but the "Military Genius of the Siege of Akorros" has avoided any sort of adventuring, although his stories at dinner expand his prowess night after night.

(Savage Lost) #2.1 - The Ruins of Mchawi Mfalme

In the grand finale of the first season of our family's Pulp game,  our heroes obtained a map to a rumored ancient Egyptian settlement far south of anything archeologists had previously discovered.  The translation was sketchy at best, but the site might just be the final resting place of certain artifacts that had yet to been unearthed by archeologists: The Sword of Soken, the Shield of Ma-nu-fa, and the Damar J'hai, an extraordinary gem of immense size and rumored to have magic powers to affect the future.

Reknowned archeologist Maja Millie had assembled a team for the expedition:
Maja Millie:  fleet footed archeologist with an aversion to guns (run by my daughter, Maja)
Kacey Barbara:  photographer for the Daily Outlook of Detweiler, Maine (Maja)
Bob Njano: native bearer turned hero, his contacts got them plenty of bearers and guards (Maja)\
Nils Lingonberry:  famed Swedish adventurer and sidekick for Maja Millie (run by Millie)
Lord Jon-Smythe Cuppenbrush: wealthy English gentleman with a penchant for adventure (Millie)

Our Heroes:  Bob Njano, Maja Millie, Kacey Barbara, Lord Jon-Smythe Cuppenbrush, and Nils Lingonberry

Along with three native guards and four native bearers, the expedition travelled upriver.  All appeared normal until they reached the final tributary on the map.  Instead of seeing two smaller rivers forking off, they encountered a large river splitting off into two separate directions.  One formed the river that they had travelled from Sohai, the second dove back into the jungle. 

They first saw the ruins of Mchawi Mfalme by the large obelisk blasting out of the tree line.  Upon closer look, they could see ruins that were obviously Egyptian in nature.  In fact, Maja Millie's keen eyes spied the Shield of Ma-Nu-Fa, just sitting there against a wall!

The Egyptian outpost clashes against the surrounding jungle

The party quickly threw caution to the wind and sprinted through the jungle.  However, as they passed the half-covered sphinx head, a horrible howl cut through the air.  Perhaps there was truth to the reason natives called this area Mchawi Mfalme, land of the Witch-King.

Although they could not see their foes, skeleton warriors scurried across an ancient, half-rotten bridge.

The Witch King's forces cross the river

The party scrambled onto the site, but Maja Millie spied a new item off to the side... was that jade???

Maja Millie dashes forth to scout out the site.

That allowed Nils Lingonberry to reach the first item, a perfectly maintained Egyptian sword stuck in the wall.  It took a great deal of strength, but the Sword of Soken was his!

Pi Yimminy!  Nils lifts the Sword of Soken!

The leisurely pace of the Witch-King's forces was corrected by the ferocity of the mythical Jungle Yeti charging to the front of the attack...

The Jungle Yeti ignores the Jewel of Chance and begins its hunt.

Maja Millie's keen eye rewarded her as she uncovered a huge jade statue.  A quick Archeology roll and she determined that it was the fabled Jade Heffer of Hathor!

Holy Cow!

The Jungle Yeti swung into the temple ruins and let out a fearsome roar.    Nils was not normally brave man, and with a supernatural beast in front of him, he dropped his prized sword and high tailed it back to the sphinx head.

The Jungle Yeti scares of Nills, and the Sword of Soken is ripe for the taking.

The Witch-King had tried to take over the minds of  Lord Cuppenbrush, but his will was much too strong.  As a parting gift, he took possession of the Damar J'hai

The Witch-King grabs the Jewel of Chance!

Bob Njano herded the native help (and the photographer Kacey) behind the pyramid and out of sight of the monsters. 

The native guards and bearers scramble to safety as Lord Cuppenbrush vyes for the Shield of Targeting. 

Lord Cuppenbrush decided to take the Shield of Ma-Nu-Fa, but as he grabbed the artifact, lightning arced from it and knocked him to the ground. 

The Shield's power is just too much for the English gentleman.

The Jungle Yeti roars, and the bearers cower in fear....

Maja Millie stayed in the jungle as long as she could, but with the Jungle Yeti picking up the Sword, she bolted out as fast as she could.  With it's long gait, the monster simply stepped over the ruins and blocked her path to freedom.

Yeti vs Maja Millie.  Sword of Soken vs the Sacred Cow

Back at the Shield, Lord Cuppenbrush was face to face with two skeleton warriors.  Still kneeling on the ground, he knocked one back with his fists and had a healthy chunk of his sun helmet taken off by the other,  he stumbled towards the natives, and with a voice that seemed familiar with numerous British Colonial campaigns, he barked orders for the riflemen to come forward and fire at the undead.

Lord Cuppenbrush rallies the native rifles...

Maja Millie also managed to evade her opponent, the Jungle Yeti's gigantic fists crashing down to cause two or three foot craters in the soft jungle earth. 

With Maja and Nils reaching the apparent safety beyond the sphinx head, Kacey decided that discretion was the better part of photojournalism and dashed across the temple, unfortunately catching the eye of the Jungle Yeti.

.... and saves Kacey from the Jungle Yetis pursuit.

Chivalry was not dead that day was Lord Cuppenbrush spotted the distressed damsel, and intercepted the creature's pursuit.  Despite the Jungle Yeti's incredible skull-crushing strength, the gentleman's guile (and saber training) kept the monster's rending claws away from vital organs.  Even with the arrival of two skeleton warriors, the surrounded nobleman held his ground and deflected blows from all directions.

Bob Njano caught the attention of the Witch King as he managed to grab the shield.  Despite holding an item that translated to the Shield of Targeting, neither magical bolts or entrancing spells had an effect on the man, as he stood between the magic-wielder and the hired help.

Watching the financier of the expedition locked in battle must have inspired Nils, because the Swede emerged from the safe confines beyond the temple and begin firing into the backside of the Jungle Yeti.  With the Yeti distracted, Lord Cuppenbrush burst past the skeletons, shattering one and knocking the other back, so he could get to safety.

Lord Cuppenbrush and Nils manage to bewilder the Jungle Yeti and skeletons, allowing everyone to escape.

The Yeti let out another terrible howl, scaring off Bob and the bearers.  No longer affected by its scream, Nils decided to retreat back on his own...

Bob Njano and the bearers flee....

Realizing that the Witch-King's power only held sway around the temple and somewhere beyond the river.  The party kept a wide berth as they searched for Bob and the bearers. 

Upon their discovery, it was decided that the artifacts should be packaged and sent back with the native bearers, with Bob Njano and two of the guards protecting it.  The four adventurers and Akello, the remaining guard would work around the temple to document and sketch everything they could. 

Maja Millie decided a nearby small mountain was the perfect angle to view the temple.  Once on the mountain, the archeologist finished her report, and made two shocking discoveries.  From the safety of her vantage point, she could see the Witch King return to the temple and reassemble the bones of his fallen skeleton warriors with some dark magicks.  She also discovered that the river, which appeared to turn into a narrow canyon, actually flowed directly into the mountain itself.  More investigation was in order...

As we expand into more of the fantastical using Savage Showdown/Worlds, I discovered that skeletons are not the one Hit Die pushovers of their D&D counterparts.  Fast, tough, and able shake of any stunning blow with ease, add a shield for extra defense, and they were worse of a threat than the scary, lumbering yeti, or the very cautious Witch-King. 
The girls decided not to keep their new treasures (i.e. magic items) on their expedition.  Unfortunately, they also decided to send their best shot (Bob), most of their back-up, and all of their bearers back to civilization.    We'll have a short role-playing/book keeping session to figure out some logistics and make some character advances.  Only one character (Maja Millie) is seasoned enough to handle what's coming.  I'm going to expect a few more spectacular moves like Lord Cuppenbrush performed to keep the story going. 

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and I basically took everything for this game from Toy Soldiers and Dining Room Tables.

Next:  Episode #2.2 - The River of Suspense!

(Kickstarter) The Elsor-Varo 28mm Space Dwarf Miniatures

Gydran Miniatures Studios has launched a new Kickstarter campaign for Elsor-Varo 28mm Space Dwarf Miniatures.

The set is a multi-part kit that will be cast in both Pewter/white metal, and resin. This should give you the flexibility to pose them how you want and give variety to any force you choose to add them to. You could also field them as a force in their own right.

(Kickstarter) Off the Beaten Path, Forest Excursions

NomadGaming has launched a Kickstarter for Off the Beaten Path - Forest Excursions for either Swords and Wizardry or a systems neutral version.

The campaign started as a result of a Patreon project.  The author delivers 2-4 adventures digitally to Patreon subscribers each month throughout 2016.  This project combines all the adventures from the previous year into a single book.


I'm not usually one to mention the plethora of adventure/scenario books available on Kickstarter, but I will mention that this product has cover art from Travis Hanson.

Apathy of the New Releases (February '17)

My Want List
Nuttin'

My Money-Is-No-Object List
Fat Goblin Games
Castle Falkenstein:  Curious Creatures .............................................................. $29.95
Vs. Ghosts .......................................................................................................... $15.95
May have to bump this one up to my real want list.  The girls might like it.  Then again, I need to get them to watch the original Ghostbusters, too.

Osprey Publishing
Scrappers:  Post-Apoc Skirmish Wargaming ..................................................... $30.00
Osprey's wargame division has done well either producing cheap rules alternative for multiple eras (the blue books), or quality hardcovers (Frostgrave).  This feels like a Fall-Out/Mad Max version of Necromunda, and the thirty bucks is a little hefty.

Reaper
Townsfolk - Kids 1 - Wizard and Ranger ........................................................... $ 7.49

The Imaginary Store List (The Pegleg Gnome)
9th Level Games
Knuckle Sammich ......................................................................................... $20.00

Ares Games
Battle of Britain Starter Set .......................................................................... $69.90

Avalanche Press
Great War at Sea:  High Seas Fleet - Second Edition ................................... $29.99

Catalyst Game Labs
Shadowrun:  Zero Day Card Game ............................................................... $19.99

Cubicle 7
Doctor Who RPG:  Black Archive HC .......................................................... $39.99
D&D RPG:  Adventures in Middle Earth - Wilderland Adventures HC ......  $39.99
The One Ring RPG:  Bree HC ....................................................................... $39.99

Dude Games
Goths Save the Queen...................................................................................... $20.00

Fantasy Flight Games
Star Wars Imperial Assault:  Skirmish Map - ISB HQ
Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game:  Battle of Hoth Playmat
Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game:  Starkiller Base Playmat

Fat Goblin Games
Pathfinder RPG:  8-Bit Adventures - Welcome to the Fungal Kingdom........  $24.95
Based on local store data, online retailer sell-offs, and the general cluttered market, I decided to stop stock 3rd party Pathfinder products at my imaginary FLGS.  As a result, I don't list them on the Apathy posts at all.  But this book, even if it completely sucks, I would move a copy of it relatively quickly simply because of the concept and cover art.

Between this and the two items I like under my Money-Is-No-Object List, Fat Goblin is doing something right.

Games Workshop
Outside a new wave of Space Hulk becoming available, and $15 paint sets for armies, the rest just makes me shake my head in disbelief.  They almost make the $25 spray paint seem affordable.

Green Ronin
Mutants and Masterminds:  Atlas of Earth-Prime .......................................... $44.95

IDW
Escape from 100 Million BC .......................................................................... $59.99
I like Escape from Atlantis, but sixty bucks is pretty steep

Iello
King of Tokyo:  Power Up Expansion 2017 ..................................................... $19.99

Konami Digital Entertainment
Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG:  Duelist Saga Box
Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG:  Star Pack: Battle Royal Boosters

Mantic Entertainment
Walking Dead: All Out War Booster Expansions ............................................  $19.99
(Andrea, Lori, Carol, and Rick on Horse)

Mongoose Publishing
Paranoia RPG: Forms Pack ................................................................................. $9.99
Paranoia RPG: Interactive Screen ....................................................................... $19.99
Paizo Publishing
Pathfinder RPG:  AP - Ironfang Invasion Part 3 - Assault on Longshadow ...... $24.99
Pathfinder RPG:  Player Companion: Heroes of the Darklands ......................... $14.99
Pathfinder RPG:  Map Pack Secret Rooms ......................................................... $14.99

Petersen Games
Cthulhu Wars ...................................................................................................... $179.99
Sweet Baby Nylarathotep, this is huge!  I joke that it's Axis and Allies with the Mythos and all the civilians suffer, but the figures are extraordinary.  The thing that scares me as a store would be the 15 expansions, ranging from $15 to $59, and the fact that most hardcore Lovecraft and Sandy Petersen fans may have already snagged up what they wanted through the Kickstarter.

Plastic Soldier Company
Releases for the 15mm Easy Assembly WW2 line from Plastic Soldier give me warm and fuzzy feelings of those days when the local hobby shop stocked RPG and Avalon Hill on the side.

Pokémon USA
Pokémon TCG:  Kingdra EX Box
Pokémon TCG:  Lycanroc GX Box

Rogue Games
Colonial Gothic: Settings...................................................................................... $21.99

Steve Jackson Games
Munchkin: Curses Booster Pack .......................................................................... $5.95

Troll Lord Games
Castles and Crusades:  Brindisium Adventures ................................................... $9.99
Castles and Crusades:  Expanding Classes .......................................................... $9.99
Castles and Crusades: Slipcase Edition ............................................................... $129.99

Vallejo
Pigment Set:  Dust and Dirt ................................................................................. $9.18

Warlord
My normal complaints aside about lack of pricing, and being underwhelmed by a lot of what they're producing, Warlord does know how to present a mini.  Here's Ariovistus Germanic Chieftain from their Hail Caesar line.

Wizkids
DC Heroclix Elseworlds - Starters and Boosters
Marvel Heroclix What-If?  - Starters and Boosters

Wildfire
Poo (Revised) ........................................................................................................... $ 9.99
Nice to see this game finally got it together *rimshot*

(Painting) Santa Claus vs the Witch-King

Get impressed people.  Paint is getting put on metal (and flexible pvc material) again!


Santa Claus (50208) from Reaper

Santa was a well-timed random gift at SATLOF from my friend Scott.  I got enough of him painted to make him passable for our Christmas game, and I still need to properly finish the base with snow.  It's just been so long since snow-based something that I think I may have chucked out the materials

Satheras, Male Warlock (77040) by Reaper Bones

"Volume 2" of the Savage Showdown Pulp campaign kicks off with the big baddie known only as Mchawi Mfalme (The Witch-King).  For the jungles of Africa, this guys seems just a wee bit pale, but there must be a reason he's wandering the lost Egyptian ruins.  

I will say this about Bones material: it's absolute garbage for skinny constructs like staves and rapiers.  Boiling and cooling only do so much.

Our heroes will need some assistance with their supplies, so it was a perfect time to paint up some African Native Porters from North Star's Africa! line 

NSA4003

The last figure is an example of what happens when a Kickstarter goes a little south.  Here is the RAFM Wind Walker from their Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition line.

Wind Walker - RAFM.com

The second pledge I ever made on Kickstarter was for the RAFM Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition minis, way back in 2014.  It was a long and painful road for the figures to arrive at my door (probably more so for the folks at RAFM) but I got a box of great figures.

Except this one.

This fellow appears to be the one figure they forgot to sculpt until the last second.  In the end, the concept art for each new figure largely matched or exceeded the concept art provided on Kickstarter.

Here's the concept art...

It appears they sculpted the wet-dog/kid-brother version.  Regardless, I got more than my money's worth from the rest of the box, and I still have a use for this fellow, even if he's a dopey Greek Troll looking underling for the Witch-King.

I'll also note that RAFM is in the process of putting the CoC 7th Edition minis on their webstore.  The Wind Walker is still nowhere to be seen.

Captain Larry's Fate - A Savage Showdown Vignette

Captain Larry was a fair man.  Choosing between making money and doing a good deed (while making money), Larry chose the latter, rendezvousing with starlet Ruby Diamond to aid her escape. 


The good Captain was the last line of defense as the starlet's entourage made it onto his ship.  As he tried to dive into the water to catch the vessel, only to catch two bullets in his back. 

Somehow, Larry managed to avoid drowning and bleeding out, bobbing through the water.  He washed up on a beach far from the desert town of Soahi.

 As Larry woke up on the beach, he was wracked with pain and dying of thirst. 

He stumbled into the jungle, looking for some natural cures and fresh water.  He found a trove of mild anesthetic plants right near a bunch of bananas that had fallen from a tree.  Larry pounded the plants against the bark and shoved the mess into his wounds.  Finally getting some relief, he grabbed a banana and savored every bite.

As he reached for a second banana, something grabbed hold of his hand.  Scrambling away, Larry stood mere feet away from the largest elephant he had ever seen!

Larry unwisely tried to make a run for it....

 If not for a few well-place rocks, the Captain would have been trampled for sure. 


As all hope seemed to dwindle away, a high pitch whistle screeched through the jungle and the elephant stopped in its tracks.   Two women emerged from the trees, weapons at the ready.  

Sensing that the stranger was more in danger than a danger, they handed him a canteen.   They introduced themselves as Julie from the Jungle Patrol and Hayden, a Big Game Huntress.  The stationary elephant was Julie's pet, Mungous, and Larry had happened to interrupt his lunch. 


The lady adventurers took Captain Larry back to the Jungle Patrol shack for food and medical attention. 


Once recovered, Captain Larry told the duo his story.  Despite just recently returning from Sohai, Julie agreed to escort him back to the desert town... just in time for Christmas.


Good natured Captain Larry wanted to return... for revenge on Lt Colonel Thaddeus Ovaltine and the local gangs of Sohai.


After Maja selected Captain Larry as one of her characters for the Christmas game, the inevitable question came up, "How did Captain Larry survive?"  With the fate of Christmas at stake, there was no time for a long story during that game, but we did break out the Rory's Story Cubes later to figure out specifically what happened.  I'm very happy the girls picked an elephant for the surprise monster, rather than dinosaurs (they're coming soon enough).   This also creates a back-up plan, just in case the adventurers for "Season 2" all get eaten in the jungles of Africa.  Between some of the "tougher" female heroes on the docket, plus more sailors to order from Pulp Figures, a possible Season 3 could get down and dirty... and vengeful.

Snow Day, Fairy Towns, and the Kriget Rum

Yesterday was a head-scratching snow day for the kids.  The local school district calls for a two-hour delay when someone drops on ice cube on a road in July, so the threat of a messy mixture of freezing rain, sleet, and snow gave the kids an early dismissal and a two-hour delay the following morning.  At 7am, that delay turned into a closure.  By the time the kids would normally go to school, our fifth tier suburban backstreet was not only plowed... but DRY.


Since I'm the go-to parent for closures, I cleared off the edges of the driveway, put Supergirl on for the girls, and went downstairs for a morning of painting and podcasts. Pics forthcoming, but it was an exclamation point to a productive month.


A sloppy afternoon outside with the neighborhood kids trumped my idea of a quick game followed by arts and crafts.  By the time they got inside, dried off, and ingested some hot chocolate, I looked up the clock and it was time for gymnastics (for the girls, definitely not me).


After dropping them off, I felt an odd sensation.  I had time to myself.  My wife was picking them up, so I had an hour or two to stroll around stores.  I did what any red-blooded American male would do.


I went to Michaels.


Our long time contributor and correspondent Mike Lung had warned me of a new "Fairy Town" line of products that showed up right after Christmas, and this was the first time I got through the doors since then.


The fairy (and gnome houses) are by and large meant for outdoor display, but the scale is just about right for Gnome Wars and the idea of pre-painted houses for $12-20 seems like a good direction to go, if you're interested in more of the "garden" variety gnome games.

Also swung by PetSmart on the off chance they had aquarium plants on sale.  A much better selection of (full priced) terrain than Petco, but the mentally unstable man yelling at staff about a new heat lamp for his lizard, and a pair of women getting into a Jerry Springer-style argument over a bird, and I was ready to leave.


I did spy this large terrain piece in an aquarium.  Don't know what scale it  would be, but I see armed mini-subs and SCUBA troops.

(Sci-Fi) #4 At the Corner of Air Base Alamo

When we last left our Blue Martians scout, a few survivors had emerged from the snow covered mountains and were heading towards the landing pad in the desert to rendezvous with their ship.


The three lucky ones, Gronk, Amphibious, and Gibbles crossed to the desert and reached the abandoned site.   A little tinkering with the comm unit allowed them to contact their ship and await their arrival. 

(L to R:  Commander Gronk, Gibbles, and Amphibious)

Unfortunately, the same communication was intercepted and distributed to security bots only a few steps behind them. 


There weren't many places to hold off the patrol.  Gibbles to the high ground with his LasRifle, while the other two hid behind some ancient sandbags for some gritty mortal combat.

The Security Bots come within range.

"Nothing yet, they can hide quite well."
"Roger-Roger"

As the bots worked through the rough terrain, a single sizzling sound crackled through the air, and one bot collapsed headless onto the ground.

*ZOT*

The Blue Martians erupted out of their hard cover with a barrage of laser blasts and large caliber bullets.   Alas, beyond that first shot, they couldn't hit the rocks in the desert, much less the machines hiding behind them. 

The bots hunkered down behind the rocks and tried a few ineffective pot shots.  Despite their superior numbers, they couldn't touch their prey from that range.

After two rounds of calculating, the bots got their order to charge.  This completely took the Blue Martians by surprise, as both Gronk and Amphibious stood flat-footed towards the assault.  Both took two blaster shots to the chests.

Bots swarm the position unabated. 

Gibbles' keys to survival were his cowardly instinct, making the arrival roll for their spaceship, and winning the last round of initiative.   He dashed downstairs and firing wildly at the bots.

Gibbles makes a break for it.

He barely made it up the steps to the pad, ripe for the picking, as the Martian gunship hovered over him and unleashed it's guns onto the bots. 

Say hello to my little friend....

The Blue Martian jumped into the lower hatch and the ship flew off, out of the atmosphere. 


I understand if you, the dear reader, is in complete shock.  TWO different storylines completed within the same week!  


The sci-fi game was always going to be a mini-campaign, teaching Maja the effective use of cover and reigniting my affectation for Legions of Steel.  Compared to Heroclix and Savage Showdown, it's deathly realistic, hence why one little Martian managed to escape.  I'll leave LOS for the boardgame version, and once we get some more projects off the to-do list, I hope to investigate Rogue Stars.


Coming Up for February and March: (Painting)  Some new figures for "Volume 2" of the Pulp Game (Games) Ninja Turtles and Green Army Men  (Writing) A few reviews and perhaps the much forgotten "Octonauts" RPG.  And more Gnome projects than I've had for quite some time.


As with many (most) of my games, this one was heavily influenced by Preacher by Day.