Another Month of Gaming Solicitations (December 2022)

 Issue #274 of Game Trade Magazine is available at your Friendly Local Game Store, or digitally here.

ViscountEric's Want List
Reaper Miniatures

Christmas '22 Promo Model (Bones RPG 30114) .......................... $ 6.99

Thanksgiving '22 Promo Mini (Bones RPG 30108) ....................... $ 6.99

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

Savage Worlds RPG: Flash Gordon - Legends of Mongo Booster Box ........ $49.99

The Imaginary Store List (The Pegleg Gnome)
Arcane Tinmen

Dragon Shield Role-Playing GM Screen .............................. $59.99

Blood Red and Iron Grey

Asmadi Games

One Deck Galaxy ........................................... $30.00

Bandai Co.

Dragon Ball Super TCG: Zenkai - Ultimate Deck 2023

Blackspire Chaos

Swords & Chaos RPG Rulebook ............................ $49.99

Catalyst Game Labs

Battletech: Salvage Box Urbanmech ...................... $ 7.99

Battletech: Technical Readout - Dark Age ............. $39.99

Chessex

Pound o' 12mm D6 Dice ................................... $24.95

You can gauge the economy by the price of a pound o' dice!

Lab Dice 6: Polyhedral 7-Die Set Sampler 

DPH Games

Affliction: Salem 1692 2nd Edition ..................... $29.99

Fat Goblin Games

Around the Campfire: A Hand-Book for Overland Expeditions ............... $14.95

Hunting and Trapping: A Hand-Book for Overland Expeditions .............. $14.95

Hardboiled RPG: Mystery, Mayhem, & the Macabre ............................... $19.95

Teenage Mutant Dirtbags RPG .................................................................. $14.95

Fireside Games

Castle Panic 2nd Edition - The Dark Titan Expansion ............................. $19.95

Flying Carpet Games

Snakes & Letters ............................................... $18.00

Gamelyn Games

Tiny Epic Dungeons: Extra Dice Set ................ $15.00

Gate Keeper Games

Rolling Realms Dice ....................................... $12.95

Mighty Tiny Dice: Metamorph (7-Die Polyhedral Set) ... $14.95

Goodman Games

Tales from the Magician's Skull #9 ................ $14.99

Japanime Games

Naruto: Ninja Arena 2nd Edition ..................... Please Inquire with your FLGS

Tokyo Ghoul: Bloody Masquerade .................. Please Inquire with your FLGS

Jon Brazer Enterprises

Book of Magic: Spell Codex Volume 1 (Pathfinder) ............ $24.99

Book of Magic: Spell Codex Volume 2 (Pathfinder) ............ $24.95

Deadly Delves: Reign of Ruin, A 7th Level Adventure (PF) .... $19.95

Konami Entertainment

Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG: Traptrix Structure Decks

Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG: Photon Hypernova Boosters

Legendary Games

Boricubos: The Lost Isles (Pathfinder) ......... $39.99

Legndary Loot Cards Deck #5 ...................... $19.99

The Dragon's Horde #19 (5e) ........................ $12.99

The Dragon's Horde #20 (5e) ........................ $12.99

The Dragon's Horde #21 (5e) ........................ $12.99

Faerie Passions (Pathfinder) .......................... $11.99

Legendary Hunters 2nd Ed (Pathfinder) ....... $13.99

Legendary Mediums 2nd Ed (Pathfinder) ..... $13.99

Mythos Monsters (Pathfinder) ...................... $26.99

Treasury of the City (Pathfinder) .................  $10.99

Treasury of the Kingdom (Pathfinder) .........  $ 9.99

Treasury of the Macabre (Pathfinder) ..........  $11.99

Mana Project Studios

Nightfell RPG: Corebook ............................. $39.90

Nightfell RPG: Night Master Screen ........... $19.90

Nightfell RPG: Spell Cards ......................... $ 9.90

Nightfell RPG: Adventures Book ................ $34.90

Nightfell RPG: Bestiary .............................. $34.90

Nightfell RPG: Lunar Dice Set ...................  $15.90

Nightfell RPG: Artbook ............................... $19.90

Seven Sinners RPG ...................................... $19.90

Mongoose Publishing

Traveller RPG: 2300 AD Ships of the Frontier ......... $49.99

Traveller RPG: Robot Handbook .............................. $59.99

Onyx Path

Hunter RPG: The Vigil 2nd Edition ........................ $55.00

Scarred Lands: Dead Man's Rust ............................ $55.00

Scion RPG 2nd Editon - Book Three - Demigod ... $55.00

Squeaks in the Deep RPG ...................................... $50.00

Paizo Publishing

Pathfinder RPG: AP - Gatewalkers Pt 2 - Watched the Stars ..... $26.99

Pathfinder RPG:  Flip Mat Classics - Winter Forest .................. $16.99

Pathfinder RPG: Lost Omens - The Mwangi Expanse Special Ed HC ............. $79.99

Pathfinder RPG: Treasure Vault (Pocket Edition) .............. $26.99

Pathfinder RPG: Treasure Vault HC ................................... $54.99

Pathfinder RPG:  Treasure Vault HC Special Edition ......... $74.99

Starfinder RPG: AP - Drift Hackers 2 - Clockwork Demons ......... $24.99

Paradigm Concepts

Arcanis 5e Campaign Setting Runic Edition ................. $59.99

Pencil First Games

Delicious ................ $27.99

Pinnacle Entertainment

Savage Worlds RPG: Super Powers Archetype Cards Boxed Set ........... $19.99

Savage Worlds RPG: Super Powers Companion ................... $39.99

Savage Worlds RPG: Super Powers Pawns Boxed Set 1 ....... $29.99

Reaper Miniatures

I remember the Greco-Roman themed set from the Reaper Bones Kickstarter.  They didn't tickle my fancy, but with individual pictures, they rock pretty hard.  Inflation jokes aside, I still can't wrap my head around a bunch of the Bones individual character figs are now SEVEN DOLLARS.  

Steve Jackson Games

7 Deadly Sins Die  ...................... $ 7.95

Car Wars: Miniatures Set 1 ........... $59.95

Car Wars: Miniatures Set 2 ........... $59.95

Gelatinous ..................................... $16.95

Munchkin: Druids Expansion ....... $19.95

Pirate d6 Dice Set ..........................$ 9.95

Studio 9 Games

Dungeon Crawl Classics: Cathedral of the Undying .................. $ 9.99\

Trick or Treat Studios

Luke Gygax's World of Okkorim: The Eye of Chentoufi (5e) ........... $19.95

Luke Gygax's World of Okkorim: The Heart of Chentoufi (5e) ........... $19.95

Wizkids

Giant Space Hamster Plush ............................... Please Inquire with Your FLGS

Space Swine Plush .............................. Please Inquire with Your FLGS

D&D Nolzur's Marvelous Unpainted Minis Wave 20 ....................... $4.99 - 89.99

D&D Icons of the Realms - Adult Copper Dragon ............................ $99.99

(Kickstarter) Daniel Mersey's Knights of the Round Table in 28mm by Temple of the West

 With the use of Kickstarter as a full price pre-order sit by larger companies, or a repository of STL, it's still nice to see someone providing a true deal with a Kickstarter for metal figures.

The Daniel Mersey's Knights of the Round Table Kickstarter covers 35 28tmm metal miniatures from Arthurian Lore.  

The build-your-own pledge options are quite reasonable, but the The Knights of the Round pledge is so reasonable that I feel it's insane.  Thirty Five metal figures for $91 (plus S&H).  After seeing Bones creep up into the $5-6 range, this seems like a no brainer, if one needs knights of any sort for your table. 

(Star Wars d6) #66 - A Complicated Profession, Part 2

Still thirty years after Episode #64....

The Azure Dream is set for a pleasure cruise....  Captain Ne'vets Aharo had a party cruise planned, raucous entertainment, music playing, with the only requirements was to maintain life support and keep the drinks flowing.    Tarrie Prolek, former pilot extraordinaire, was hoping his Kessel Rum Bowls would do the trick for awhile.  Quality was not as important as quantity.

The Azure Dreams, leaving Orocco.

Evus, the Cruise Director/MC, inspected the reinforced refreshers, and planned some diverse party karaoke to test the waters with this bunch.  Sid, child prodigy/security, had the slightest look of concern on her normally emotionless face.  

As the ship passengers embarked upon the ship, they were met with a giant holo-vid projection of Evus welcoming them, pointing the direction of the cabins, then pointing back to the bar.  It was amazing that premium holo-vid projector installed in the carcasses of two disabled R2 units they had stolen in a moment of blackout drunkenness only two night prior.  It almost looked professional!

Standing behind the bar, just under the projected image of Evus' junk, was Tarrie, polishing glasses and triple-checking the chill level of the Kessel Rum.   

Luckily the glass he was holding fell safely into the bar sink, as a member of the Oroccan Royal Family stepped onto the vessel.  Tarrie quickly dried his hands, straightened his bolo tie, and waltzed over to greet this royalty, only to realize it was Jeffe, the idiot nephew to King Arcturo.  

"I've taken dumps in smaller ships... and had them blown up!"

"Hold on, Jel Jeffe."

"Correct, use my title, ship peon."

"I understand this ship is smaller than your accustomed to, but let our hospitality makes things seem far grander than they are...." and with that Tarrie handed the nephew a neon red drink in the finest glassware available on the ship.

And with one sip, Jel Jeffe was content.  "This is pretty good, I think the rest of the family will love this when they get on board."

Sid's ears perked up.  She knew a party cruise was going to be tough to keep under control, but Ne'vets had not briefed them that the passengers were the royal family of them planet of their port of call.  

The rest of the royal family filtered onto the ship, easily placated with booze and aggrandized demands for respect, for Sid, the biggest problem was that there were not enough rooms for the royal support staff. 

To distract this logistical nightmare, Evus requested everyone back to the bar for a Bon Voyage Happy Hour back at the main bar.   With the royal family and their entourage distracted, Sid could scurry throughout the ship for every spare cot, oversized crate, and collection of pillows to find some place for everyone.  

Tarrie had two vats going behind the bar, one for the bright red Kessel Rum, and one for a blue and white swirling product to entice the fancier members of the family... 

It was still Kessel Rum.

With the passengers placated, it was time for the Captain's grand entrance.  He schmoozed the ladies, bowed to the lords, and made sure Uncle Niven's 17 cloaks were properly pressed. 

Uncle Niven pulled him closer, "I don't think my brother, the King, mentioned this to you, but it's our mother's birthday.  Can you get a jubilee gala together for tomorrow night... and make it a surprise! She's turning 150!"

"150?!?  We can make that happen for tomorrow... if you would please excuse me..."

And with that, he hastily strutted down over to a service door and flew down the stairs to the kitchen. 

The droid kitchen staff were busily prepping for dinner that evening.  Ne'vets hacked the touch screens and set all the preparations for the next night.  He pushed the boundaries of system so far, that it was assumed that that action caused the food service equipment to never work properly after that cruise.

Evus slid behind the queen mother, Petunia, and waited on her hand and foot for just that evening.  

Overnight, Ne'vets worked to the wee hours, training his galaxy-famous beaked server monkeys to perform a dance number and ensure that the surprise was kept.  

Keeping the entire royal family placated (save the missing King, Queen, and young Princess.)  Ne'vets and crew successfully pulled off the surprise birthday party for the Queen Mum.  She was even appreciative and empathetic to their logistical problems in such a smaller star liner.   But where, oh where, was her Romeo?  

Romeo was the Queen Mum's Royal Lover.  A young, strapping 20-year old, he had remained shirtless since he came aboard.

Assigning Sid for search and rescue, the Chief of Security found him in a Karaoke bar, choking on the microphone.  Sid did what any good security would do, call for back-up, and very quickly Evus arrived, and removed the microphone from his throat. 

Romeo properly recovered, it was time for Captain Ne'vets to say a few words.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, all gathered here. It is a glorious honor to have all of you here on our maiden voyage.  Drink up, enjoy the night, we'll see you in the morning."

Luckily the masquerading Kessel Rum won everyone over before he even said a word.  

The night ended with the Queen Mum, taking Ne'vets aside, squeezing his buttocks, and exclaiming, "Steven... this is very nice. And as a gesture... Romeo, go back to the state room and bring back the boxes."

Romeo ran off as commanded, and a few minutes later, returned carrying two large crates.

The Queen Mum continued, "I normally take these with me everywhere I go, but I feel your ship could get better use out of them."

Inside were dozens of tiles for a fabulous dancefloor.    The next cruise would be even more exciting complete with a dancefloor with the royal seal of Orocco on it.

GM Notes:  I picked up a Complicated Profession off of Kickstarter, possibly related to their zine-promotions.  The concept of an adventuring party retiring for a new profession isn't new, but the process of shedding old abilities for new abilities better fit a for a cruise ship is an amazing transition.

There was a second encounter, involving a Cthulhu-esque character trying to eat the ship.  Things felt much to rushed for the final half hour, so I'll omit it, but it did involve something straight out of Ant-Man, and too much a return to the old animal trading days.

And yes, a drunken Queen Mum read the Captain Ne'vets name badge backwards, an homage from the early episode.

Next: #66 - Picking Up the Pieces

Military Miniatures (1966)

Don't know how I hadn't found this video on Youtube, but it is a fun trek into the 60's miniatures and games.  I particularly like the Vikings.

ViscountEric Returns to SATLOF

This Saturday was my groups annual SATLOF (Saturday After Thanksgiving Leftover Feast).  Stolen from my college roommate Steve's high school friends FATLOF (Friday), it was an excuse to bring leftover leftover, drink trash can punch at varying levels of responsibility, and play some random games.

TWO DECADES LATER, and things have evolved.  Apartments turned into houses, random girls brave enough to deal with our tomfoolery have become wives (some ex-wives), and the presence of children usually tones down the trash can punch, if it appears at all.

And the was before COVID.  

We did try a virtual SATLOF in 2020.  We reheated our own leftovers, provided our own beverages, and commiserated over Skype.  

Last year, Steve and Angie, our hosts for the past 15 years, only had one couple over for SATLOF.  Folks were still not feeling like traveling, or, like me, actually didn't feel good and didn't want to contaminate everyone else.  

This year, we still didn't have the out of state people available, but as I was invited (as usual), the girls and I visited my Mom in Easton, then ventured forth to beautiful, scenic Alburtis, PA for SATLOF.  

We can safely declare SATLOF as slowly recovering, as Steve and Angie went from hosting two to hosting five, when our friend Scott and his son/my godson Connor made an appearance.  

While the ever-growing event had meant cooking a completely new turkey that day, we had just enough for the "true spirit" of SATLOF.  Tupperware containers were broken out and reheated, open-face turkey sandwiches were constructed, half-eaten pies retrieved from the garage friend, and we ate, perused Steve's insane Kickstarter collection... and used gaming table he picked up, and caught up on a ton of news (somehow Steve missed my big news.  It's usually at a least a bullet point in our Monday night gaming group... Steve usually hops on late).  But we all managed to catch up on the trials and tribulations of middle age amongst our extended group of friends.  Mostly minor medical issues, but a few big ones, my news, and a super-secret marriage!

Seeing everybody face-to-face was a a huge relief and an absolute pleasure I don't want to take for granted.  But the best part was actually playing a game on Steve's giant dining room table that seats ten!

Sure it was Oregon Trail the Card Game,  and it was fitting that the first time we played it, we all died on the first turn, but the second game brought out all the positives that we've missed with playing face-to-face with friends.  No offense to my online crew, or the Stout Gnomes at convention, but I've been gaming with Scott since 1988, and Steve since 1998, it's on a different level.  

I know an equal number of people with harsh cases of COVID as I do serious cases of the flu right now., and having experience and even worse case of COVID myself, I don't like taking chances, but for one day, everything was alright, and outside of us not eating celery with the dip tray after the 3-year ran off with it in two hands, I'm confident that next year SATLOF will grow back to almost normal size.  

And maybe, just maybe, we can schedule some face-to-face roleplaying and use Steve's dining room table.

Rejoice and Be Glad, SATLOF is Upon Us Once Again!

It's super low-key and I'm driving with just the kids, for the Society of Neffs Saturday After Thanksgiving Left Over Feast (SATLOF) should just be a great time to reconnect with a few friends I haven't seen since pre-COVID.  

I'm also a bit bummed that I didn't need to make a choice between my 30th High School Reunion (it was Friday instead of the usual Saturday after Thanksgiving, and thanks to a host of issues, personal and otherwise, I couldn't make it.)  For the best, from the pictures all these old people crashed the party...

(Kickstarter) Starship Skirmishers - Classic Sci-Fi Minis in Metal by Old School Miniatures

 OSM (Old School Miniatures) taunts me in a moment of financial weakness with a great collection of new figures sculpted by Tim Prow: Starship Skirmishers.

It's a classic assortment of fun 80s/90s UK sci-fi bad-assery, as well as Space Rats, Orcs, Goblins, and reptilian Space Centaurs, plus all the other beautiful weirdness that is the OSR back catalog. 

Thanksgiving Kaiju!

 

(Kickstarter) Terrain Crate 3 by Mantic

Mantic has done a great job with their Terrain Crate series.  They've expanded into sci-fi with their Terrain Crate 3 Kickstarter.

I'm a little concerned that I don't see the triangle portal (whose paint jobs were the first thing that attracted me to the early online ads).  I'm assuming they'll be on the stretch goals for the forest?  The ruins/barrels are that perfect handy size to block line of sight or compound troop movement without a need for a larger ruin to clog everything up.  

They're also offering multiple sized battle mats and terrain templates.  Can't wait to see what else is going to be added.

The Kickstarter ends December 6th! 

(Star Wars d6) #65 - A Complicated Profession, Part 1

Thirty years after Episode #64....

The camera pans from the void of space into a planetary system.  It zooms to the planet Orocco, with a spaceport orbiting it.  Further still it focuses on a clear dome which is hosting what is clearly a carnival, complete with all the sights, sounds, and smells that one would expect.  Small children are clumsily walking down the midway, trying to control the custom balloon they have in one hand while  balancing a bag of popcorn and a dripping ice cream cone in the other.  Both popcorn and ice cream end up on the ground as a giant shadow envelopes the boy,  shocking him, but them proceeding to block the illumination of the planet to the spaceport, a large pleasure cruiser come precariously close to the doom, less than 100 meters from it....

With a good set of monoculars, that child could see a number of people staring back through a large window on the ship, namely Ne'vets and Tarrie,  Evus, and even  Sid,

They had spent a number of year working together as a crew, capturing exotic animals, finding specimens, getting game and notoriety.  But over the last twenty years, each of the crew drifted apart in their own way.  Even the most successful crews are pushed out by increased Imperial meddling and profiteers who only cared about quantity, not quality.  

After years apart, it was Ne'vets' bright idea to get the gang back together for a new venture, far away from the exotic animal market and onto the next long con.

He figured that Abel Norrum's safaris for the bored and wealthy were quite profitable in their time, why not make it a safer trip across the galaxy for the rich?  Even with the Empire in charge, people still had ridiculous piles of credits to waste on frivolous pursuits.   And no one had designed a drone to pilot a ship through a nebula.  Folks were needed

Whether it was open space or a neon glowing asteroid field, or serving bright blue drinks while fending off scavengers on the edge of space.  A luxury space liner for hire seemed like a good way to get some credits and still have some hijinks.

For Evus, he had spent years using his brawn and blaster to achieve his goals.   Those years had him develop a nervous twitch in his eyes, but he was able to keep thing under control with his commanding presence as he took the role of Master of Ceremonies on Ne'vets Cruise Liner, the Azure Dream.   The old tank top and cargo pants were replaced with a crisp, smart-looking khaki military uniform, resplendent in vintage medals as it was strategically placed pieces of glitter.  With a wireless headset and mic in his earth, he was the front-line leader of the staff, and the go-to gentlemen for any escalations.  He didn't leave his old way completely behind. The only prosession from his previous life that he had kept was his trusty blaster rifle.  He had immaculately kept it over the years, at the bottom of his foot locker in his quarters, ready to go at a moments time. 

For Tarrie Prolek, he still remained the hot-shot pilot, now with the faintest hint of a receding hairline.  Back in the day, he kept everyone safe with quick reflexes and undeniable style with the hint of craziness in his cyborg eye.  Over the years, all his associates referred to him as a competent dick with a penchant for feathered boas and show tunes.  

Despite keeping up his piloting skills, handing over the controls to much too serious pilot under contract for the cruise ship seemed like a great change of pace, so he focused one a second career: Head Bartender.  Garbed in a full tuxedo with a universal translator in the lapel, Tarrie kept the party going for all the passengers, at all times. 

Sid may have had a falling out with Ne'vets, but once the "boss" had a new idea, it was like things had never stopped.  The back-up pilot was as stoic and mechanical as ever.    

Like with Tarrie, the professional pilot for the cruise liner may have agitated Sid, but with Frokazza not available, Sid became head of security.   Her old unmarked uniform was worn and baggier, but it gave her a chance to hide her two favorite things:  Her old hold-out blaster, and a half-dozen packs of gum.

For Ne'vets, the cruise liner was redemption from his final days as an exotic animal broker.  Fighting all the groups for his territories and interests, Ne'vets had turned away from drugs and alcohol and turned his attention into weightlifting.  But worse than a weightlifter that skipped leg day, he focused entirely on heavy curls, bulking up just those muscles.  His oversized and unbalanced arms earned his the derisive nickname, "The Python" among those rival interests.  All these years later, he  has embraced the nickname, and is still known to find some free weights from time to time. 

Establishing the space cruise liner company, Ne'vets established himself as Captain of the vessel, if in name only, although the datapad of forged documents could convince scrutiny of even the most hardcore Imperial inspector.

Besides "Keeping the lights on," and "Putting the fires out", Ne'vets spent most of his time wandering the ship in a grand ceremonial uniform, wielding an elaborate ceremonial staff,  which matched the lone tooth a drop bear that he wore around his neck.

Their ship, the  Azure Dream, was a converted military feature, chosen for all the extra safety features that had already been installed.  Many of these were installed by the military when they discovered how dangerous many of the metal walkways were. Tarrie had installed some mood lighting through the cruise ship, and it was the biggest compliment most passengers provided in their mandatory exit interview.

GM Notes:  As the game neared real-time Christmas, and the game paused on a giant cliffhanger, it was time to take the smaller group through a flash-foward side-trek, using the rules for A Complicated Profession.  The concept for the game is simple.  A group of old spacefaring  adventurers have decided to give up their careers and focus on a new chapter:  staff on a cruise ship.

Next: #66, Part Two of A Complicated Profession

Mandatory AAU Basketball Rant Fall 2022 Part #3

 I thought we were officially in that lull for AAU, as local rec and school ball take over for the winter, but still they drag me back in.  

Millie's team of a million point guards and undersized out-of-position centers did well this fall, well enough, in fact, to garner them an extra tournament at a showcase event this past week.  Only girls, only grades 5-8, but with teams stretching from New England to North Carolina.  

I had mentioned in previous installments that that mechanism for challenging a player's eligibility was significantly compromised or removed from these fall tournaments.  While athletic events will bring out those well beyond the 100% for their age, I still feel like some of these 12-under teams had girls drive to the site after a full shift at their jobs.   Millie (and Millie's team) is woefully undersized against urban programs pulling from much larger populations, but I still question whether or not some of the girls were held back two or three years to stay in 6th grade. 

Further complicating this late tournament was the opening week of games for the local rec league I'm still a part of, and even worse, it was Maja's school tryouts for 7th/8th grade basketball.  

As has been the pattern this fall, my wife took Millie down to the tournament, and I ubered Maja to Friday night and Saturday morning, and to make sure the games went off without a hitch.  

To get the home front stuff taken care of, Maja's 8th grade team has one girl with a long-term injury, and one new player to fill in that slot.  The 7th graders brought a deluge of 16 players to tryouts, including four that played with Millie long ago.

As I checked up on rec league games while Maja was at her Saturday tryouts, the text messages started coming in.  Millie's first opponent was a top level team who completely switched programs in Upper Manhattan.  Their same girls grew since the spring, ours did not, so it was a legit 42-30 loss.    Their second opponent was even tougher, the Drexel Hill Comets "National" team (the usual competitive travel team also played and played well.)  Not only did they beat Millie's team 47-34, but beat the NYC team.  

It was that sort of weekend for #4

Regardless of the outcomes, Millie played hard, had lots of ball handling, a few points, and few more assists, and lock-down defense on the big girls.

Sunday, I left Maja to here own devices to get to practice (more on that later) to make it down to Lancaster for he day.  Another nationally recognized program, and at least two girls that were either much older than the rest, or I feel sad for their very early onset puberty.    No shots went in, they could only stop the big girls about 80% of the time, and the officiating was abysmal (equally abysmal for both sides but it impacted our play style more.)  By the time they were halfway through the 2nd half, down by 13, Millie's coach sat as many starters as she could and let Millie and the bench play.   In those last eight minutes, the other team only widened the lead by four more, winning 47-30.  

The final consolation game for the weekend was against an even more undersized team from the eastside of Manhattan.   They too brought their two big girls, who skill-wise seemed just fantastically oversized, but they also brought tiny girls who would easily be the smaller girls in our local 3rd grade league.    The first half was closer than it should have been, but they pulled away with their only win of the weekend 54-20.  Millie had perfect three, a few rebounds, and a no-look pass that made everyone stand up... and the ref curse out in disbelief.   It was a good experience, the program organizers know exactly who they need to be recruiting for to add to the team (or hang all the girls upside down to make them grow), and Millie is in mid-season form for the winter.  God help those other teams.  

And Maja?  We always run through all the options when it comes to tryouts, and with a glut of Freshman girls, it didn't look like the Big 6 7th graders who played Freshman last year could be maintained.  

To my surprise, only nine out of the thirteen Freshman girls came out.  Five of them made at least JV, and in a strange twist, not only did Maja make just Freshman (no 8th grade team), but the Big 6 added two more 8th graders PLUS three 7th graders.  It's a huge team, but after Maja's report after the first practice, I think the balance of power remains the Big 6's to lose.  

(Kickstarter) German Village 28mm from Things from the Basement

 Things from the Basement have launched a Kickstarter for a range of 28mm German village half-timbered buildings.

(Star Wars d6) #64 - Under a Black Sun

Our Heroes, currently trapped in a gunfight

Ne'vets Aharo - an exotic animal broker, both legal and otherwise, majority owner in the Pretio.
Tarrie Prolek - 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.  May have a a Beaked Monkey on his person.

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.
"Sid" - A peculiar woman with some knowledge of their missing ally, Evus, Sid has been allowed to tag along for now...

Evus - Twi'lek male, former slave, then associate of Ne'vets, currently working for Crom-Crom the Gungan on Naboo.

Against All Odds

Already searching for Nikto bounty hunter

Kaa'tos Leeachos, the crew of the Pretio 

Scour his frequent haunts for any leads.

While patronizing a Black Sun gambling hub, 

A lieutenant in the crime organization 

Shot fame exotic animal broker Ne'vets Aharo

Aharo's associate, the eccentric and quixotic Sid

Shot at the the Black Sun agent repeatedly,

Probably killing him on the first shot. 

Blasters have been drawn and fired from all direction, 

And the other crew members are pondering 

If a proper exit strategy should have been 

considered before entering the establishment.

No matter what, it's time to leave...

After a high stakes game of Sabaac with a supposed Black Sun crime boss went awry, it was as good a time as any for the crew to cut their losses and leave.  Duk'k the Bounty Hunter had already grabbed a dying Ne'vets and used his jetpack to exit through a skylight in the bar area, but the others were not as fortunate. 

Outside of two armored individuals with power staves, acting as bouncers, and a pair of obvious Black Sun lackeys still pre-occupied with the carnage in the Sabaac room, it was a bevy of well-armed patrons actively fighting, perhaps, attempting to capture the crew.  Even the more pacifistic patrons had their hands on their holsters.  

Tarrie scanned the scene, in between random blaster shots.  A Rodian somehow had snuck up to him, pistol half-heartedly pointed towards him.  "No funny business, okay?"  

Tarrie looked incredulously at the Rodian, then yelled to Evus, "We're leaving, right?"

Evus, carrying Sid over one shoulder, holding his blaster rifle in the other, just kept moving around the corner and towards the front doors of the Spyder.  The only person in his immediate path was the Bothan barback,  hold-out blaster pointed down, and his left hand raised just enough to motion the Twi'lek to stop.

"Hey... this is going to end worse if you shoot your way out."

Evus stumbled to a halting stop, "But I've got an injured woman.  She needs medical attention!" 

"Injured woman?  She's the one who caused all these problems!"

Tarrie pushed the Rodian into a crew of hostile patrons, turned around and shot at he bartender and tried to make a break for it.   The bartender was wounded, but managed to dive back over the bar.

Tarrie brushed up against one of the armored bouncers.  Purple energy crackled from the end of the staff, but Tarrie was able to deflect the blow, allowing him to scramble closer to the door. 

The other defending patrons turned the corner and started firing on the trio.  Evus was lucky.  Sid's body afforded him extra cover and protection.  Unfortunately for Sid, the shots hit true, and the awkward pilot was closer to death. 

With blaster firing overhead, Evus charged out of the Spyder and plead his case to the growing crowd. 

"It's crazy in there, I've got an injured person!" 

A few passers-by grabbed the Twi'lek and his dying friend, found a concealed spot, and gave him time to provide life-saving first aid to the quirky and violence-prone human.

Tarrie had stumbled away from the encounter with the bouncer, dodged some fire, and landed behind the bar.  The Bothan bartender was on all fours in front of him, holding a blast cannon.  Tarrie only had enough time to see the flash of energy coming out of the barrel.

Above the Spyder, Duk'k had immediately landed on the roof to the club, in hopes of stabilizing Ne'vets enough to drop back into the fray and help his friends escape.   But Ne'vets proved far worse than even the pessimistic Skipsk'ud reasoned.  A lone Medpack was all he had to help Ne'vets, and it seemed to not only save him from death, but give him a jolt of energy.  

Ne'vets awoke, in pain and uncomfortable, 

"Did you get my winnings?"

"Wait a second, the shooting stopped."

And then, the firefight below went silent.  Duk'k scurried to the side of the roof, trying to see if any of their compatriots were among the numerous bystanders along the streets.  

"You stay here, I'll go back in.  I'll get things cleared up in a matter of seconds."

"A'light," was all Ne'vets could muster.

Duk'k dropped through the broken skylight.  A quick blast of his jetpack, and a barrage of blaster fire could be heard from below.

Ne'vets rolled back against the parapet of the roof, and stared up at the sky.  

"It might be time to retire.  Maybe find a safer passion to wor....." 

Ne'vets passed out, last hearing the continued volleys of blasters.... 

GM Notes:  I had no clue what I was going to do when the group brought up monkey pants.  I figured a little improv, and a little intrigue, and using an published adventure as fenceposts to their activities seemed like a winner.    I really didn't anticipate Tarrie sitting at the light, while the Piscopo was taking fire, and adding the Black Sun to their enemies list.  

We might return to this scenario, but for a bit, we'll make an odd side-quest for the holidays.  An adventure of subtle intrigue, gregarious gluttony, and sad nostalgia to remind everyone what a complicated profession everyone is in.  

The adventure Under a Black Sun, is still available in pdf on the Fantasy Flight Games' website.

Next:  #65 - A Complicated Profession

Mepacon 43: Putting the MEPA back in Mepacon

My local convention is Mepacon, a small, well-organized affair that's resided in Northeastern Pennsylvania for a number of years.  I've always done my best to attend them, but with kids and life I've managed about half, most recently being a Sunday last year.

Its short run at the Mountain Laurel Resort was terminated by the closing of the facility for a third round of renovations in the past five years.  A quick available alternative site returned Mepacon 43 near its roots, with the  Sure Stay Plus (by Best Western) in Bethlehem, PA.

The con's name is derived from the fact that the early iterations were the Mid-Eastern Pennsylvania Convention, a name that never evolved as they moved north for over 15 years.  The Lehigh Valley is about as Mepa as one can get.  

I had not gotten much details, but as I perused the game registrations, I saw names of folks I hadn't seen in decades, so I decided to take the girls down for a trip on Saturday.  

By dinner time Friday,  reports of the place already jumping confirmed everyone's desires for a real convention in the area, with number of folks still driving down from Scranton.

Okay, it's a picture I took of the main board game room on Saturday, but it was reportedly this busy on Friday.

The only delay we had to attend was the internet.  No, we weren't attending virtually, but I woke up Friday morning to zero internet in the house.   All the regular attempts at resetting were futile, and after a day of calls, reports of outages, and promises of a tech coming out, I got a confirmation of one finally arriving.  

Saturday morning between 8:30am and 10:30am.   Plans for an early breakfast with the girls were shot out of the window, and plans for both girls attended were changed with Millie's friend and basketball teammate throwing a sleepover birthday party over the entire weekend.  

The technician showed up by 9:40, did a lot of diagnostic tests, replaced alot of the coaxial hook-ups to no avail, and finally ventured into the woods behind our house to check the box to the main line.  

This apparently, is an ancient artifact, the source of our big problem, and the source of everyone else's intermittent issues.

Bad news, he couldn't replace the box, the source of our issues, but he did put in a request for a maintenance team to replace most items for the afternoon.  Best news of all, no one needed to be home when they showed up, so Maja and I jumped in the car and made the 70-minute drive in about 55. 

I'm quite familiar with the Sure Stay (a long time Holiday Inn before a series of name changes) and it's ubiquitous "Bar With No Name."  It's directly off of US 22 at PA 512, and there are plenty of eating establishments and a Wegman's grocery store a short drive (or decent walk) away.  Three things surprised me. The Bar with No Name was closed to hosts the LARPs, and the other on-site  bar/restaurant didn't open until 5pm each day, and the con didn't get use of their giant ballroom.  A wedding rehearsal and a Marine Corps function took up that space, relegating the con to series of mid-sized and conference rooms for it's functions.  

While no where near as bad as the HMGS cons in King of Prussia, the winding hallways added a small sense of confusion, which the staff tried to alleviate with floor arrows leading folks to the LARP, the dealers, the organized play rooms.  

Getting their late, we missed the 1pm timeslots, and in our navigation of the hotel, most of the cool sessions had filled up for 2pm, so we wrote out our items slips for the con auction, then ventured to the back of a hotel, where a food truck had been invited for a convenient on-site food option for lunchtime.  

I do have an oncoming rant, but first the pros.    The Cheesesteak I ordered was probably the best I've eaten in years, and Maja probably did not fully appreciate the high quality melted cheese on her fries, but the two I stole were phenomenal, but the knowing after the fact that the thirty minute waits would evolve into forty for two pretty stock food truck items (after they were already out of ]our first two options), I could have navigated to one of the four Wawas within ten minutes for average, tasty cuisine and come back. 

Multiple sessions of Battletech, some 40k, and a Gaslands game diversified the RPG/Board game dominance.

After eating, we searched for a garbage can to dispose of our trash and got commandeered into a quick game of Hive Mind, a fun party game we tried to match lists on various topics (Name 3 cute animals).  The more people who had like answers, the more points they got, while the folks with the odder answers were slowly pushed out of the hive.  We didn't get to play the full game, as Maja had signed up for a session of Usurp the King by DHP Games, while I watched some Battletech and caught up with old friends.  Maja had midling response after the game was over, her only positive was, "I should have poisoned more people."

When I meant old friends, I actually mean old.  We've gone from talking about new gaming supplements and chowing down on pizza and beer, to nutritional supplements for diabetics, stroke precautions, and our kids' college options.  And most of us have yet to crack 50!  

At six, the staff did a good job converting the board game room into the games auction.  Gone were the overlong raffle, but the dice guess and costume contests were announced and very bloated auction had begun.  I missed the last few auctions, but it appeared Lehigh Valley gamers had an overabundance of party games, miscellaneous licensed products, general junk, as I believe I was only one of two people putting RPGs in the auction.  I may have bid on a half-dozen items, and won nothing, but my two boxes of stuff I brought all sold well.

With a 13-year old, I finally gave in to a Gamer Dad's biggest fear:  I let Maja play the in the full LARP.    Carcosa Creations has worked with Mepacon for years developing quality LARPs, and after I dropped her off (with my parental blessing), I wandered around before jumping into a game of Dungeon Crawl Classics, with a number of folks I've known for years, but never actually role-played with.  It was a blast, with my fresh 1st level cleric fumbling every spell, angering his God, and only successfully healing the bad guy!  If I ever play again, and drag Bushwick Verybottom out, I think he'll a fighter with divine spells on the down low. 

We got done with DCC around 11:50pm, but I had to wait for Maja to come out of the LARP at 12:30!  Despite her character getting murdered by her apparent best friend in the game, she was on cloud nine, and talked about her character and the entire game from our drive to Wawa all the way to getting on the turnpike, until she passed out.

The LARP seemed pretty frenetic.

The Sure Stay Plus:  The hotel might have changed hands a few times, but it looked the same as it was when I was scouting out wedding reception location twenty years ago with a woman I did not end up marrying.  The winding hallways and assortment of spread out rooms, but still a packed boardgame room confused more than us.  The good news is the con is returning to the site for the spring, and the full ballroom will be available, with the boardgame room getting converted to miniatures and wargaming.

Food Options: The food truck was a mixed bag for us, but there are dozens of options available for takeout/delivery, plus the Wegmans and a hotel fridge is always a great long-term weekend option.

I would like to investigate the small bar/restaurant menu next time, but with full service WAWAs everywhere, my kids' needs will be fulfilled. 

Events: We are either seeing the complete takeover of boardgames for the convention, or we're nearing its apex and eventual decline.  Just too much, too much resource management, too many meeples, and too many glazed looks at the table.   Perhaps it was just their spread out locations, but the multiple organized play options seemed far watered down.  There were a perfect amount of "normal" RPGs, even if the Mutant Crawl Classics game I wanted to jump into cancelled due to lack of players.  

Even with the new Hasbro version coming out, I may resurrect my My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria games for the kids/kids at heart track.

And it was confirmed by a number of folks, even non-players, the appearance of fully attended Battletech games was a much-needed boost to the con.

Dealers:  Of course, The Portal, a long-time vendor, and now partner with the con, was in attendance with a pile of used/new RPGs and a large selection of larger boards with a "Buy One, Get the Second for 75% Off" sale.    They took a prominent spot in the space-crunched board game room, as did the DPH Games where Maja played Usurp the King, plus the all-important Quigley's Cakes (Whatever grumpiness I had with the food truck, a maple bacon cupcake solved all my worries.   The other vendors were across the hall were an interesting assortment of geek crafts/trades, 3-D printing, and small self-publishers.  Millie would have bankrupted me, but Maja just didn't seem too interested.

That's a lot of fancy dice!

Swag:  Lucky for me, my friend Gerry picked out a couple choice lots from the auction so I didn't sabotage the whole purpose of clearing out my stuff.  Besides a free copy of the DCC Quickstart rules (thanks Cyrus!), I grabbed four of the old 3rd edition mini-modules that Alderac put out (Of course, in hindsight, those items are $0.79 - $0.99 for pdfs on DriveThru, an absolute steal!)  I also pulled a stack of older Fritz Leiber paperbacks out of the auction.  My intent was to give Maja a base education in classic fantasy, but after the DCC game, I'm tempted to set up a min-book club with her. 

  

Mepacon 44 will be held back at the SureStay Plus in Bethlehem, April 14-16, 2023.  The theme is similar to "Literary Legends" which will certainly break out the Harry Potter, but I'm thinking more games like Pride & Prejudice.... & Zombies.

Long-time Plans Gone Awry

 The start of my "gaming year" hasn't gotten to a solid start, with intermittent Star Wars games an interrupted Fall-In!, and a disastrous home life.   One thing that ranks as a big neutral, is the return of the blog bots hitting the site.   This batch is a simple program, hitting five or six old pages heavy, then moving onto something else by the end of this weekend (hopefully).  

One random post was from October, 2009, two months after I started the blog.  It's no surprise, it's a gaming plan, with me trying to break out what I would do quarterly, with a newborn in the house.  I had not accumulated as much stuff as I do now, and role-playing.

The post title is a mis-"gnomer," I actually got a good deal accomplished, with a few failures that deserve a spot in my Gaming Projects even know.

For 2010:

• Complete the Gnome Wars - Wishing Well Campaign ✅ That first series of Gnome Wars games might not have had an exciting conclusion, but our group played a lot, and that eventually evolved into games with the kid(s) and the Tanga. 
• "Coal Country" Cthulhu ✅ There was only hope for something bigger, but I was just trying to fulfill a Call of Cthulhu itch and transition from the TPK in our Hackmaster game.  These CoC games set in Northeast Pennsylvania evolved into a giant campaign, last culminating in the completion of Masks of Nylarathotep.
• Ostburg ❌ The follow-up campaign to Wishing Well just never got off the ground.  Too many buildings, too many figures to buy, especially with the summer discovery of Millie's arrival in January 2011.
• League of Gnomes ❌ This concept really inspired me to write this post, and to ponder if it can be done.  Quite simply, adjust the map of Europe for the Gnome World, and run a variant of Diplomacy with my friends, and Gnome Wars aficionados.  The brilliant idea is to actually use some of the HMGS sessions to play out critical battles on the diplomacy board, rather than letting the superior forces rule win out.  We might need to hash this out for an appendix to Gnome Wars 3rd Edition.
• Scorpion Gulch ❌There was a time when Call of Cthulhu wasn't going to replace Hackmaster, but a Western, most notably Kenzer & Company's Aces and Eights.  A Western seemed to be the best vehicle to maneuver through a random rotation of player absences, leaving the big moments to when everyone was together.  Scorpion Gulch was a horror campaign, using some material out of Worlds of Cthulhu Magazine. It was never going to have a happy ending, but it would use every sub-system in Aces & Eights, so it would be a great test run for something bigger.  Alas, outside of a few shoot-outs and barroom brawls, things just never got off the ground. 

(Kickstarter) Assault on Santa's Workshop (5e)

The holiday season always brings out a host of material for Christmas, Hanukah, Krampus, etc.  Most never seem to be deliverable prior to the the holiday, and suffer  some variant theme that players and GMs would expect.

Assault on Santa's Workshop, now on Kickstarter, just hits the right spot for me

I believe they had me at, "Can your party wrestle control of Santa's Workshop from scheming Drow, entranced elves, and murderous Christmas constructs?"

This 5e module for 4-6 Level 5 characters will be available in pdf ($10), pdf/print ($20), and an all-in package including the digital/print book, fillable pdf character sheet, plus stl files of miniatures for the scenario ($60).

Mandatory Fall AAU Rant 2022 - Part 2

 When there's not two kids playing basketball at rwo different locations, there's a lot less drama.

But not all the drama.

With Fall-In! on the same weekend as the end of Millie's season, I took a day or two to recover, than scanned social media and the tournament apps to better recollect the last three tournaments of the fall.

Except that I could only find two...

It seems like everyone wiped the Fall Mayhem Classic at Spooky Nook from their collective memories.  

Part of it was that it was an ill-run tournament, with poor time management, and lackluster communication.   Part of it was horrendous officiating at all age levels.  I was at Maja's volleyball game, trying to get video, and repeating texts from my wife about how uttlerly clueless the refs were, and the veritable pile of technical fouls being handed out, not only to our team, but the other coach, who had been far less animated!    With that knowledge it wasn't a surprise that Millie's team was down at halftime... but not by 19!    They ended up rallying in the 2nd half, coming up short by one, 45-44.  

Maja and I missed the second game while driving down to Spooky Nook, and we arrived to chaos.  The team had been soundly beaten a second time that morning.  Accusations and murmurs abounded. Coaching was questioned, playing time debated, and the most common excuse, 7th and sometimes 8th graders playing in the 6th grade division.  Millie's team does not handle true adversity well, but the only folks who handle it worse are the parents.  

Given the fact that she was playing against veritable giants, I wasn't surprised that Millie saw limited action, but others felt it a slight against her.  Needless to say more unnecessary drama was made and the evening was otherwise a mess.

Sunday pool play evolved into play-in games, and a rematch against the second team they lost to.  This time, the team beared down and ground out a 7-point win, resulting in a championship game rematch against the first loss.   Having not seen any play Saturday, I realized the championship game was against a team they hadn't played in a year.  Their girls had grown A LOT, and recruited some new friends and proved to be more worthy adversary than rule-breakers.  Millie's team kept with four until the final minutes, losing 39-32.  

The next tournament was a shorter drive out to the Mecca of basketball in Central Pennsylvania:  The Lewisburg YMCA.  With player conflicts, they filled one of the tournaments with a special request from some of the 5th grade AAU players.  It seems at least three of the 5th graders drive over an hour (full interstate) to make practice twice a week, because the local programs cut them, and with the help of only four of the sixth graders, they were going to prove their prowess.

Against the 5th/6th grade teams from Danville and Lewisburg on Saturday, there was little challenge, 44-4 wins and 34-13 wins with the 5th graders taking most of the playing time.  I'm sure a little revenge was sweet, plus they don't get to practice with the 6th graders, and they took both games to get up to the base speed level of the older kids.  

After a quick commute Sunday, they faced a Nittany Valley team that was bigger and stronger, but could not keep up with the girls, another 50-19 blowout.   

Instead of a rematch in the championship game, the tournament organizers distributed medals and organized a fourth game against the 7th/8th championship, plus a few other girls to fill in for the girls who couldn't stay.    These girls were at least a proper travel team, and the age and size difference could not be overcome.   Compared to the prior tournament, no one whined and complained about a 30-point loss to the older girls, especially when they still put up 29,   (59-29).

The final scheduled tournament of the year was the post-Halloween, Zero Gravity Spookfest at the Nook.  Of course, this interfered with our trip to Fall-In!, and, as I mentioned in my Fall-In AAR, filled my Saturday with great basketball against a lackluster (26-9), and a rough team (41-9).  The two games on Sunday sealed the championship (41-17, 52-28).  

Of course on Wednesday I discovered that the girls had been invited to two special tournaments, a showcase tournament in March (which conflicts with the big local tournament for Millie's school team), and another next week in Spooky Nook.  

The travel never stops.  Can't wait for the 6th grade local league at Kingston Rec to start in a month.

Millie versus a "Normal" tall girl.

(Kickstarter) Frog Knights - 28mm Miniatures by Tom Mason

A quick little Kickstarter for us anthropomorphic amphibian fans, Frog Knights by Tom Mason.  

Three types of figures, all cast in metal, starting at six Tadpolemen for $25.

(Kickstarter) Pulp Alley: Character Cards Collection

Pulp Alley, collaborating with Pulp Figures, is producing a Pulp Alley: Character Cards Collection on Kickstarter.

One of the multiple decks.  

From the Kickstarter:

Our new Character Cards Collection includes 8 new decks of cards -- with over 400 characters to use in your Pulp Alley scenarios. The collection is available as digital files and printed cards. 

• Character Cards Collection: Digital Files -- This pledge level includes eight digital files.
• Character Cards Collection: Printed Cards -- This pledge level includes the eight digital files, plus eight decks of premium full color printed cards.

The campaign has minor stretch goals to add to the set, and the only add-on is a special discount for the Pulp Alley webstore for its duration.   Check out the Kickstarter for specifics.

Fall-In! 2022 Gnome Action

There were four Gnome Wars games at Fall-In! 2022, run under the HMGS Next Gen banner.  Using the convention theme  of Vehicles of War: Trains, Tracks and Trucks, we based most of the games around the Siege of Tsingtao, and the what-if scenario regarding a bier run breakthrough involving trucks.   Not historically accurate, and the trucks are a bit anachronistic for the era, but so are garden gnome Swiss.  

I was not around for the 3pm Friday or 10am Saturday games, but here are the pictures from the other two.  

GAME ONE: Pirates surprise the Irish, who were commandeering the riverboat for their own bier-related nefarious purposes.

Germans use the cows as cover.  The cows randomly moved each round (spinner and d12 in inches).

Bier trucks getting loaded.  

Safe driving, bier on board.

The Swiss Bier Nurse and Herr Bier Doktor duke it out under the bridge.

GAME TWO:  The pirates disembark a horde of skeleton warriors???

Captain Alvarado took out King Jim and his henchmen without any help.  

The great Swiss exodus.

Leprechaun and Clerichaun alike rainbowed into the pirates ship. 

A German plane, low on fuel, barely misses a War Elephant and excited Germans, while landing.