#RPGaDAY2022 Starts Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, August 1st, is the first day of the 9th Annual #RPGaDay project, where gamers pontificate their love of RPGs through a series of questions.  

Whether you Tweet, Blog, Insta, Tok, or spread your love on some secret AOL message board, join the fun and answer whatever questions you're interested in answering, and hopefully discover some other cool gamers doing the same thing around the world.

Full Disclaimer:  In the olden days of this project, it was assumed you were writing/tweeting/posting each day.  Nowadays, it's answer what you want, when you can, however it works.  I'm grateful the organizers posted the list extra early this year, and outside a quick review and possible edit, all 31 days are done.  Work has hit me hard post-Historicon, and I'll be lucky to find time to  'promote' the posts via social media.

Another Month of Gaming (August '22)

Issue #270 of Game Trade Magazine can be found at your FLGS or in pdf form here.

ViscountEric's Gaming Want List

Nothing

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

Arcane Tinmen

Dragon Shield Roleplaying: Game Master Companion - Iron Grey ......................... $119.99

I'll admit, it's overpriced with the Dragon Shield name on it, but if I had stupid levels of twenty-something no responsibility money, I would buy it. 

Pelgrane Press

The Book of New Jerusalem ....................................... $24.95

Wizkids

D&D Paint Kit Ltd Ed - Giant Space Hamster ........... $19.99

The Imaginary Store List (The Pegleg Gnome)

Arcane Tinmen

Dragon Shield Roleplaying: Player Companion ............................................  $74.99

Way back in 2nd Edition AD&D, TSR released the Player Packs, there were different ones for rogues, warriors, clerics, and wizards, which had "a pad of character sheets, a stand-up reference screen, a brief but informative player's guide, seven polyhedral dice, three pewter miniatures, and a shiny red pencil," in a plastic container with a carrying handle. The case is designed so that a copy of the Player's Handbook can fit snugly inside the lid.  Those had more utility than this item... and strangely enough, you can pick one off of eBay for roughly the same price.

Bandai 

Digimon TCG: Draconic Roar Boosters

Dragon Ball Super TCG: Gift Collection 2022

Dragon Ball Super TCG: Premium Pack Set 2

Dragon Ball Super TCG: Zenkai Set 2 Boosters

Burning Wheel

Burning Wheel: Torchbearer 2nd Editon: Middarmark Supplement .......... $20.00

Burning Wheel: Torchbearer 2nd Editon: Scavenger's Supplement ........... $15.00

Capstone Games

Terra Nova ........................................... $54.95

Exploding Kittens

Hand-to-Hand Wombat ........................ PI

Poetry for Neanderthals: NSFW .......... PI

Zombie Kittens .................................... PI

FASA

1879 RPG - Fort Alice Sourcebook ........... $34.99

1879 RPG - Saurids on the Grosvenor Express ......... $19.99

Color me completely surprised that this iteration of FASA is still alive, and this game is soliciting not one, but two books this month.

Interceptor Starter Set ............................................... $99.99

Interceptor Core Rulebook ....................................... $24.99

Interceptor Callistonian Empire Squadron Set ......... $34.99

Interceptor Terran Commonwealth Squadron Set..... $34.99

Gate Keeper Games

Halfsies Polyhedral Dice - Glitter Edition .............. $14.95

Available in black, blue, and wine.

Eclipse Polyhedral Dice - Treant ............................. $15.95

Inclusion Polyhedral Dice -Dice Goblin ................. $17.95

Inclusion Polyhedral Dice - Meeple Dice ............... $14.95

Goodman Games

DCC #102 - Dweller Between the Worlds ............... $ 9.99

DCC: Crypt of the Devil Lich (DCC) ..................... $40.00

DCC: Crypt of the Devil Lich (5e) .......................... $40.00

DCC: Empire of the East #1 - Hunt for the Howling ..... $ 9.99

DCC: Lankhmar - Treachery in the Beggar ................... $ 9.99

Fifth Edition Fantasy #21 - The Cursed Crones of the Enchanted Grove .............. $ 9.99

John Brazer Enterprises

Deadly Delves: To Claw the Surface (Pathfinder) .............. $19.95

Deadly Delves: Reign of Ruin, A Level 6 Adventure (Swords & Wizardry) ........... $19.95

Kobold Press

Tome of Heroes (Pocket Edition) (5e) ................................ $24.99

Konami Digital Entertainment

Yu-Gi-Oh! Darkwing Blast Boosters

Leder Games

Root: Landmark Pack ......................................................... $10.00

Root: Marauder Hirelings Pack & Hireling Box ................ $30.00

Root: Riverfolk Hirelings Pack .......................................... $20.00

Root: The Clockwork Expansion 2 .................................... $40.00

Root: The Marauder Expansion ......................................... $50.00

Root: Underworld Hirelings Pack ..................................... $20.00

Legendary Games

The Dragon's Hoard #14 (5e) ......................................... $12.99

The Dragon's Hoard #17 (5e) ......................................... $11.99

The Dragon's Hoard #18 (5e) ......................................... $11.99

Conquering Heroes (Pathfinder) .................................... $13.99

Legendary Hunters, 2nd Edition (Pathfinder) ...............  $13.99

Faerie Bargains (Pathfinder) .........................................  $14.99

Second Edition Classes: Wanderer (Pathfinder) ...........  $11.99

Looney Labs

Fluxx: More Actions Expansion Deck ............................ $5.00

Fluxx: More Rules Expansion Deck ............................... $5.00

Fluxx: More Surprises Expansion Deck ......................... $5.00

Mongoose Publishing

Traveller RPG: Sector Construction Guide .................. $59.99

Monster Fight Club

Cyberpunk Red RPG:  Edgerunners H Miniatures....... $20.00

Male Chef, Media 5 Female, and Fixer Male w/ Cat

Mr B Games

Vintage Racers ........................... $9.99

Paizo Publishing

Pathfinder RPG: AP - Blood Lords Part 4 - The Ghouls Hunger ................ $26.99

Pathfinder RPG: Kingmaker AP Hardcover .....................  $99.99

Pathfinder RPG: Kingmaker AP Hardcover Special Edition ....................... $129.99

Pathfinder RPG: Kingmaker Bestiary HC (5e) ................. $49.99

Pathfinder RPG: Kingmaker Bestiary HC (Pathfinder 1st Edition) ............ $44.99

Pathfinder RPG: Kingmaker Companion Guide HC ................................... $39.99

Pathfinder RPG: Kingmaker Companion Guide HC (Special Edition) ...... $59.99

Pathfinder RPG: Kingmaker Kingdom Management Screen ..................... $24.99

Pathfinder RPG: Kingmaker Pawn Box ...................................................... $59.99

Pathfinder RPG: Flip Mat - Kingmaker AP Noble Manor Multi-Pack ........ $29.99

Pathfinder RPG: Flip Mat - Kingmaker AP River Kingdom Ruins Multi-Pack ...... $29.99

Pathfinder RPG: Flip Mat - Kingmaker AP Campsite Multi-Pack ............... $29.99

Pathfinder RPG: Kingmaker - Kingdom Management Tracker ....................$24.99

Pathfinder RPG: Kingmaker - Poster Map Folio .......................................... $24.99

Pathfinder RPG: Flip Mat Classics - Pirate Island ............. $16.99

Pathfinder RPG: Lost Omens - Legends HC (Special Edition) .................... $59.99

Starfinder RPG: AP - Drift Crasher 3 - Masters of Time and Space ............. $24.99

Pelgrane Press

13th Age RPG: Drakkenhall - City of Monsters ........................................... $27.95

The Borellus Connection ............................................................................... $59.95

Fearful Symmetries ....................................................................................... $39.95

Swords of the Serpentine .............................................................................  $59.95

Pinnacle Entertainment

Pathfinder for Savage Worlds: Core Rules .............................. $49.99

Pathfinder for Savage Worlds: Ultimate Core Rules Boxed Set ................. $199.99

Pathfinder for Savage Worlds: Action Deck ............................ $19.99

Pathfinder for Savage Worlds: Ally and Adversary Cards ....... $ 4.99

Pathfinder for Savage Worlds: Archetype Cards Set 1 .............. $ 9.99

Pathfinder for Savage Worlds: Archetype Cards Set 2 .............. $ 9.99

Pathfinder for Savage Worlds: Chase Deck .............................. $14.99

Pathfinder for Savage Worlds: Companion .............................. $24.99

Pathfinder for Savage Worlds: Bestiary ................................... $29.99

Pathfinder for Savage Worlds: GM Screen .............................. $19.99

Pathfinder for Savage Worlds: Inner Sea Poster Map ............. $ 9.99

Pathfinder for Savage Worlds: Rise of the Runelords Boxed Set ..........$99.99

Pathfinder for Savage Worlds: Power Cards ............................. $14.99

Pathfinder for Savage Worlds: Status Cards .............................. $14.99

Ravensburger

The Wizard of Oz Adventure Book Game ............................. $39.99

Rebellion Unplugged

Adventure Presents RPG: Tartarus Gate ................................ $12.99

Rio Grande Games

Dominion: Seaside Expansion ............................................... $39.95

Dominion: Seaside Expansion Update Pack ......................... $14.95

Ulisses-Spiele

Like their previous offerings, Ulisses-Spiele's latest in their TORG line is a vast assortment of Orrosh Material.

Wizkids

D&D - 16" Tiamat Plush

D&D -  3" Plush Charms

D&D - Vecna Premium Statue ................................... $249.99

D&D - DMG Book Tabs ....................... $ 8.99

D&D -  Monster Manual Book Tabs ..... $ 8.99

D&D - Player's Handbook Book Tabs .. $ 8.99

D&D - Classic Collection Monsters A-C ..................  $99.99

D&D - Fantasy Miniatures - Idols of the Realms 2D - Dragons of Stormwreck Isle.....  $14.99

D&D - Icons of the Realms - Beholder Collector's Boxed Set .................. $49.99

D&D - Icons of the Realms - Demogorgon ............... $89.99

D&D - Icons of the Realms - Dragons of Stormwreck Isle ........................ $29.99

D&D - Icons of the Realms - Temple of Light .......... $79.99

D&D - Nolzur's Unpainted Minis - Adult Black Dragon ...................... $89.99

D&D - Nolzur's Unpainted Minis - Adult Red Dragon ......................... $89.99

D&D - Nolzur's Unpainted Minis -  Purple Worm ................................ $39.99

D&D - Nolzur's Unpainted Minis - Paint Kit - Harengon ..................... $19.99

D&D - Nolzur's Unpainted Minis - Aspect of Tiamat ........................... $109.99

Fantasy Realms: Deluxe Edition ................................. $34.99

(Kickstarter) Land of Fairies Volume 2

 I've said it on and off, but I rarely mention, much less promote, STL files for 3-D printing.   I don't own a printer, my friends that do are much to far away, and like the promotion for PDFs, I could easily collect a library of files that I either never print, or quickly run out of space in my house.  It's not that some of them are entirely cool or a crazy-good bargain, I just have no use or utility for them.

But the Land of Fairies Vol 2 Kickstarter creates tall Fairy building, which may or may not work with your Gnome Wars troops.

Historicon 2022 - Spoils of War

This is hopefully the last mention of the glee we all had for a "normal" Historicon. 

Now I can properly announce the pride of the swag I purchased at the con!

• Stargrave - Crew II - All female figures for the girls, assuming we're putting together a Planet 28 campaign.
• Bad Squiddo - Raging Annie and Squeepiosa
• Brigade - 5Post-Apocalytic Characters for Maja's Zombie group.
• Huge Miniatures - Urban Grit Basing Material, Red Rust Powder, Yellow and Gold Paint.  If these work, I'll begin the conversion to their paint line.  
• Harmony House - small poker chips for uniform markers.
• I-94 - Soviet Aircraft decals - I use the on the Gnomish Space Marines.
• Hackmaster Minis - Gnome Illusionist and Astral Searcher
• Call of Cthulhu RAFM - Byakhee, Deep Ones, Female Parapsychologists, Male Doctor
• Random fantasy blisters (4)
• Random custom bases (2)
• and, of course, a pile of miscellaneous pieces, which just might be perfect for Planet 28.

(Kickstarter) Panda Quest: In Search of a Mate

 John Kohn is known for his simple and unique 1-2 player Print and Play (PnP) games.  He's over 60 successful Kickstarters for these type of games.  This time he's created Panda Quest: A solitaire game where you are a male Panda trying to follow the scent of a nearby female, while other Panda suitors are looking for her as well.

An example of the physical copy pledge level (only 6 of these are available at the start.

Historicon 2022 - The Gnome Games aka "The Mormon Alamo"

Historicon 2022 was a big success when it came to gnomes.   Four Gnome Wars games, two additional games involving gnomes, and the annual Historicon Joust were all in the Preliminary Event List.   Heck, even the Nomes from Frank L. Baum's Oz books made an appearance during a Wars of Ozz game!

Thursday afternoon's Gnome Wars game (#1) was "The Station at the End of the Line."

With each nationality/unit having their own objective, as the train worked its way down.  There were also other objectives, such as cans of beer, maps, passports, and old tomes to preoccupy forces.  The Swiss were marching to the station from the near corner, the Germans mysteriously defended a barn, and a motley assortment of Sikhs, Irish, and Aussies found themselves in the middle of the town. 

Custom Aussie Infantry

Despite having no conflicting objectives, the Sikhs (at the encouragement of the Aussies) unloaded into the Irish, forcing them to flee.   The elephant added insult to injury, knocking down a windmill with an Irish up top, holding a beer.  The Leprechaun survived the fall somehow, but the falling wreckage killed to other Irish.

The Don Quixote of War Elephants.  

The Irish were outnumbered and outgunned, so it was a war of attrition as they desperately tried to cross the tracks.

As the train approached, the war elephant found a new target.  

A handful of Irish found themselves in the Aussie's campsite and uncovered a keg!

The war elephant derailed the back of the train, damaging the beer tanker, and knocking the Sikh tank for a loop.

The German's control of the farm confused most of the players, but their attentiveness thwarted a plot by a pack of wolves to eat whatever was inside the barn.

The winning unit in the game were the overtly subtle Pete's Pirates.  Avoiding most combat, they acquired the dropped spoils of war:  Two misplaced Irish pots of gold, one full keg of beer, and a few spare cans of beer for the festivities.

Pete's Pirates -- Victorious!

The first game was also a proper introduction for my Theocracy of Deseret Infantry, or more lovingly referred to as the Mormons.   A spiffy paint job on some Southern Gnomes, the Mormons are the perfect foil for my California Imperial Republican Guard.

A lone Mormon stops the train.  The Roman Catholic nun medic looks on with pained visage observing her heretical allies.

Thursday Night's Gnome Wars Game (#2) brought the train to the station, magically turned around, and awaited everyone's secret mission to fill it up and send it on its way.

This time, the Germans wanted to bring something out of the barn and onto the train, a column of Mormons and French hurried to the station.  And the Irish?  They just wanted double super-revenge on everyone. 

The French-led relief column wasn't much of a success, but it did help take out the war elephant, and hoisted Nomepoleon to ride the beast!

This time, the train started to leave... early, so the Germans release their "science experiment, which held the train in place.

Historians believe that in the midst of the decimation of the Mormon forces, some participant blurted out, "This is just like the Mormon Alamo," and that catch-phrase stuck for the rest of the weekend.

Props go out to young Abigail, who, with the help of her father, played a pretty solid game.  I mean, she did steal an elephant...

Friday's events for us included the "How to Make a Jousting Cloth",  "How to Run a Convention Event" seminar, and the Joust.  The only gnome-related game was "The Battle of  Yellowstone" 

The game tracks the US Cavalry's occupation and administration of Yellowstone National Park from 1886-1918.   

Of course, when we planned my game to share terrain and scenery with the Gnome Train Games, I forgot a green cloth, and a handful of trees would make it more identifiable.    I simply explained to my players that the park was suffering from a drought, why made this more believable when wildfires hit the park, usually during the second turn.

A very parch Yellowstone Park

A few more changes were made from the original concept.   The illegal sheep herders were replaced with cattle rustlers, and the the buffalo were replaced with  Easter chicks simply to attract attention to them.  In previous games, the buffalo blended in well with the terrain, and were never the focus of the hunters, rowdy campers, or even the wolf packs prowling the park.  Making them bright and fun attracted almost too much attention to them.  

This small herd of "buffalo" were driven into the hot springs, and their demise.  

I had picked up the Toxic Pools from Gale Force Nine after my last run of the game, and they filled a need in pinch.  They're on my painting queue for a proper paintjob, perhaps a swirly "oil-slick" pattern. 

While I didn't completely fill up (the game accommodates up to ten players).  The rowdy-entitled campers kept the US Cav busy with the three D's - Debauchery, Destruction, and Defecation. 

Yep, not only did they scare off the illegal mining operation, in the name of general mayhem, the camper's player declared, "I'm pooping in the mine."

That's giving the US Cav more work to do, plus adding a fourth D, "Disgusting."

Another figure on the tracks. 

The cattle rustler had a heck of a time controlling his animals, although many wandered off and ended up in the corral outside of town...

US Cavalry escorting Irish Rustlers off park lands.

Joust 

The Joust was 8pm Friday and had 20 participants. It should be noted, that no special figures were brought to be used by participants, so the normal assortment of Australian Kangaroos, Germans on Bunnies, and Union on Shetland Ponies were used.

With all the up-selling we do for the rules we use for the Joust, To Cry a Joust, I wonder how many pdf copies they sell on Wargames Valut. after an HMGS cons.

Special guest referee "Captain Alvarado" helped out with festivities

Like I mentioned in my full Historicon, I faced a bracket, and gave no quarter.    The first two rounds I unhorsed some poor child on the first pass and got all the way to the semis before I ran out of gas.

The winner of the Historicon 2022 Joust was Steve B, although there are horrible, untrue rumors that he was brought in as a ringer.

Saturday morning, I ran my second Yellowstone game.   I was a bit disappointed that only one player showed up, but young Zachary was so excited and energetic, that all those worries soon vanished.  He was very efficient with the cavalry, escorting potential cattle rustlers off  of the park lands three times.  In fact the "occupation" of the Yellowstone went so smoothly, that we set up an impromptu train heist, with a three way battle between the robbers, the town posse, and the cavalry that ended in sheer chaos.

For the "real" Saturday Gnome Wars games, the site of the action moved to the "Station in the Middle of the Line"

With the rail line cutting through the short side of the table, it was a mad dash for most to reach the station and complete their objective. 

With everyone else scrambling, the Mormons decided they needed to move out of their tent revival city, and move up to a barn revival on the German's farm. 

A Mormon Tent Revival

The Mormon Cav clear the station of ne'er do-wells.

The bloodshed between the Sikhs and the Irish was expected to come to a head for a third time, but in an act of treachery, the Irish waylaid the Germans waiting for the train.

This proved problematic as one of the German "Science Experiments" broke free from their train car.  

Germans desperately chasing their "Donnerreideschse"

The train tracks were covered in blood, animals running everywhere, and with the beer tanker destroyed, the Sikhs claimed a minor victory

But two Mormons were on the tracks and spied a very-important looking German, unconscious at the station.  

Senator Lon was worth access in the barn for their revival #MadeUpObjectives

The Saturday evening game was certain to be chaos, with extra Swiss, extra Aussies, Pirates, the returning French, and a first appearance of the con for the Highlanders, and the Sikhs and Irish starting across the tracks from one another.  

Oh yeah, the Mormons were fortified on the south side of the train station.  It wasn't a Spanish mission, but it would do for now.

As the train was stopped by a lone gnome and an Irish pot 'o gold on the tracks, the nationalities descended onto the train that stopped... just short of the station.

As the Irish clamored towards the beer car, to fill up their kegs, the Sikh War Elephant on the other side rammed the train car, not only knocking itself out in the process, but sending the tank tumbling onto the unsuspecting Irish, causing 70% casualties on the spot.

The science experiments were quickly dealt with, although the giant, sentient, hoppping pumpkin ended up exploding, taking a good swath of the village (and the Sikhs) with it. 

(Star Wars d6) #48 - Skitter Shot, Part Two

Ne'vets Aharo - an exotic animal broker, both legal and otherwise, majority owner in the Pretio.
Tarrie - Human pilot "under contract" to fly the Pretio, and drive the Piscopo. Brother of potential terrorist, rebel Latorna Savvn. His climbing skills are suspect, but his dance moves are above par. Edging a dangerous lifestyle of drugs, booze, and loose women.

Duk'k - Sipsk'ud Bounty Hunter, recently rescued by the crew.  Offering his services in order to get off this barely existing hunk of mud.  His warning shots are dead center mass kill shots.

R2-H8(r) - A "new" astromech droid recently purchased by the crew.

Embarkation Issues

The search for a missing YT-1300 freighter 

Has landed the crew of the Pretio onto a

Not-so-abandoned pleasure liner.  Realizing the

Issues aboard the Emerald Empyrean were

Not worth the trouble, the crew

Attempted to return to their ship, 

But have uncovered the stowaways/survivors 

From the liner have managed to 

Get on board the Pretio, and trouble shall ensue...

The crew had successfully passed through the airlock from the Emerald Empyrean onto the Pretio before encountering the former passengers of the luxury liner.  Dozens of rag-tagged individuals were trying to access every corner of ship.  They had only failed to gain access to the reactors, a few cabins, and thankfully, the cockpit.

Ne'vet's was not happy with these new uninvited guests.

“Get them seated in the escape pods, Duk’k!”

Tarrie protested, “No, don’t do that!”

“Why not?”

“If they get ejected, then our ship won’t be complete.”

Ne'vets tried to find the words to counter the pilot's flimsy logic, so Duk'k took over.

“LISTEN UP FOLKS, FIND A SEAT OVER HERE," pointing to the cargo bay, "SO WE CAN GET OUT OF HERE.”

Surprisingly, most moved in an orderly fashion into the cargo bay. Duk’k followed them, sealed the door from the outside, turned around and let out a big sigh.

Down one of the hallways, he could see one of the purple furry creatures from the Empryrean stumble. down a passageway.

Duk'k though about persuing, but could her loud voices inside the cargo bay.

“Oh my, what is that? BOOM, BOOM, BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!!”  

Someone had found the obvious stash of grenades in that particular hold.  Luckily, it was doze, tangler, and flashbang grenades in the inventory, not enough to damage the hull... hopefully.

GM Notes: When choosing between two largely empty cargo holds, use the one that doesn’t normally have crates of grenades to reload the usual speeder that normally resides there.

During all that time, Tarrie finally made it to the cockpit, with R2-H8(r) using his mini-jets to go up the ladder. The droid successfully disengaged the Pretio from the Empyrean  and moved away from the liner.

In response to the movement, the AI on the liner began firing counter-measures at the cockpit of the Pretio.

The first shot slammed into the cockpit, compromising the minimal shields that had been up, and causing an existing hairline crack to stretch across the windshield. Tarrie quickly whipped the ship around and pulled up shields on high. Numerous electrical shocks flowed through multiple consoles, forcing R2-H8(r) to detach and bounce side to side across the cockpit.

Ne’vets had secured himself in his cabin to catch his breath, and find a safe place to secure his odd obsidian pillar. Finding one, he climbed up into the cockpit.

Double checking the cargo holds doors, and feeling the shockwave of the attack, Duk’k climbed up to the gunner’s turret

“Status Report!”

Tarrie was beyond formalities at this point, “Are you crazy?  Buckle up, yucko. Status Report is we may be karked!”

Ne'vets was confused, “Um, Tarrie, you broadcast that over the intercom of the entire.”

“I don’t care, sit down and help me.”

“Okay, what do I, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WINDSHIELD???”

“Nevermind that. If I can hear you right now, the windshield’s not broken!”

While Tarrie continued to reallocate shields, Ne’vets was forced to take control of the ship, steering erratically, engaging the landing gear, and turning on every light in and on the ship.

Feeling his futility at piloting growing, Ne'vets handed control of the ship back to Tarrie, and grabbed a pressurized suit for Tarrie to wear, just in case the windshield didn’t hold.  He wished the pilot the best and left the cockpit.

Trying to pull audio and video from the exploding cargo hold, they could here a lot of choking and a strange squeaky voice come up on the comm.

"Who has a tail? I have a tail too!"

Checking the grainy screen, the saw the aftereffect of the chaos. Smoke everywhere, with the occasional smattering at arcing electricity. Bodies everywhere, and at least one of the furry critters staring back into and talking at one of the cameras. 

"It's nothing, we're fine here.  How are you?"

Tarrie had pulled away to a safe distance from the liner, and he too was viewing the video of the hold, amazed at the strange furry creature on the screen.  He was even more taken aback when another squeaky voice was heard above him. 

"Hey, my friend's on video!"

A blue furry creature was in the air duct, with Tarrie's blaster in his hand.  The familiar ring of a stun blast came out of the blaster.  Tarrie was unaffected, but R2 took the brunt of it, frying the droid.  The creature ducked back into the air duct. 

R2's damaged concerned Tarrie, but he was much more worried that the creature was scrambling through the air ducts to only one possible destination: the engine rooms.

Duk'k came down from the turret, heading to engineering, only guided by the "Sonuvabitch" over the coms.  He turned on his own videos and cameras in that area, then hailed Dr P3PP3R to come over for a status report.  The medical droid did not respond.  

Double checking his weapons, Duk'k kept an eye on the smoky hold, looking for any sign of life. 

Duk'k grabbed the ship's comm and announced his intentions.  

"Attention uninvited guest aboard our ship.  Get it kriffin' together or I will personally jettison all you freaks into the vacuum of space.  Behave and we'll get you to safety as quickly as we can."

The only response was from one of the furry creature on board in an unknown location, "Deeeeee-licious!"

Duk'k amended his statement, "If you are one our guests and not currently in the starboard cargo hold in one minute, we will assume you are a hostile and begin firing."

Ne'vets had turned around from the sound of blaster fire, and the quick "Sonuvabitch" on comms, finding R2-H8(r) in repair mode and Tarrie gathering himself off the floor.

"I leave you alone for less than a minute... What happened now?"

"Find Duk'k, we have an issue..."

Ne'vets tried to hail Duk'k on the coms without success, so he travelled back to engineering to find him. He found the Sipsk'ud lying on the ground, the victim of a tangler grenade, but quite intact... and very pissed off.

"Just my karking luck..."

Above the scene, Ne'vets could hear a squeaky voice, "Oh no, not another one."

Standing in the air duct opening above them was a blue furry creature, blaster rifle in one hand, some strange data-pad in a second, and its final two arms holding grenades. This creature was wearing a pair of overall, festooned with grenades from the cargo hold.

Ne'vets immediately threw his hands up, "I'm unarmed, friend. We're just trying to get you guys to a safe location. Let's not have anymore problems, okay? How 'bout food? You guys should be hungry."

The creature kept his eyes locked on Ne'vets, but fumbled through it's pockets and pulled out an exotic piece of fruit, a type that had been stockpiled in one of the escape pods."

"That was a good one to grab. Sour-kind of prickly thing. Bit of a tang."

The creature checked his weapon, pulled a pin from a random grenade and gestured towards the cargo hold, "Open that door."

Ne'vets complied. The cargo hold slid open to unleashed a foul stench of ignited grenades, tear gas, and some other indiscernible smells. A few of humans slowly moved out of the door and into the common area, hands raised 3/4 high.

Over the coms, "Start shooting!!!, You guys get to the escape pods, I'll grab the Something Awesome and we can scuttle the ship."

Ne'vets was angry, "Tarrie, shut up, stay in the cockpit and do not come down. We will do none of the sort."

The blue furry creature, blaster rifle trained on a Duk'k, reached one of its extra hands towards its ear, and his com linked with the ship's system.

"Team, standby. Do not proceed. I repeat, do not proceed."

Duk'k freed himself and stared down the critter. "So what you, a kriffin' pirate?"

"We're a salvage crew!"

"And you got trapped on the space liner?"

"No, we were trying to salvage everything for our captain back on Takodana. She told us to do it. Except something happened and the ship blew up while still docked to the liner. "

"So you wanted to take our ship?"

"No, we could care less about you or your people, we just need to get back to Takodana to get a new ship and finish the job."

Another, different, squeaky voice came over the com, 'So can we kill them?" The blue creature was noticeably peeved, "Nobody is killing anybody today, just stand down."

A few more passengers eek out of the cargo hold, most simply looking for fresh air to breathe.

Duk'k began to relax, "What's your name, master with a blaster?"

"Corax."

"Well Corax, we'll great your crew back to Takodana, take care of these folks, and be on our merry way, sooner or later."

One of the passengers spoke up, "We're near Takodana? Thank the gods, we can call an Imperial rescue team."

"You shut up, we'll deal with you guys in a bit."

Up in the cockpit, Tarrie was a nervous wreck, anxiously hanging on every word that was going over the coms. He pointed the ship towards Takodana but was two seconds away from grabbing his bug-out bag under his captain's chair and setting the self-destruct on the shp.

"Duk'k what are we doing?"

"Just keep piloting towards Takodana."

Corax used the open channel, "Nako, just make sure he does what he's supposed to."

"Can I stab him?"

"No you can't stab him! Nobody needs to get hurt now!"

"They've taken my sight, they've taken my sight."

One last figure emerged from the cargo hold. Dr. P3PP3R, with his head backwards.

Securing some rations for the passengers, accounting for the furry Skittermanders, they got a better story from the passengers.

The liner had embarked on a two month cruise a few systems over, and with the ship AI going haywire, the survivors were forced to barricade themselves inside the buffet for the last three months. The ship had blown up the previous freighter before they had a chance to commandeer it.

Realizing an Imperial rescue team on Takodana would mightily anger the Pirate Queen herself, it was determined that the passengers from the Emerald Empyrean would be dropped off at the spaceport on Kinyen  Tarrie secured the damage to the windshield so with enough shields it wouldn't get worse during a jump.   He also got  R2-H8(r) back up and running with a few hours of tuning-up to plug in the coordinates. 

After dropping off the passengers at Kinyen, the Skittermanders volunteered to clean up the mess on the Pretio.  Most damage, save the windshield was repaired.  Even the fish smell in the microwave was removed! 

Returning to Takodana, the Skittermanders were returned to Captain Neff, with a reasonable reward. She did have to buy a replacement ship, after all.  

Arriving back at the ranch, a windshield needed replacing, the grenades needed to be restocked and reorganized, and Frokazza picked up from the rocking chair on the wrap-around porch to head towards their next destination: Devaron. 

Next: #49 - A Snowy Cantina

(Kickstarter) Dustbunnies: Life Under the Couch

 I didn't have much downtime during Historicon 2022 this past weekend, but when I had a moment and checked my phone, I found the Kickstarter launch for Dustbunnies: Life Under the Couch RPG, using the Savage World system.

I get the general concept. I like the price points of $25 for the digital bundle and $40 for print.  I swear to you I get it.  But there is a part of me that tugging at my brain and asking, "Is this really it?"  "Am I overthinking or underthinking this concept, because with the description in the Kickstarter, I feel something is missing.

I'm seriously just picturing this like the Saturday morning cartoon show The Littles, except they're Dustbunnies and anything that connotation brings.  

Historicon 2022: I Came, I Saw, I Need a Nap

Historicon is officially back, we can see almost everyone's smiling faces, and a another hopeful breath of normalcy has returned! 

Despite a successful Historicon in November, this past weekend would be the first HMGS con that was 98% maskless, so I think just about everyone was excited for a return to relative normalcy. 

With the kids still having summer sports games and practices I went not (a) went solo but also (b) left for the con on Thursday morning, (c) stayed on site at the Marriott, which meant (d) I got a chance to use the attached parking garage instead of walking around Lancaster and carrying stuff in the middle of a heat wave.  With those criteria, my opinions might vary from my 2019 daytrip with Maja.

I left my house around 9am on Thursday with my traditional route of I-81 to PA 72, which essentially dumps me into Downtown Lancaster.   During our Spring trips to Spooky Nook for the girls' basketball tournaments, the GPS had been steering us off onto back roads so remote, the Amish fear to tread, and I understand way.  Going home, the roads are fine, but coming into Lancaster that way, there some delays with a half-dozen construction projects largely affected the southbound lanes.  Throw in about a dozen and a half State Troopers in just the first half of my drive that morning. 

At 11am on Thursday, there was still parking at the Penn Garage, if you were willing to be three inches from the Sun, on the top exposed deck.  

Freedom Hall Left, with the tournaments and a few other games. The big dividing wall on the right was left open to the adjacent Dealer Hall while the hall was open for business.  

I picked up my pre-registration with no issues and made a general sweep of the convention center, to regain my bearings from years ago, and find the rooms I'd be running my games in (Federal).  

Western

Western

Western

Looking back at my review of the previous convention, it appears the crammed table issue was resolved, by either reorganization.... or fewer events.  More movable walls were used to create separate rooms.  That did alleviate the cacophony of noise that always plagued use in the Distelfink at the Host, it produced a few odd logistical concerns, like the HAWKS room literally hiding around the corner from the main Commonwealth ballroom.  Add that to a few concerns with incorrect rooms and tables on event tickets in a few select instances and you can see ingredients for dissatisfaction.    Wearing an HMGS Next Gen shirt for most of the con probably drew a larger share of questions/cries for help from random attendees, but (as always) there were plenty of instances of folks getting other folks to Wally's Basement or the right dealer for a particular product.  

Modern Ukraine? 

As one of the Gnone guys, I was shocked by how packed our 2pm and 7pm Thursday Gnome Wars games were.   We had enough Old Guard, a few new players, and a Sikh War Elephant that thought he has Don Quixote.  You the usual stuff. 

Between sessions, I managed to check into my room with minimal delay and enjoy the deep freeze they pre-set the thermostat at.  Outside of the fancy-schmancy shower controls, the rest of the room was spectacular.  Only complaint was the IQ test I felt I was taking using my room card to access my floor on the elevator.  

Before going to bed, I did move my car from the roof to an open spot a few feet from the exit.  It did not move for the rest of the weekend.

Friday morning was a later start, but first I needed some breakfast... and early, to avoid me turning into a puddle outside.  I had gotten rave reviews from La Dolce Vita Courthouse Bakery, and they did not disappoint on my two trips over the weekend.  The coffee was solid, the baked good delectable, and the spinach, feta, and egg sandwiches were the best breakfast sandwiches I've had in years.  Sure I needed to scrub my hands like I was a surgeon before I handled minis, but they kept me going all the way until dinner. 

In it's hall, after hours, the dealer's wares dream of new homes.

In the 10am slot, I was backup for the Teacher's Program 'Creating a Jousting Cloth.'  Participants were provided fabric, paint, and materials to create their own jousting cloth, akin to the ones used at the (in) famous Gnome Jousts.  Spoilers, the rules used for the joust, and recommended for the participants' home/school/community is a slimmed down version of  To Cry a Joust.  

After some time gallivanting in the Dealers Hall and Wally's Basement, we were right back at it at 1pm for Jim Stanton, John Speiss, and myself hosted a "How Do I Run a Game" seminar.  We had a number of brave souls, including a father/son duo from Belgium, show up to go over the planning, problems, pitfalls, and playtesting of convention game planning.    Some of the ideas the folks had for their first games were ambitious, innovative, but still mainstream enough to draw and audience, and I hope I'll find them in a future PEL one day.

The Game Library, at the bottom of the escalators, past Registration. 

Speaking of running games, the seminar rolled into my "Battle of Yellowstone" game, which is an overview of the US Cavalry's occupation/administration of Yellowstone National Park from 1886-1918... using Gnome Wars figures.  I last ran it during the infamous Halloween blizzard at Fall-In, and since the Gnome Wars "Train Events" we were running this year shared the same terrain, it made sense to dust the scenario off after nearly a decade.  

I did give one player all the US Cav patrolling the park and the scenario went the distance with the National Park Rangers taking control of the park on time, and only with a strange feral cattle issue around Mammoth. 

After the game, we headed over to Plough, the restaurant in the lobby of the hotel for a quick bite before the HMGS Membership Meeting.  I ate in the restaurant twice, both times I had the burger, and both times it was fast and delicious.  

54mm San Juan Hill - The 48-year old man I am, and the 8-year boy in me both fell in love with this.

...and sitting on the floor pushing boats around is a close second.

If you've ever attended an HMGS meeting during the convention, we have a therapy group that meets on Wednesdays.  Seriously, though, I've been to enough meetings where a quorum couldn't be obtained, and I've been dragged to meetings to reach a quorum.  I'm happy to attend a meeting, when I'm available, to allow the business of the organization to be conducted .... even if the minutes from the last meeting weren't available to be approved.

The short version of the meeting:  Things are obviously getting better in a post-pandemic world.  We're back to Wyndham (formerly HOST) for Fall-In, probably King of Prussia for Cold Wars, and hotel registrations systems still succumb to the same issue that plagued screaming teens from getting Bon Jovi concert tickets in the 80's.   

I did cut out of the meeting early to help start the premier event of any HMGS convention... The Joust.  Twenty participants and ninety minutes of fun and laughter.  I may have enjoyed my run to the title too much, unhorsing small children with a bit too much glee, but karma finally caught up to me.

Your Historicon 2022 Joust Champion is.... Steve B.  He seems familiar for some reason.

Saturday was going to rough, so the second visit to La Dolce Vita was in order, although others were raving about a Amish place in the Market across the street.  Regardless, no one was disappointed, that I talked too.

A strange phenomena occurred on Saturday that I've never witnessed before to such an extant.   The Saturday day-trippers (and also day-shoppers) were coming in, yet the morning and afternoon gaming seemed sparely attended.   

My Yellowstone game, which can accommodate ten, and had six on Friday?  Saturday morning saw one very energetic young man, who thankfully wanted to chuck a lot of dice and move most of the figures as I ran the ne'er do wells for his Cav to defend the park.  Even the Gnome Wars game in the afternoon couldn't break double digit players, and that's unheard of.  

When your only players requests a train heist to end the game, you accommodate the anachronism. 

As I took a walk around the site, there were certainly full tables of games, but there were also packs of individuals wandering about, in-between visiting Wally's, the Dealers, or just lounging about.  

View from the 12th floor  That parking garage never seemed to get filled up.

Saturday night concluded what I'll call the "Mormon Tetraology" for the Gnome Wars games.  All four non-Yellowstone gnome games featured my Theocracy of Deseret army, with good natured jokes and ribbing that could be expected. Each game was partially inter-connected, and each was crazier than the rest.  "The Mormon Alamo" is now part of Gnome Wars lore.  Perhaps someone should be writing these epic tales of heroism down.

So that's the guy who bought all the BattleMasters boxed sets on the East Coast....

Sunday morning, I procured a hotel cart on the first attempt, put my stuff in the car, and pondered bring stuff in for Wally's free Sunday session, only to discover that it started an hour earlier than I thought.   

Forgoing the flea market allowed me to get on the road and watch my kids play together in their Summer league game at noon.  (0 pts, 12 assists, 10 rebounds, and 9 steals between the two of them in a 31-18 win, but this Dad doesn't keep track). 

Wars of Ozz 

Nothing like a cartel kingpin and the boat he loves.  

So, how does a full visit to Historicon 2022 stack up.

The Lancaster County Convention Center - I certainly empathized with first-time visitors with navigation issues, but after a second con, I've got most of the nooks and crannies noted, if not memorized.  Closing up some of the rooms alleviated noise, but seemed to affect lightning.  

I never got close to the on-site food in the lobby, during their odd hours, although I can attest that the pretzels were edible and the chicken strips were pretty good.  The Plough restaurant was speedy, the food good, and the prices not extraordinary.  The staff I interacted with seemed personable and competent, although every time I needed to used the bathroom outside our game room, it was closed and the the staff was cleaning it.

Let me repeat, I'm complaining that they were cleaning the bathrooms too often.   It's a great problem to have, and the walk to the next restroom certainly didn't hurt.

Hotel: The Marriott's a great hotel.  Rooms were spacious for all my junk.  Outside of the mental disconnect with my keycard and the elevator, I would stay there again. 

Just like 2019, the escalator going up to 3 died on Saturday

Parking:  No issues (Parking with in-and-out privileges for one car is included in the room rate).  Validation was simple.  Other lots did have space, but I understand the lack of enthusiasm to walk a block or three in the middle of a heat wave.

Vendor Hall:  The missing vendors are slowly coming back, with a few interesting additions.  Things seemed to be peppy when I visited.  

Wally's Basement:  As someone who's not neither looking to buy/sell an army or need to jump into the madness of the first 15-minutes of the session.  I had a few encounters to folks haggling their own prices for me, but then I realized the deals were still above retail prices (and still available).  I did find one fellow who offered a buck a blister for packs and he got my money.  

The SWAG:   Mostly requests from the girls

• Stargrave Crew II boxed set (all-female)
• Brigade Games Post-Apoc figs (all female, for our Zombie game)
• Bad Squidoo sci-fi figs (you guessed it)
• A variety of Huge Miniatures products to try out. 
• Miscellaneous accessories from Harmony House
• A bunch of Call of Cthulhu blisters
• and the random dollar packs that include 2 Hackmaster minis.
• ... and a few more Gnomes.

I also acquired a "bunch of junk" which I may be able to whip into a Planet 28 Sci-Fi Project... using the Huge Miniatures modeling products.  Stay tuned!

Sunday morning quiet, and a lone Joby Miller roaming the wilderness...

Historicon 2023 will be back at the LCCC, July 19-23, 2023

Fall-In! will be November 4-6, 2022 at the Wyndham Resort and Convention Center (formerly the Lancaster HOST).    Event registration is now open and the them will be "Vehicles in War: Trains, Tracks, and Trucks"

Stay tuned for confirmation regarding Cold Wars.