(Kickstarter) 28mm Wood Elves by RBJ Game Company

 I was first aware of the RBJ Game Company with their Pig-Face Orcs,  so I'm forced to stop and admire their latest Kickstarter for 28mm Wood Elves.  

Sculptor Bobby Jackson has provided a group of modern dynamic poses in the classic Warhammer feel.  I also appreciate the resin fairies and "awakened tree."

And I am tempted in pledging, just so I can acquire the stretch goal:

... I'm not usually the demographic with most modern gaming nowadays, this hits some of my key points.

Another Month of Gaming (March '22)

 

Game Trade Magazine #265 is available at your Friendly Local Game Store, or available in pdf form here.

ViscountEric's Core Want List

Alas, nothing.

ViscountEric's Money-Is-No-Object Want List

Sirius Dice 

Snow Globe; 54mm D20, Silver Ink, Silver Glitter, Red and Green Snowflakes ... $50.00

The Imaginary Store List (The Pegleg Gnome)

Adam's Apple Games

Four Humours ..................................................................... $39.00

Alderac Entertainment Group

Dice Theme Park ................................................................. $59.99

Dice Theme Park Add Ons Box .......................................... No Price Listed

Capstone Games

Watergate: White Box Edition ............................................ $34.95

Castillo Games

Rescuing Robin Hood ......................................................... $44.99

Chaosium 

Call of Cthulhu Starter Set .................................................. $24.99

Catalyst Game Labs

Shadowrun RPG: 6th Edition Companion .......................... $49.99

Goodman Games

DCC: Angels, Daemons, and Beings Between Volume 1 - Patrons and Spells ..... $40.00

DCC: The Umeican Survival Guide - Core Setting ............. $45.00

Kobold Press

Vault of Magic Pocket Edition (5e) ..................................... $24.99

Konami Digital Entertainment

Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG:  Dimension Force Boosters

Looney Labs

Olympus Fluxx ................................................................. $16.00

Monte Cook Games

Cypher System RPG:  The Origin .................................... $44.99

Ptolus: City of Adventure ................................................. $29.99

Osprey Games

Crescent Moon ........................................................ $90.00

Stargrave: The Last Prospector ............................... $30.00

Paizo Publishing

Pathfinder RPG - AP - Outlaws of Alkenstar 2 - Cradle of Quartz ................ $24.99

Pathfinder RPG - Adventure - Shadows at Sundown ............ $24.99

Pathfinder RPG - Flip Mat - Shadows at Sundown ............... $16.99

Pathfinder RPG - Flip Tiles - Campsites ............................... $22.99

Starfinder RPG - Drift Crisis HC ........................................... $44.99

Starfinder RPG - Flip-Mat - Drift Crisis ...............................  $22.99

Pokemon USA

Pokemon TCG Pikachu v Box ......................................... No Price Listed

Q-Workshop

Japanese Dice Bag: Breath of Spring ...................................... $10.00

Steve Jackson Games

Chibithulhu D6 Dice Set ............................................. $13.95

Cthulhu Dice ................................................................ $9.95

Eye of Horus D6 .......................................................... $13.95

Octopus D6 Dice Set ................................................... $ 8.95

Dice Bag: Munchkin Chibithulhu ............................... $12.95

Munchkin: Goats ......................................................... $10.95

Thunderworks Games

Cartographers: Heroes Map Pack 4 - Frozen Expanse ............ $9.95

Cartographers: Heroes Map Pack 5 - Kethra's Steppes ........... $9.95

Cartographers: Heroes Map Pack 6 - Hornhelm Market ......... $9.95

Wizards of the Coast

Magic the Gathering CCG: Streets of New Capenna 

Bundles, Collector Booster, Draft Booster, Set Boosters, Theme Boosters, and Commander Decks.

Wizkids

D&D Nolzur's Marvelous Unpainted Minis W17 

This wave includes a Dragonne, an Outhouse Mimic, and a Jabberwock

Magic the Gathering Unpainted Minis W5

#FreeRPGDay is Set for 2022

#FreeRPGDay, the role-playing holiday of free promotional material and face-to-face gaming, has set TWO dates this year!

It appears North America will hold the day on June 25th, while the rest of the world says a prayer for international shipping and hosts their day July 23rd.

Check out freerpgday.com for more info.

Traversing the Winter Landscape.

It's not a winter wonderland here, more of the New York scenes from Day After Tomorrow.  Snow, sleet, freezing rain, a flash thaw, and a flash freeze make for exciting conditions as we traverse far and wide for basketball.  Four games Saturday, followed by AAU tryouts and, if Millie's team does well, a Championship game at 3pm Sunday.  

From a game perspective, especially a game where the Swiss are a major faction, it makes sense to institute some rules for Alpine Troops, but outside of qualifying for the biathlon, what advantages do ski give a unit in a skirmish setting?   I'm not pulling up many options.  Guess I'll need to do further research, perhaps with some chit-based wargames.  

Alpine Dwarfs from Old School Miniatures are the closest thing to Gnomes on Skis, and their sweaters scream more Scandinavian/Canadian than Swiss, but they are very nice figures.

Mandatory Basketball Rant 2021-22 Week 12

Two more weekends to go before we can really wrap up the winter basketball season.  I believe the West Hazleton league plays further into March, but that is a fun league for both girls, so no one's worried about playoffs, trophies, and the like.   Once the Back Mountain tournament at Lake Lehman Hight School is completed on 3/6, there's a friendly month-long lull, building up to the start of AAU.  At least AAU will have only six episodes, covering each of the six tournaments running April through July.

Millie's Travel Team: Gearing up for the two tournaments to end their season, hopefully on a high note.  Two of the players won't be there this weekend, as they're playing in the US Field Hockey Nationals, but we did recruit two new girls from the local Catholic league team (still meets the overall same-school district rule for teams).   Too bad the fathers have pledged their daughter's lives to the local catholic high school, as they would make fine additions to the existing crew.

The Local Rec League:  Some of the quieter members of the board are beginning to realize the sheer lunacy of trying to host pizza parties during the final week of the playoffs, thus ruining any decent practice time for the teams remaining. 

Two parts to this one:  First, the President of the league decided to host pizza parties for the K-2 leagues, something we had already poo-poo'ed early in the seasons.  

Second, the board (save me), voted to complete the double elimination playoffs in one day, instead of the normal two weeks.  People are now furious that some teams may have to play FIVE games in six  hours to make get the possibly of winning the championship.  Not bloody likely, but insane nevertheless.  

Combine those two factors with the fact that it's Presidents Day, and the buildings were already closed Monday and Tuesday (and school will be closed due to the ice storm today), that left 32 half court practice slots available from 5-9:30 each day, and the pizza parties effectively block at least half of them   I posted the updated brackets, double checked the game schedule on the website, and I officially wash my hands of this place, save trying to schedule a 6th Grade Girls work-out and meet-and-greet with the 7th/8th grade head coach.  

Millie's team won their consolation game, 26-10, with Millie having a hand in about 20 of the points.  It was their best effort yet, but considering a best effort meant one player caught a legitimate pass for the first time, then promptly turned it over, it wasn't too impressive.

Maja:   Save West Hazleton, Maja is done for the season, and has already focused on her dancing and joining the Junior High track team.  A little faster footwork for both will help her AAU play.

(Kickstarter) #ZineMonth2020 - Orbiters Local 519

 #ZineQuest,  #ZineMonth2020, #ZiMo2020, no matter how you hashtag it, should be a release of cool trendy little games... and a million iterations of trendy little games.

In Orbiters Local 519, you're part of a scavenger crew about disassembling derelict starships, it focuses of dungeoncrawling (in space), and focuses on the dangers, the "instabilities" of the ship.  

I may have an interest in this game... because I've already pledged five years ago to a Kickstarter for Scavengers, a game where you're a team of scavengers disassembling derelict starships and debris from an intergalactic war.  Instead of instabilities, PCs get into more and more situations were everything could turn sideways in a heartbeat.    The Travis Hanson art lets off a completely different vibe, but we officially have a new genre:  The all-out Space Scavengers. 

MetalWeave Games, the publishers of Scavengers, is still in business and the rules are still available in pdf and print on demand, but a fresh look at the theme and print & pdf for only $12, it's definitely worth a look.  The only drawback I see is that they have scheduled delivery of a product for February... of next year.  

  

Hideous Creature of Implying Doom

 

(Kickstarter) Base Boss 2 by Reaper

Here, I expected some excitement over the impending Reaper Bones 6 Kickstarter, but here they snuck in a different one to whet the palette .

Base Boss 2 by Reaper  allows for the normal flurry of plastic bases, as well as inserts to put over top most of their makes.

Not my jive, not my material, and not necessarily my price points, but it's a good variety of stuff. 

Lowland Base Inserts

Sci-Fi Inserts

(Kickstarter) #ZineMonth2022 - Attack From Space!

 Now this is what #ZineMonth2022, #ZineQuest, and zines in general are supposed to be all about!

In Attack from Space: The RPG, the inspiration isn't the 'ripped from the headlines," but rather "ripped from the author's doodles in school notebooks.  

ATTACK FROM SPACE is a roleplaying game inspired by the doodles and daydreams in the margins of every notebook I owned. It's the smell of freshly distributed Ditto'ed worksheets and art classes spent reading comics instead of painting fruit. It's cheap photocopiers, medieval knights with epic enchanted swords, and cadres of little green alien invaders from outer space clashing at the mouth of a dragon's den!

(Star Wars d6) #26 - The Pretio - Six Months Later

Our "Heroes", six months after leaving Zeltros

Ne'vets Aharo - an exotic animal broker, both legal and otherwise, majority owner in the Pretio.

Evus - Twi'lek free mercenary, Ne'vets' armed muscle with a keen eye and a tendency to shoot first.
Tarrie - Human pilot "under contract" to fly the Pretio.  Brother of potential terrorist, rebel  Latorna Savvn.
Frokazza - Wookie co-pilot, mechanic, and unarmed muscle. Very distrustful.

Flash Forward!

The destruction of the Strell Corporation's 

Mining operations of the planet Alcazaar over 

Six months in behind them, 

The team of Ne'vets Aharo, Exotic Animal Broker

Have gotten into a rhythm with their new ship

The Pretio

But even if the work cycle for the crew has 

Been mundane, it does not mean the 

Rest of the galaxy just bides its time....

For Ne'vets Aharo and his crew on the Pretio, the exotic animal business had its ups and downs across the galaxy.  Their initial leads from the Lisani Corporation referrals were nice, but quickly dried up.  There were fewer big-creature requests and a lot more procedural/paperwork requests.  Not exactly the way to pay a crew, upgrade a new starship, or re-establish your base of operations, but the business made due.  

Forays into the free-range ranching business (capturing specific herd animals for transport and fresh slaughter upon arrival) met with mixed reviews, but surprisingly minimal damage to the Pretio.

Limited trips meant the Pretio's pilot, Tarrie Prolek, and co-pilot Frokazza were equally bummed out. Add to that Frokazza's new shedding issues, on top of his normal anxiety-driven skin conditions, and the duo were borderline disgruntled at times, even if they are "under contract."

Evus, now a free Twi'lek, kept his weapons clean and continually researched his Imperial Science Corps employment leads.  A mission to  Myrkrr was definitely a legitimate, but small, ecological survey, and the Klatoonian Vestock Levell was working on small research operation regarding cybernetics on Phindar, but everything else led to dead ends.  

Business operations were moving adequately until the Emperor was assassinated in a firefight on Coruscant four months ago!  Most forget the dozens of the Emperor's Personal Guard that died defending him, or the hundreds of innocent bystanders taken out,  or even the minor State funerals for the Imperial Vizier Mass Ameda, and the pithy Imperial Senator Jar Jar Binks, but the death brought a wave of death and confusion, not to mention a sudden drop in Core World face-to-face business, the most profitable type.  

By the time the capital had been sealed off by Imperial Special Security forces, a Imperial Army General,  Paltr Carvin had occupied the Imperial Palace with a company of stormtroopers. Occasional plasma flashes could be seen along the Grand Concourse. Imperial representatives denied any of this was true, but stumbled when pressed if Carvin had died in a skirmish ten days later.  

Any Core World business dried up to purely administrative, rubber stamps and assistance with menial requests for barely uncommon animals.  Requests in the Outer Rim heated up, and everyone and their credits were questionable, at best.   The Pretio served them well, but the limited firepower of the dual lasers put them in some precarious situations, and the repair bills mounted.  A quad-laser on a turret seems to be a logical option, but funding and time for the upgrade are always a concern.  The crew could barely keep their ATV-Speeder functioning, much less build an equipment inventory necessary for rounding out the more exotic critters.  Aharo took to transporting traditional cargos (without any of the necessary paperwork) to supplement revenue when the ship ran empty.   Plus, the Ghtroc 720 already appeared to be made for a crew of six, including a dedicated Gunner for the existing guns, an Astronavigator, and a proper Engineer, or two!   Staff expansion for business might be a necessity for survival.  

In spite of all the reasons to go back to familiar ground and find customers for the strange animals there, the crew did not re-visit, Volturnus, Alcazzar, or Botajef over the following six months. 

Some of the profits were diverted to Aharo's base of operations on Takodana.  Some call it an estate, others a simple ranch, but the crew's quarters, a primitive hanger for the Pretio, and some beat up landspeeders to get into town was enough to keep them from the worst of near-revolts happening closer to the capital.

The lush Aharo grounds on Takodama

Aharo even hired two local Artiodac (Rumo and Poonk) to help tend any leftover animals and the grounds when they travelled on business.  

Rumo the Artiodac

Four months into the crisis, with martial law and armed rebellion spreading to the Inner Rim, Palpatine and Ameda both reappeared as if nothing had happened.  Perhaps that's not completely true, because harsh punishments and swift death sentences executed for the rogue generals and admirals who tried to force their will on the population.  General Carvin was promoted to the Imperial Council.   

It was a crushing blow to the various elements fighting against Imperial rule.  None of the organizations ever claimed responsibility, and any Rebel activity was dealt with far swifter than previously.  This has worried Tarrie, who has been unable to contact his sister, Rebel Terrorist, Latorna Savnn.  He is unaware that Evus has reached out twice as much as he has to check on Latorna's safety, also with zero success.

For now, the Pretio is full of stun and tangler grenades, ropes and nets, ready to capture some exotic creature if the price is right.   The mission continues....

Next: #27 - Par for the Course

(Kickstarter) #ZineMonth2022 - The Last Sentinels

You know the one thing missing from this year's #ZineMonth2022?  A good wholesome mecha game, and that was recently fixed.

 The Last Sentinels is a GM-less storytelling tabletop roleplaying game for 3 or 4 players.

Play to tell the story of the Sentinels; giant, humanoid mechs capable of wielding devastating weapons and performing agile manoeuvres in zero gravity.

You’ll focus on one main protagonist, a gifted young civilian who escapes the besieged planet of AUGUR-V on a titanic starship with their remaining people.

They must defend these survivors against overwhelming odds as a vast fleet pursues the ship through their former empire.

But your protagonist is doomed.

Their story will end in death or betrayal when they succumb to the intense pressures of hope, despair, scheming foes and high-stakes mech combat.

LAST SENTINELS is written to be played as a one-shot game over one or two evenings.

But it's also designed so experienced players can use simple alternative rules to play a campaign spanning many sessions.

The author, Jason Price, also produce the ZineQuest product, A Complicated Profession, which I finally got to run recently, and it was as good as I hoped it was.  

Can't wait to see just how doomed this mech pilot is....

(Kickstarter) #ZineMonth2022 - The Banshee of Billfort - DuckQuest RPG Adventure Zine

As the independantly promoted #ZineMonth 2022 nears their final week, there was a drop of quality, interesting zines getting launched on Kickstarter.  

Not any more!

The Banshee of Billfort is a DuckQuest RPG Adventure Zine.   The creator had a Kickstarter for the DuckQuest miniatures a few years back, but I couldn't justify the logistics of production in New Zealand.  

With the pandemic, shipping is even more dangerous, but I'll certainly support this campaign with a pdf pledge.

(Kickstarter) #ZineMonth2022 - Dungeon Local 001 by Michael Elliot

 #ZineMonth2022 should be producing a lot of unique items that I have not interest in. 

...and then there's Dungeon Local 001 by Michael Elliot. 

Directly off the Kickstarter: 

The dragon is dead.
The adventurers are gone.
Time to organize.

Dungeon Local 001 is a reverse-dungeon crawling RPG where players take on the role of denizens of a typical fantasy dungeon tasked with rebuilding and mapping their home. You'll create characters with jobs (their assigned role under the old overlord) and passions (what they really want to do with their life) and memories (events and locations throughout the dungeon). You'll take turns exploring the dungeon, creating a map, overcoming dangerous encounters, and sharing old stories.

Dungeon Local 001 lets players occupy the other side of the GM screen. You'll play as kobolds, dwarves, goblins, and more. No bosses, and no game masters. Just storytelling and remapping your home after the old tyrant has been slain. Were you the ones who slayed the dragon? Was it the last group of malevolent adventurers who invaded your home? Or was it the monstrous insect, a cave-in, or the result of a scheme gone wrong? Play to find out what happens!

Dungeon Local 001 uses the Forged in the Dark system, based on John Harper's Blades in the Dark. Whenever a character does something risky or uncertain, players make an action roll and build a pool of six-sided dice based on their job, passion, and whether they will spend stress or get help from their friends. When characters get too much stress or harm, the crew makes camp, cooks some food, and shares memories of their time in the dungeon.

And somehow all of this is also 5e compatible. Color me interested in the latest take on the reverse dungeon, with a lot more collaborative storytelling.

Wizard of Oz Minis from Killer B Games

I was pleasantly taken aback recently, when Recreational Conflict announced that they were the US distributer for Killer B Games, specifically their Adventures in Oz line.

Wicked Witch of the West

Hammerheads

Munchkin Headman

Compared to the other companies' attempt, including the close variants in Wars of Ozz, these are very true to the source material and artwork I remember reading the stories as a kid.  The Winkies are solid figures for any fantasy game.

The best news for a anglo-phobic ordering guy like me is that Killer B has an American vendor in Recreational Conflict and most of the lines should be fully stocked by now.

Guess it's time to set up my Cold Wars Historicon Shopping list!

(Kickstarter) #ZineMonth2022 - Arcane High: Magic Infused '80s TTRPG by Savage Cree Hess

From the Kickstarter:

Arcane High is a dive into an 80's drenched in spectacular magic!

As part of Zine Month 2022, we're finally launching this massive project. Inside you'll find rules to play out your oddly specific fantasy of having magical abilities in the 80's. Included are 100 unique quirks to mix and match along side 20 different schools of magic! Each school comes with 3 unique and abstract spells that can be wickedly twisted to suit your every need. You'll find your classics like Illusions, Alteration, and Divination but you also find plenty of modern style schools like Electro, Gravity, and Mechanicy! We're also planning on a genre system that lets you set up different stories from romance, sports, to slasher. A trip through this stand alone game system will take you through 4-5 sessions, each 2-4 hours long.

Mandatory Basketball Rant 2021-22 Week 11

 This might have been the year that started late, but it's turning more into the year that will not die.   With AAU tryouts last weekends, and teams being formed, and tournament schedules out, I'm ready to call it a season and move onto Spring ball, but people just won't let go.

Millie's Travel Team: Currently just having a few practices.  Tournaments the weekend of 2/25-2/27 and 3/4-3/6 will officially close out the chapters of these blog series.  Not everyone is doing the tournaments, so it will be more fun than competition when the girls play the better teams.  Experience matters (see below).

The Local Rec League:  Is most in need of a double-tap to end it all. Playoffs have started and many of the parents have upgraded to post-season psycho mode.  To top it off, certain board members who don't volunteer dominate the voting for expanding activities for certain divisions, when certain divisions should be done with the year (I'm looking at you Kindergarten).  I'm certainly not volunteering for any more functions through the rest of the season, save updating the brackets. 

In Millie's league, the playoffs went single elimination and they drew the heavy favorite to win.  With very little support, and a few lucky shots from that support, their rally fell short 26-20.  They do have a consolation game this weekend, and outside of a 6th grade workout and meet-and-great, Millie's time with the league might be coming to an end. 

Maja's 7th Grade: The girls missed the Hazleton league last weekend because the 7th and 8th grade teams were headed into the league playoffs (and Millie wanted to cheer on her friends on the team, if not her big sister).  

The Saturday semi-final game for the 8th graders was a tooth-and-nail drag-out brawl, but for Maja's 7th graders, it was another 20-point blowout.  All the girls got playing time and continue to do well, and Maja benefits from mixing it up with the A-team, and holding things down as the Center on the B-squad.   Even the girls still recovering from a dislocated butt (the diagnosis is actually quite scary, but we'll keep the levity up) play significant minutes after two weeks off.  

Sunday was the championship game, significantly delayed by a double-overtime game for the Division 2 (bottom tier) championships.  Those girls finally found a proper competition level and played their hearts out one more time.  

The 7th graders cruised to a 37-17 championship victory with their full roster.   

The 8th graders had a depleted roster against a 8th grade Wyoming Valley West team bolstered with 7th graders, so the coach decided turnaround was fair play.   The 8th graders started to a barn-burner of a 1st quarter score 2-1, but then played the top three 7th graders as the game went by.    I think the game was a 29-18 victory for our girls, with the game finally put away in the third quarter.  There was grumbling from the other team, but just like the previous weekends when the 8th graders were non-existent, the rules were followed and the team couldn't be overly stacked with 7th graders far better than the 8th graders.... just three of them. 

Regardless of controversy:

Maja's Freshman Team:   At the Freshmen level, there appears to be four very good programs, then everyone else,  Maja's team lost a heartbreaker in the final game of the season 42-40, which meant they split each series against the other three good teams. No shame in a 12-3 season, and they could call it quits.  

Except that win dropped them in a first-place tie with Dallas for the League Championship (9th Grade has a league championship?  Who knew?).  So one more final game was added to the schedule on Friday for all the marbles, the whole ball of wax.

This surprise game left the girls coming out of the gate, down 9-3 after 1, and 20-10 at the half.   

No one is sure what was said in the locker room at halftime, but they came roaring, back, winning the game 49-34.  That's outscoring the opponent 39-14 in the second half. 

Maja's line scoring was significant more than large,  a quick jumper which gave the team its first lead all game, and another two points that gave them the lead they would never relinquish.  Not a shabby way to end a crazy season, with championships for 7th, 8th, and 9th grade.

(Kickstarter) Dungeon Crawl Classics 100: Music of the Spheres is Chaos

I have been wildly appreciative of Goodman Games since the took the original d20 OGL and cranked out a wide variety of D&D 3e under the "Dungeon Crawl Classics" moniker.   Expanding into 4e ultimately in their own Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, they have proven very successful at what they do.

And now, they announced a Kickstarter for the one hundredth DCC module, the "Music of the Spheres is Chaos" boxed set.

Any boxed set adventure nowadays is going to be massive, but the concept of the spinning map is enough to make most gamers take a chance....

Day Off, Take Two

 My alleged day of PTO evaporated.  I didn't go into the office until 9 for a series of productive meetings with consultants and worthless meetings with clueless vendors, but I didn't get home until 6pm.  

It was a great opportunity to see a number of co-workers I haven't seen face-to-face in over a year, but it was not a good use of time off.  

So this today, I'm trying it again, although my team will be short-staffed in the afternoon.  Let's see if I can get some painting done before my video doctor's appointment, and catch up on napping and blogging in the afternoon before Maja's big (and previously unscheduled) 9th Grade Championship game.

(Kickstarter) The Silver Feather Adventure Guild - 28mm Ducks!

#ZineMonth2022 was going to fill a void of gaming purchases since last fall.  I just didn't expect the other gaming items to quickly follow suit. 

There's a special, odd, little place in the hearts of the Stout Gnomes for Ducks figures, and not all of it is Runequest based.  This makes  The Silver Feather Adventure Guild Kickstarter a must have in my household, even if AAU payments are due for the girl.   Ducks in 28mm for everyone!

The best part?  I don't have to give up my personal ban on UK Kickstarters, as the producer appears to be in, and shipping from Sweden.  

Sick Time Hobbies

Between COVID, the winter doldrums, and some uncertainty at work, it was as good a time as any to take a day off.  My schedule was completely empty, the kids are still in school (weather permitting).  

While I'd like to set up some toy soldiers on my bed and play all, I think its time to get down to the painting bench and just spend a morning putting paint to figures.  

(Edit: Corporate consultants came into the office today, forcing me to give up a relaxing morning.  I'll take the afternoon off, and follow that up with time Friday morning.)

(Kickstarter) Goblin Civil War by Sally 4th

Good to see Kickstarter hasn't completely gotten rid of metal miniature campaigns, or zany rules sets.   The Goblin Civil War in 28mm  are a line of figures, terrain, and currently a pdf copy of the rules transporting goblins into the a Spanish Civil War style campaign. 

It is a Sally 4th production, which I'm not against, except I am trying to keep a moratorium on UK shipping (it's just way to expensive and this would tip over my budget).  Here's hoping the follow-up Kickstarter for a printed version of the rules allows for Add-Ons of particular figures I like (especially the refugees).  

(Kickstarter) #ZineMonth2022 - Party First: Twilight War

Party First: Twilight War is an espionage themed supplemental book to the Party First RPG.  It is a true horror game, covering not only the supernatural and the cosmic, but the true evil of human and bureaucratic.  

From the Kickstarter:

Players take on the roles of individuals living within the nation of the USRA in THE TWILIGHT WORLD set during the year 1985. THE TWILIGHT WORLD is similar to our own in some ways, but dramatically different in others. You may see some aspects that you recognize, and in most cases, it is by design. Other aspects will be more emphasized, dramatized, or horrific than the world you are familiar with.

The biggest difference you will see is that of the horrors of THE TWILIGHT WORLD. Monsters are real here. They are real, and at best humanity is nothing to them. In the scope of this universe, we are seen as ants. At worst, these monsters actively seek the end of all life in the world. The majority of humans have no idea what sort of horrors wait just outside their narrow scope of the world, and even the player characters themselves may only have the smallest inkling of the truth - at the start. As a story progresses the players will come face to face with the horrific truth and either overcome or, more likely, be mercilessly killed or driven mad by their newfound knowledge.

Powered by the Apocalypse, Deconstructed by Monkeys

I complain about a lack of painting time, but in reality, proper role-playing time has been at a premium since before the holidays.  

Our last story-line D6 Star Wars game was prior to Thanksgiving, and intentionally left on a pretty serious cliffhanger.  I had intended to knock out our more light-hearted holiday game well before Christmas and cruise gently into January with some lighter fare before returning to dramatic resolution for the campaign.  That final session of the holiday game finally got finished on January 10th.

Except I've been crazier than even at work and home.  I've actually overslept a 9pm session, I've been the last one online a bunch of times, just to find that only one or two people made it.  To make matters worse, our Wookie's player took a new job, which was a lot less stress, but still a ton of late hours which interferes with life, and our Sipsk'ud player continues to go through long-distance care of a loved one, and ultimately their hospice and cleaning up their estate.  Everyone is desperately hoping for a resumption of the campaign, but it hasn't been in the cards.  

So, in the last month, we've gotten two one-shots completed:  A Texas-Fried Cthulhu game, complete with new characters, and completely random one-hour shot when I ran really late and knew we need to do SOMETHING for everyone else's efforts of showing up on time.

I remember there being a popular Call of Cthulhu published scenario that was a hit at conventions.  The characters started off with no memories of anything, and it was up to the player and keeper to determine how the characters remember who they are.  

I went with the vagaries of that scenario and used the basic resolution of Apocalypse World, as the characters were kidnapped, the vehicle transporting them crashed, and they had a chance to escape. 

A chance was a relative term, as they were CDC monkeys who crashed in Central Pennsylvania. 

The resolution system worked out well, as the players were inundated with soft hits and misses, complicating many things like a crashed truck full of monkeys would.   

Tossing playbooks at my players might not be the smartest choice for now, but if PBTA is good enough for my daughter, I might revisit the system in a more constructed format. 

(Kickstarter) Planet 28, 2nd Edition

Two years ago, #ZineQuest2 produced one of my favorite games I have yet to play, Planet 28 miniature skirmish rules.  

Looking back at my post about the original Kickstarter, I'm greatly my only con never came true (the rules are certainly not some random dude's trash), so after two years and multiple supplements, everything is being consolidated and expanded upon in Planet 28, 2nd Edition.

Alongside fine tuning the existing rules, This edition will add extra content produced over the last two years - this includes exotic new weapons, character abilities and advanced rules. From fielding squads, to creating demonic weaponry, to environmental rules for fighting in the freezing dark or scorching desert, this edition will provide you with even more content to tailor your scenarios.

Beyond that, there are a few workable stretch goals, namely a setting guide and campaign book, Death in the Throneroom, when pledges hit £5000.

(Star Wars d6) Bo'non'as and Oopsa #7 - The Second Worst Travesty of the Day

END OF THE ROAD

After defeating the Lightning God to the North

And the God of Death to the South, 

Bo'Non'as, Oopsa, and Uha'ul had brokered

A truce with the Shiny Gods.

With two of the splinter tribes re-united, 

It was time to face the scariest Space God 

Of them all: The Red-Eyed God

With Uh'aul busy preaching to the masses 

About the wonders of the Moth God,

Bo'Non'as and Oopsa travelled west to search for

The rumored caves of the evil god....

With their success re-uniting the Kurabanda tribes growing, it was time for Bo'Non'as and Oopsa to try their luck with the final Space God, the dreaded Red-Eyed God.  Even worse for the duo, the services of Uha'ul, the self-declared prophet of the Moth-God, would be unavailable.  He was focused on building his faith among the masses, and growing the altar/statue to his god, which had started with pilfered parts from the Shiny Gods. 

Oopsa somehow knew that the Kurabanda following the Red-Eye God lived in the cave network beneath the trees.  This subterranean expedition would require much more help. 

With their fame and legend, the still-bloodied duo were able to recruit four more Kurabanda volunteers to help on their quest. 

• Mohawk - one of the Kurabanda guard, off duty for the day.
• Slingo - makeshift sling throwing tree nuts to and fro.
• The Streak - the fastest Kurabanda alive.
• Pete - a bored Kuraband with nothing better to do.

The Red-Eye God's lair was precariously close to the giant razor grass fields bordering the forest.  Living on the ground was dangerous enough, but so close to the gargantuan beasts that EAT the razor grass was pure insanity.  

Within the banks of an old river bed, were a series of Kurabanda-sized holes.  The heavy smell of smoke came out of the holes.  

"Anybody smell that?"  Oopsa asked.

"Sorry, I'm still drinking my Plantain cacao, dulls my senses." was all Pete could master.  

They dove down into the holes, which lead to a network of tunnels.  Inside the larger chambers were a series of Kurabanda hut frames with half-completed beds.  No Kurabanda could be found, but a small collection of baked goods could be found.  They tasted of burnt cacoa and overripe kiwi.  

Beyond the baked goods, were a collection of bodies.  

Bo'Non'as spit out the remaining food he was chewing...

Oopsa took one look at the bodies and knew the cause of death.  "These kin were killed by the weapons of the Space Gods.  All two score of them were slain in one of their names.  There was no way to escape."

Further into the network, the uncovered Hairless One containers strewn everywhere, all of them empty. 

Mohawk was surprised by something further down the passage.  "Hey, you're supposed to be dead."

A female Kurabanda emerged out of a basket, staggering towards the group.  There were no obvious wounds on her.   Bo'Non'as tried to grab her, but was surprised when she attacked him with a large wooden spoon.  Bo'Non'as was not phased by the female, but also could not figure out her rambling tongue, the only thing in their language that made sense was. 

"He'll kill us all, why am I alive.  No place is safe. He killed all of them, including his own warriors, he's that powerful..."

"I might as well go home again... to die..."

And with that, the female wandered out of the caves, destination: to the east.  

Bo'Non'as tried to follow the tracks of the larger Space God, but got lost, and needed the help of Oopsa to exit the caves.  

"They are all gone, we have succeeded, let's go home." Oopsa declared.

"I believe we have to continue our quest, just to be safe ," Bo'Non'as countered. 

Oopsa nodded in approval, "You're right, of course, but if I die on this quest, I will be very cross with you tomorrow."

"Fair enough."

The outside tracks of the Red-Eyed God were easier to follow, even if the undergrowth was far thicker than any other area of the forest.   The biggest worry from the six were that the God was moving further west, closer and closer to the razor grass. 

Pete was the first to leave the group, his body snatched up and flown into the trees.  Most of Pete's body flew back down to the group, minus his head.   Everyone dodged the body parts, although Mohawk got splattered with blood.  

Somewhere up in the darkened forest canopy, was a figure, only distinguished from the leaves by a pair of red, glowing eyes. 

The five Kurabanda scampered up the trees to surround the God, even if no full plan was enforce.  Bo'Non'as swung to a tree closer to the Red-Eye God.

The whole crew emitted their new battle cry, "FOR PETE!!!"

As they reached the canopy, Mohawk was no longer with their group.  His scream was soon heard a few hundred foot away.  

Bo'Non'as grabbed a vine and swung right into action,  The streak sprinting and leaping from branch to branch.  

Oopsa was far more cautious and calculated with his movement.  It was far more dangerous up here than in civilized Kurabanda territory.  

With a hiss like a snake, Bo'Non'as struck out with his spear.  There was no reptile, rather a long stick with an odd noise and a flashing light.  The stick detonated, knocking Bo'Non'as out of the tree.  

Kurabanda are notorious for surviving falls, but the explosion, and the confusion-inducing flash threw off his senses.    More flashes came out of the tree canopy.  

The others could just see Bo'Non'as fall out of the tree and land hard on the forest floor below.

The Streak moved forward, and discovered green liquid all over the leaves and branches. 

"The God bleeds!  He bleeds green!"

Oopsa was despondent.

"Noooooooooo!"  

He ran down the tree to help his friend, leaving Slingo and the Streak to fight a deity.   Slingo's barrage of tree-nuts seemed to cull the explosions, flashes, and any sense of the Red-Eyed God. 

Oopsa desperately tried to revive his friend and ally, but he could only hold him, as the last traces of his soul left his body for afterworld.  

Slingo and the Streak descended from the trees to join Oopsa in mourning the loss.

"He's not dead, he's not dead."  Oopsa grabbed Bo'Non'as' arm, lifted it up, then let go.  It crashed onto the ground.

"I think he's dead, boss," the other Kurabanda stated.

"No, no, no!  He's got to be alive."  Oopsa jumped atop his fallen friend, and began beating upon his chest, over and over again, trying everything to instill the spark of life back into Bo'Non'as.  

After a long and pained thrashing, Oopsa simply stopped.  "Let's carry him back to the village."

Slingo was in utter shock, "I thought Bo'Non'as would live forever."

Oopsa took most of the weight of the body, and they hiked back to the main Kurabanda village.

Taking a lift up to the village, everyone was in utter disblief.  

Even the well respected Boz Diggity was unable to revive him.  

"This is the second-worst travesty of the day."

"Wait a minute, what was the first?"

"Someone stole the base of the new Moth God statue, right from under our noses.  Never seen anything like it!"

The body of Bo'Non'as was draped in plantain leaves and peels  A few words were spoken, and he was lifted into the great sky catapult, to launch the body into the sky.  

Oopsa had few words during the ceremony, "Bo'Non'as.... was... our friend....to some.... and average cook.... a mediocre personality, but at the end of the day, he was there... may he fly high... fly high into the sky."

With a flip of a lever, Bo'Non'as flew into the sky.   Halfway upon his ascent, a series of lights could be seen near him in the sky.  The lights flew straight up into the space, while no one observed to the original body descend back onto the planet.  

With that, the Space God War was over.  Oopsa simply took up his rightful place at the side of Dipsa, the Chosen One, wary of another attack of the Space Gods. 

At the end of the funeral, the camera pans up into the sky, following the lights that ascended.  Those lights turn out to be a Z-95 Headhunter, barely serviceable, with a green R2 unit.  In the cockpit was a Transdosian, wearing a typical X-Wing helmet.  He was speaking with the frazzled droid.  

"Don't you worry, my little friend, just get me to Alderaan so I can meet my friends and I'll find you a nice new home, after they clean you up and wipe your memory.  I'll fetch a pretty credit, and you'll be better off avoiding those monkey-men, R2-H8."

GM Notes:  And with that, the Saga of Bo'Non'as and Oopsa, an epic tale of throw away characters from the main campaign, has come to a close.  The War of the Space Gods was effectively the four pirates from the outpost travelling to the Kurabanda forest and enforcing their ways with "Hairless One" technology, to avoid the cleansing wrath of the Empire.  

RIP - Bo'Non'as, Warlord of the Kurabanda

Next:  We return to the main campaign with Episode  #26 - The Pretio, Six Months Later.

(Kickstarter) #ZineMonth2022 - Barkeep on the Borderlands by Prismatic Wasteland

 Barkeep on the Borderlands is a pubcrawl pointcrawl system-neutral adventure that takes place in and around the pubs and taverns of a distant Keep. It also introduces new procedures for running pubcrawl adventures and simple rules for drinking and inebriation.

Happy Valentine's Day!

(Kickstarter) #ZineMonth2022 Downtime in Zyan by Ben Laurence

 Downtime in Zyan is a rules-agnostic system for managing downtime between adventures. 

From the Kickstarter itself:
The unified but flexible system of downtime procedures presented in this zine allows players to leave a lasting mark on the campaign world beginning at the end of their very first adventure. The zine presents flavorful but simple rules for building institutions, cultivating relationships, crafting splendid items, gathering intelligence, mastering martial techniques, researching obscure topics, engaging in wild revelries, plumbing the perilous depths of spellcraft, mastering skills, and seeking enlightenment through spiritual exercises.

Upcoming Sci-Fi Goblins by Kev Adams for Regiment Games

Badger Games' Facebook page recently posted in progress greens for an upcoming line of sci-fi goblins for Regiment Games sculpted by the legendary Kev Adams himself!

I believe my Blue Martians need some brothers.

(Kickstarter) #ZineMonth2022 - Unchained Mysteries by Jesse Burenko

Unchained Mysteries is a game agnostic critical examination of mystery scenarios in role-playing games in three parts. The first part deconstructs the popular linear or branching scene structure whereby a mystery unfolds as the players follow a chain of clues from one encounter to the next. It's a hard look at the creative limits, unfair demands, lack of uncertainty and removal of player agency in this common scenario format.

The second part is all about rebuilding the very idea of a mystery from the ground up. It starts from the premise that role-playing is its own unique medium not beholden to the constraints, assumptions, structures, and tropes of other media. Proceeding from the heart of a dramatic mystery: a desperate crime and building outward through a vibrant cast of NPCs impacted by that event, a methodology for scenario construction that is teeming with unresolved dramatic tension is revealed.

The final part discusses the practical execution of the scenario in play. The focus is to move away from the idea of concrete clues and planned reveals and instead to focus on active and motivated NPCs that work to bring the player characters into their crises. The mystery is no longer an inert thing to be discovered but rather a set of conflicts still in motion desperate for resolution

(Kickstarter) Iconic Races II - Catfolk by Kobold Press

Somehow I missed that not only does Kobold Press have its own miniature line, but their reasonably affordable and they love anthropomorphic characters?

The latest addition to their Bestiary Miniatures is Iconic Race II Catfolk on Kickstarter. in both plastic and metal!

No only are the cat-folk in cool Thundercats vibe, but the Kickstarter allows for add-ons from previous releases, including Bearfolk and a pretty sweet turtle.  The big thing that has my interest piqued is a stretch goal for Keg Golems.  I thought that was just a joke.  I was sorely mistaken.  

Mandatory Basketball Rant 2021-22 Week 10

 As these final days of winter ball are grinding by, my faith in most of humanity evaporates, but let's talk mostly about the basketball.

Millie's Travel Team: They got to the championship game late.  Not physically late, but athletically late.  The favored Freeland team jumped on them early and all seemed lost at the half, down 20-10, but corrections were made and the defense locked down.  Unfortunately, the deficit was too much and they fell 23-18.  

Yep, they only allowed 3 points in the 2nd half. 

The team has two more showings in local tournaments before they get mothballed till the fall.  We don't know where they're going to play in the winter because.... 

The Local Rec League:  Is a mess.  The weather cancellations (or lack thereof  when there was ice) has resulted in extra games promised by the milquetoast president, when there is zero room for extra games.  So I put out the first week of the playoff schedule.  Surprisingly, the usual suspects (3rd and 4th grade) are fine with it, the rest of the divisions are losing their minds.    Throw in Biddy Divisions still lingering due to their own cancellations, and there's zero extra practice time for the coaches looking for it.  

Millie also missed her rec league game, to play with her AAU friends.  I still haven't heard the whole story, but the only other guard on the team fouled out in the first half, the coach got a technical... and almost tossed out.... and everyone is sworn to secrecy about how bad the score was... against the previously winless worst team in the division.  Single elimination playoffs start today, and I hope a quick end to the season.

AAU Winter League: This league has always been a bit of a variety show, with girls grades 4-7 playing, with skills levels from beginner to elite sharing the court.  The drafted teams always seem to be thrown out the window, but the actual pick-up games seem much more balanced.  AAU tryouts are today as well, so it should be fun to see who comes out and who actually makes the team

Maja's School Leagues: League and District championships come around very shortly, to time is limited to reschedule all the postponed games due to weather, COVID, or anything else I forgot about.  

Since the last update, Maja's had FOUR Freshmen games, going 3-1.  The lone loss was by three points, and they turned the ball over with 1.8 seconds in the game.   

Maja's whopping 1.7 points per game has been under attack during this run.  She scored 4 points versus Pittston and was shut-out in the last three games.   She's essentially 1's across the stat sheet (save blocks), but she gets a ton of situational playing time and situational substitutions.  

She's not afraid to face-guard the toughest girl in the league AND draw the charge.

There's one more game for them next Wednesday, and here's hoping the team can finish the season 13-2.  

7th Grade:  The 7th Grade team remains undefeated.  I missed Maja's game last weekend, but the Power six put up an early lead, and no one looked back.  The 7th graders who didn't make Freshmen play most of the game, with the other rotating in.   We did have one make-up game last night, where they dismantled the opposition 33-5 in another strange game where Maja didn't score, but there were 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and a block.