I did not expect 2022 to surpass the Pandemic/double hospitalization 2020 in sheer matters of suckitude, but here's hoping a completely new set-up in 2023 isn't disastrous.
Saturday, December 31, 2022
Friday, December 30, 2022
Another Month of Gaming Solicitations (January 2023)
We are in the post-holiday doldrums already, and that is no different when you're in adventure gaming retail or wholesale. Twenty-five-plus years ago, the monthly solicitation packets were a scant few sheets of new products, which the distributor would augment with a book of their "fire sales" of old stagnant product, in order to generate cash flow and clear warehouse space for hopefully better selling product.
I'm sure the mass discounts are still around, probably smaller and more often. The issue is most distributors' monthly solicitations are packaged in slick, color magazine formats, which tend to need a stock number of pages. You can add more advertising and promotional articles, but in the end, people on both sides of the counter want to see product.
The good folks at Alliance, producer to the Game Trade Magazine I reference each month have the advantage of being the sister company or offshoot from Diamond Comics. While some slow months have seen added promotion for certain companies, the summer an increase in graphic novels promoted within the games section (there already is a graphic novel/anime section for GTM).
I ramble on about this because, as a stock component of post-Christmas sales is "organization" (aka... Christmas tubs to pack everything away neatly... and New Years resolutions) and GTM has a good page and a half of comics supplies: bags, boards, and boxes. Heck, they even included Magazine and Treasury-sized bags, and they never get any love.
And once my amusement about that waned, I found another new company covering stock trading card supplies: sleeves, top-loaders, 9-pocket pages... and even a few TCG sleeves.
Perhaps I'm the only person on the planet that was amused by that. Maybe there will be a rush of gamers to grade and bag their classic modules. With less new product, it is a good time for stores to restock those supplies that they sell/use throughout the year.
The games solicitations for Game Trade Magazine #275 can be found at your Friendly Local Game Store or online in pdf form here.
ViscountEric's Want List
Arc Dream Publishing
Delta Green RPG: The Conspiracy ............................................. $44.99
A 21st century update on the last days of 90's conspiracy-laden original campaign. Not picking up from the FLGS, as the hard copy should arrive one day from the Kickstarter campaign.
ViscountEric's Money-Is-No-Object Want List
Diamond Comic Distributors
D&D - Minimates - Heroes Box Set .......................................... PI
Uni doesn't look block-ish enough, but this will have to do.
Free League Publishing
Twilight: 2000 RPG: Urban Operations Expansion ................ $39.99
Glyd
Magic Missile Dice (11) ............................... $17.99
I have some comments about Glyd in the Retail portion, but I might impulse buy a set of Magic Missile Dice (I also can longer spell missile... I keep omitting the second i.) Now, they're nothing like a Power d4 from Hard 8 Enterprises, but Glyd focused on utility, rather than optimization.
Paizo Publishing
Starfinder RPG: Flip-Mat - Amusement Park ....................... $16.99
This was very close to a must-have item. In my old-age I've just to find a use for it first... THEN it shall be mine!
The Imaginary Store List (The Pegleg Gnome)
25th Century Games
Donut Shop ........................................ $39.99
Resist! ................................................ $24.99
Arcane Wonders
Critters at War: Flies, Lies, and Supplies ........................ $17.99
Bitewing Games
Trailblazers ...................................... $50.00
Trailblazers Travel Edition .............. $25.00
Catalyst Game Labs
Battletech: A Time of War ..................................... $49.99
Battletech: Miniature Force Pack - Wolf's Dragoons Assault Star ............ $29.99
Centurion ........................................ $39.99
Shadowrun RPG: Null Value ................................. $49.99
Crowd Games
Evolution: New World ............................................ $40.00
Evolution: Butterfly Effect Expansion .................... $25.00
Cubicle 7
Warhammer Age of Sigmar RPG - Champions of Destruction ............. $39.99
Warhammer Fantasy RPG: Up in Arms ............................................... $39.99
Warhammer Fantasy RPG: Winds of Magic ........................................ $49.99
Warhammer 40K Wrath and Glory RPG - Gamemaster Screen .......... $29.99
Doctor Who RPG 2nd Edition Starter Set ............................................. $39.99
Doctor Who RPG - Gamemaster's Screen ............................................. $14.99
Firelock Games
War Stories: A WW2 RPG ............................ PI
War Stories: Campaign Book - Rendezvous With Destiny ........ PI
War Stories: Dice Set ........................................................ PI
War Stories: Game Master Screen ..................................... PI
War Stories: Weapons Card Deck ...................................... PI
Regular readers know I'm hesitant to mention items that don't include a price (PI = "Please Inquire" with your FLGS), but I'm intrigued how well Firelock could do with purist WW2 RPG.
Fireside Games
Castle Panic 2nd Edition: Engines of War Expansion ............... $19.95
Flying Carpet Games
Emergency Force ................................................... $35.00
Free League Publishing
The Lord of the Rings RPG: Core Rulebook (5e) ................ $57.99
The Lord of the Rings RPG: Loremaster's Screen (5e) ........ $29.99
The Lord of the Rings RPG: Shire Adventures (5e) ............. $39.99
Gamelyn Games
Dungeon Heroes: 2nd Edition ............................... $30.00
Goodman Games
DCC Dice: Might Dice of Arms .......................... $34.99
DCC Dice: Motes of Mercurial Magic ................. $34.99
DCC #103 - Bloom of the Blood Garden ............. $10.99
DCC Valentine's Day Module - Love Mutants of Castle Heartache ............... $ 9.99
Fifth Edition Fantasy #24 - The Prism of Redemption ................ $17.99
Monsters and Magic of Lankhmar (5e) ................ $11.99
Tales from the Magician's Skull #10 .................... $14.99
Grand Gamers Guild
Holiday Hijinks: Cupid Crisis .......................... $10.99
Holiday Hijinks: The Birthday Burglary .......... $10.49
Gyld
Class Notes ....................................................... $ 5.00 each
Valdani's Adventure Notebooks ........................ $ 5.00 each
Can't argue with little RPG notebooks for five bucks. Great impulse buys at the counter. Class Notes available in Fighter, Mage, and Rogue styles. Valdani's are listed as Blue, Gold, and Green.
Encounter Pad .................................................. $ 9.00
Initiative Cards: 10 Pack .................................. $ 9.00
Session Pad ...................................................... $ 9.00
Map Pads ......................................................... $14.95 each
Grass, Map, Stone, and Water
The notebooks let me take a deeper look at their dice catalog on the following page. Base metal dice set hitting $42/set make part of my brain twinge a bit more, but various fancy plastic sets of 14-20 dice apiece for $17.99 seems bearable.
Horrible Guild
The Great Split ................................ $4.95
Iello
The Animals of Baker Street ................ $44.99
Inexorable Media
Compendium of Creatures ................. $35.00
A system-neutral compendium of cryptids and creatures of North America.
Kobold Press
Campaign Builder: Cities and Towns Hardcover (5e) ............................... $49.99
Campaign Builder: Cities and Towns - Map Folio (5e) ............................. $49.99
Left Justified Studio
Broken and Beautfiul, Standard Edition ....................................... $15.99
Legendary Games
Asian Monsters (Pathfinder) ...................................... $25.99
The Dragon's Hoard #22 ............................................ $12.99
The Dragon's Hoard #23 ............................................ $12.99
Royal Tournaments (Pathfinder) ................................ $13.99
Looney Labs
Monster Fluxx ....................................... $20.00
Wonderland Fluxx ................................. $20.00
Lucky Duck Games
My Shelfie ............................................ $39.99
Nimalia ................................................. $39.99
Mayday Games
Escape from the Asylum ...................... $50.00
Modiphius
Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 - Forest of Fear .......... $48.00
Mongoose Publishing
Traveller RPG: Aliens of Charted Space Volume 3 ................... $59.99
Traveller RPG: High Guard Update 2022 ................................. $59.99
Traveller 2300AD - Tools for Frontier Living .......................... $49.99
Monte Cook Games
Path of the Planebreaker (5e) GM Screen ................................. $19.99
Nuts! Publishing
Saigon 75 ........................... $62.00
We are Coming, Nineveah! ............ $72.00
Osprey Games
Stargrave: Side Hustle Expansion ...................... $24.00
Paizo Publishing
Pathfinder RPG: Adventure - Abomination Vaults (5e Edition) ................. $59.99
Pathfinder RPG: AP - Gatewalkers Part 3 - Dreamers of the Nameless Spires ............ $26.99
Pathfinder RPG: Lost Omens - Firebrands ............................ $39.99
Pathfinder RPG: Flip-Mat Classics - Noble Estate ................ $16.99
Starfinder RPG: AP Drift Crisis Case Files ........................... $22.99
Starfinder RPG: Deck of Endless NPCs ................................ $24.99
Pegasus Spiele
Monster Inn ........................... $16.49
Pink Tiger Games
Flatter Me ............................... $19.99
Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Holler RPG: An Appalachian Apocalypse - Core Rules HC .............. $44.99
Holler RPG: Boxed Set ................................ $124.99
Holler RPG: Action Deck ............................. $ 19.99
Holler RPG: GM Screen & Adventure ......... $ 19.99
Holler RPG: Map Pack 1 - Textile Mill and Out of Bounds ............. $14.99
Holler RPG: Map Pack 2 - Mountain Road & Requisition Shed ..... $14.99
Deadlands RPG: Card Box ............................ $ 9.99
Deadlands Map Pack 5: Boomtown .............. $14.99
Deadlands Map Pack 6: Prospector's Camp .. $14.99
Deadlands Pawns Boxed Set 2 ...................... $29.99
Deadlands Quick Chase Deck ....................... $14.99
Deadlands Hell on the High Plains ............... $39.99
Deadlands High Plain Archetypes Set 4 ....... $ 9.99
Savage Rifts: Archetype Dossiers Box Set .... $19.99
Savage Rifts: Atlantis and the Demon Sea .... $39.99
Savage Rifts: Map Pack 1: Ruined City ......... $14.99
Savage Rifts: Map Pack 2: Atlantis Pyramid... $14.99
Savage Rifts: Pawns Box Set 1 ....................... $39.99
Savage Rifts: Poster Map of Atlantis .............. $ 4.99
Q-Workshop
RPG Starter Kit .................................. $25.00
If you're a new player, or just happened to forget everything at home when it's game night at the store, the starter kit will fit your needs. Dice, dice bag, character journal, level counter, and even a mechanical pencil.
Reaper Miniatures
A healthy addition of Bones minis, although I'm a bit confused. I thought this was a continual expansion from the Reaper Bones V Kickstarter. Once sufficient inventory is created, the Kickstarter figs are added to the catalog. But they just happened to add a picture of Bergamot, Halfling Scout.
I was confused and could feel the self-righteous rage bubbling up from inside me. Not only was Bergamot previously available (I painted him up two years ago!) but he was originally in the harder Bones Black material!
A little research before cursing the heavens, and I remember that Reaper is slowly transition to a third Bones material and technique and has been transitioning most of its line to the new material, with a new stock number. Almost the entire rant averted... except for one item. The original Bones Black figure retailed for $4.49. I'm hoping the new material is equal to or better than Bones Black to justify another fifty cent increase. Five bucks for a halfling scout in PVC still seems steep. I can get metal halflings from across the pond for 20% less, and that includes outrageous UK shipping rates.
Restoration Games
Thunder Road Vendetta ...................... $60.00
Rio Grande Games
Crossing Oceans ................................. $59.95
Dominion: Plunder Expansion ........... $44.95
Fancy Feathers .................................... $69.95
Findorff ............................................... $69.95
Gulf, Mobile & Ohio: Franco-German Rails Expansion ......... $34.95
Texas & Pacific .................................. $34.95
Woodcraft ........................................... $69.95
Rowan Book and Decard
Orc Borg (Mork Borg Compatible) .... $20.00
Spire RPG: Quickstart ........................ $20.00
Spire RPG: Sin Sourcebook ............... $40.00
Spire RPG: Magister's Guide ............. $20.00
Spire RPG: The Conspiracy Kit ......... $20.00
Spire RPG: The Revolutionary's Guide .... $20.00
Steve Jackson Games
Car Wars: Core Set ............................ $149.95
Car Wars: Miniatures Set 3 ............... $ 59.95
Car Wars: Miniatures Set 4 ............... $ 59.95
Munchkin Sidequests 2 ..................... $ 10.95
One Roll Quest ................................. $ 19.95
Weather Dice .................................... $ 12.95
Surreal Entertainment
D&D 1983 Player's Manual Lunchbox and Thermos .......................... PI
November's lunchbox was the cartoon. This is the red box cover on the lunchbox, and the blue expert box cover on the thermos. Still disappointed there's no price.
Troll Lord Games
Castles & Crusades: Castle Keepers Guide 4th Printing ...................... $29.99
Warlord Games
Hail Caesar 2nd Edition Rulebook ...................... PI
Wizkids
Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Boxed Set ................. $69.99
D&D - Replicas - Pseudodragon Life-Sized Figure..... $65.00
So, nine moderately painted plastic figures of someone else's characters is more than an above average paint job on a pseudodragon figurine? My economics of scale confound me in this day and age.
D&D - Adult Topaz Dragon ................................ $99.99
D&D - Dragonlance Warrior Set ......................... $49.99
D&D - Honor Among Thieves Monsters Set ...... $39.99
D&D - Zuggtmoy, Demon Queen of Fungi ........ $49.99
Finally, a figure to run the alluded to big fight in the back of Temple of Elemental Evil!
D&D Idols of the Realms 2D - Beholder Hive ............ $14.99
D&D Idols of the Realms 2D - Snake Den .................. $14.99
D&D Idols of the Realms 2D - Reptile Den ................ $14.99
D&D Idols of the Realms 2D - Lich Tomb ................. $14.99
D&D Nolzur's Unpainted - Adult Blue Dragon ........... $89.99
Wizkids Designer Dressings: Devilish Devices ........... $49.99
Wizkids Designer Dressings: Hidden Hazards ............. $49.99
Thursday, December 29, 2022
Work on the Krigut Rum Continues
I'm closing in paying my second month's rent in the new place, and still things are not settled. Whatever was set-up was up-ended in the Christmas chaos and small to medium-sized projects and tasks litter room of the apartment. New Year's weekend might get me caught up.
The new and improved Kriget Rum also serves as my home office / online gaming space, so I've spent most of my time there. The old bookcases are half-filled, new wargaming storage shelves are quite overfilled, and the new painting area has seen the lightest of priming and painting before becoming a nexus of apartment stuff.
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| FYI: The shelf is level. The floor is pitched. |
One thing that reality has already checked is actual wargaming in the Kriget Room. We could play with a very nice 4x6 table... if there was nothing else in here. With all the necessary clutter, I suspect one wide 6-foot table in the living room will be the way to go.
Wednesday, December 28, 2022
#CharacterCreationChallenge 2023
Last year, I foolishly decided to join the January #CharacterCreation Challenge on New Year's Eve. Unlike #RPGaDay, where you can go be as flippant or in depth with a topic as you would like, creating thirty-one intriguing characters, even in a rules-light system, isn't as easy as one would like.
This year I built up a small stock of interesting photos and AI art to inspire the first few days. Still, there's only so many TWERPS characters I can write up, a number of these bad boys (and girls... and unspecified) will be designed using various iterations of D&D, Hackmaster, and now, Gamma World.
I'm also not going to make all of these guys "1st-level" characters like last year. The concept requires "new" characters, and there are mentions of base equipment, etc, but plenty of games start at 5th, 10th, 15th, or equivalent levels, and I'm not only inspired by some of these pics/art to make the characters, but possibly use them as pre-gen PCs or NPCs down the road.
Last year's index of characters I created can be found here.
Tuesday, December 27, 2022
(Star Wars d6) #70 - Leaving Naboo
The crew of the Pretio risking their lives in This Week's Episode
Ne'vets Aharo - An exotic animal broker, both legal and otherwise, majority owner in the Pretio, with no combat skills whatsoever.
Duk'k - Sipsk'ud Bounty Hunter, recently rescued by the crew. His warning shots are dead center mass kill shots.
"Sid" - A peculiar woman with some piloting prowess, no social skills, and a mysterious past.
Evus - Twi'lek male, former slave, then former associate of Ne'vets. Recently re-united with the crew on Naboo.
Tarrie Prolek - Human pilot "under contract" to fly the Pretio, and drive the Piscopo. Currently missing after a gunfight gone wrong at the Spyder gambling club on Naboo.
Underground Rumblings
In the search for their friend
And missing pilot, Tarrie Prolek,
The crew of the Pretio have run afoul
Of a gang of Transdoshans and have been
Subsequently double-crossed.
Can the crew survive a grenade inside an
Enclosed Container, or will someone else
Need to go back and look for the crew?
The fragmention grenade exploded forward from the table. Duk'k staggered back, but his armor absorbed everything. With smoke pouring out of the structure, he dragged a bleeding but otherwise healthy Ne'vets out of the portal into the "street" outside.
Amongst the smoke and underground steam discharges, a squad of Black Sun Ops were coming down the street, dragging a protesting Sinota behind them. With a flurry of ineffective blaster fire from both sides, Sid started working his way down a nearby side passage.
Duk'k dragged Ne'vets across the street to a barricade, shooting and killing one of the Black Sun Ops in the distance..
"Hey nice shooting."
A Nikto Bounty Hunter emerged from around the corner, gliding through the wreckage and gunfire, and effortlessly plunged a vibro-blade Duk'k's side.
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| Kaa'to Leeachos |
Duk'k lurched over the barricade, barely keeping himself upright. Evus quickly twirled behind Kaa'to and fired two shots of his blaster rifle into his gut. The Nikto's shocked look was all he could muster as Kaa'to fell to the ground, dead.
The Black Sun Ops did not advance any further, as the crew fumbled down the side passageway, and to subsequent safety. There was no way to collect Kaa'to's body for the bounty, as there were too many wounded of their own to carry out.
The crew emerged at surface level, many blocks away from the Piscopo. Their frantic jog to the vehicle was uneventful, until the last half-block, when more Black Sun Ops located them and emerged from the shadows. The ensuing firefight was quick, and allowed Frokazza to check on the Beaked Monkeys and get the Piscopo moving.
Frokazza chose not to test the repairs on the Piscopo, rather attempting to keep the chance at high speed, directing Evus to use the turret to shoot at walls, market stalls, and overhanging signs to create debris to slow down any pursuit.
The reached the starport, paid for the services, and after confirming beaked monkeys, monkey pants, but no Tarrie, Frokazza immediately launched the Pretio into orbit.
An injured Ne'vets let out a sign of relief, "Let's get out of here, many Abel or his crazy sister have an extended safari we can help out on a planet far away from crime syndicates."
After a quick stop at the home office in Bestine for admin duties and collecting payment it was determined that a return to the ranch on Takodana was in order.
Duk'k wanted to keep moving, looking for bounties to keep their trail convoluted, it appeared most bounties seemed to dry up, including the crew's bounties. He could only find some very minor bail jumpers as bounties and that wasn't worth his time.
The biggest news spreading through Bestine during their stay was the complete destruction of the Imperial ship yard in Kaleeto. All news agency played the attack as an act of terrorism and agents for the Alliance for the Return of the Republic were immediately implicated.
With Mid-Core worlds getting more and more dangerous, it was decided to depart for Takodana. The rest of the trip was eerily uneventful, and soon everyone was back on the ranch, performing maintenance on the equipment, caring for the animals, and criticizing the cooking of Ruma and Poonk.
A few days of R&R and milling about the ranch, Ruma and Poonk searched for Ne'vets with horrible news: Frokazza and all his possessions were missing! The rest of the crew were quite worried, but Ne'vets tried to calm them down with some discouraging words.
"He's probably going back to Naboo to search for Tarrie. The good news is he's taking away any heat that's on us. "
The crew dropped the subject and went about their business. For another week Ne'vets kept everyone on the ranch, avoid Andui and Maz's Castle for any problems.
While the crew stilled worried what Frokazza was up to, a slow work schedule, a steady supply of alcohol on the porch, and the obvious lack of gunfire directed at them satisfied their inquires.
Their evening of relaxation was interrupted by the holo-phone in the main room. Ne'vets walked inside to answer it. It was his friend and famed safari expert, Abel Norrum.
"Ne'vets! It's Abel... wait, wait, this is his holo-mail, he's a prankster."
Ne'vets tried to answer, "Abel, it's really me..."
"That's exactly what Ne'vets would have on his message, I'll just wait for the beep."
Two more minutes of this back and forth, Abel finally realized he had been talking to Ne'vets all along.
"Ne'vets, we need to talk."
GM Notes: Here completes whatever parts of the Under a Black Sun for FFG's Star Wars RPG, were actually completed. After running "modules" and "adventures" from the 70's and early 80's, I was shocked how vague and assuming a modern adventure could be. There was either a lot of hand waving, or perhaps the FFG funky dice for advantages, triumphs, and the sort were far more constructive for a character getting info. An info dump seemed as anti-climatic as the PCs getting hampered by limited research rolls.
Frokazza may not be taking no for an answer, but for the rest of the crew, the disappearance of Tarrie Prolek is being chalked up to killed in action. Of course, the whole rule of if there's no body, there's no true proof that he's gone, is going to be in the back of their minds until something, anything and confirm it.
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| RIP: Tarrie Prolek |
Monday, December 26, 2022
Annual Holiday Swag Haul
I have survived Christmas, or most of it, at least. Neither ice storm, nor deep freeze, nor rancid meat for Christmas Eve dinner slowed me down.
The girls came over for dinner on Christmas Eve, and despite a quick swap of meat to make last-second meatballs, we ate, exchanged presents, and turned in early.
- Ticket to Ride - I was asked directly and I gave a direct response, especially nice since it's available just about everywhere.
- Trash Pandas - To follow Millie's logic, "A fun little game we can play when we come over." Well done!
- My Reminiscences of East Africa by General von Lettow-Vorbeck - A filler item to guarantee free shipping for the kids' stuff, I had the girls gift it to me.
- Gamma World 4th Edition - My printed copy from Drivethrurpg.com arrived just before Christmas. The cover art is a bit fuzzy, but the interior is crystal-clear.
- Legion of Steel Bargain - Another personal purchase, but I threw a flippant $40 bid on an S1 Archfiend for Legions of Steel, and won.... at $9.99! I'm hoping I didn't pay for just a shrink-wrapped box, but I'm shocked no one else even threw in a bid to challenge it, especially from a smaller, but reputable account.
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| Do not mock the bachelor tree of might! |
Sunday, December 25, 2022
Saturday, December 24, 2022
Christmas Eve 2022
The limpa has come out of the oven moments ago, the kids are coming over to make the kjottbollar, but even I'm not as foolish as this tomte to wander about in this Arctic blast.
Friday, December 23, 2022
Thursday, December 22, 2022
The War to Save Yule
Call it my own personal holiday blues, but somehow I missed The War to Save Yule, a supplement and campaign guide for Wars of Ozz. Available at Old Glory and Sally 4th websites, it is a free campaign introducing two more factions, the Army of the Ice Queen and the Army of Yule.
The Army of the Ice Queen is Ice Trolls, a Krampus, and other nasty sorts.The Army of Yule is Santa and his workers, plus some extra help from factions long missing from miniature ranges:
Teddy Bears:
and Toy Soldiers
Wednesday, December 21, 2022
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
(Star Wars d6) #69 - The Killbox
The crew of the Pretio risking their lives in This Week's Episode
Ne'vets Aharo - An exotic animal broker, both legal and otherwise, majority owner in the Pretio, with no combat skills whatsoever.
Duk'k - Sipsk'ud Bounty Hunter, recently rescued by the crew. His warning shots are dead center mass kill shots.
"Sid" - A peculiar woman with some piloting prowess, no social skills, and a mysterious past.
Evus - Twi'lek male, former slave, then former associate of Ne'vets. Recently re-united with the crew on Naboo.
Tarrie Prolek - Human pilot "under contract" to fly the Pretio, and drive the Piscopo. Currently missing after a gunfight gone wrong at the Spyder gambling club on Naboo.
The Killbox
Deep under Naboo's capital city,
The crew of the Pretio, still searching
For their friend and pilot, Tarrie Prolek,
Have engaged with a group of
Double-crossing Transdoshans who
Are quite clear with their intent to collect
The Black Sun bounties on the crew.
Leave it to Ne'vets Aharo, exotic animal broker
And smooth customer, but weapons neophyte
To fire the first shot inside a large metal box....
Ne'vets blast shot rang out inside the double container, and missed Tray'essek, leader of the Transdoshans, by a country mile. Unfortunately, the shot reflected off the back container wall, and ricocheted off the other walls numerous times before leaving a glancing scorch mark on Tray'essek's shoulder.
Sid quickly turned her blaster to the Transdoshan next to her and knocked him off his feet, more out of surprise than harm. Ne'vets, "That's what we call in the industry, the Killbox."
Realizing no one even had the notion to fire back at him yet, Ne'vets dove under the table.
Tray'essek was stunned by the attack, but also dove under the table to attempt to wrestle with Ne'vets. Both resulted in each choking each other without doing any harm to the other.
Evus and Duk'k both tried to evade the Transdoshan's fire, and luckily their armor absorbed the blows of the ricochets. Duk'k turned straight around and with two blaster pistols, blew the head off of one of Tray'essek's men, The others returned fire at Duk'k, but missed. The shot bounced around, including glancing off Duk'k's armor, until it wounded a third Transdoshan!
Evus made some covering fire and proceeded to work on opening one of the shut (and apparently locked) doors.
Under the table, Ne'vets rolled Tray'essek onto his back. The exporter cocked his first back as far as the underside of table allowed, and hit the Transdosian square in the nose repeatedly. A trickle of blodd spurted out his nose.
Sid fire a gut shot at another Transdoshan, and the last two fired wildly, trying to find their own escape. Another flurry of blaster fire wounded everyone by ricochets rather than direct hits. Duk'k finally ended the fight above the table with back-to-back blaster shots into the Transdoshan's chests.
Evus finally got the door open and hollered at the others to escape. Hearing the call, Ne'vets spun around, kicked Tray'essek in the face to break free.
As the crew members all stared at the now-open door, they could detect a beeping sound and something beeping rolling on the floor, followed immediately by the table getting flipped, sending credits and candy flying everywhere. Sid dove over to grab Ne'vets and pulled on him to get him through the door.
Duk'k, on the other hand, moved towards the obvious grenade, and with a hand pass, flipped it back over the table at the final living Transdoshan in the container.
The camera pans outside the container building. Evus rolled out of the door. Sid was forced out the door from the subsequent explosion.
<Cue End Credits>
Quote of the Night: "Everything is easier behind the control of a TIE Interceptor."
Sunday, December 18, 2022
(Review) Cloud City Games , Palmer Park Mall, Easton, Pennsylvania
The weeks don't get any less rough, but there have been some peaks of sunshine through the doom and gloom.
This week has been numerous visits to my mom, who was dealing with a respiratory infection, then a serious bout of confusion which ultimately led to calling 911 and getting her admitted at the local hospital.
In the midst of these issues, she actually fell asleep, which allowed me to run an errand for her, grab some lunch, and run into the local mall, which just happens to have Cloud City Games in it.
Disclaimer: I spent way too much time of my visit next to this awesome display case of the pre-painted D&D dragons, on the phone with my Mom's doctor's office, trying to get an appointment, a prescription, or any advice. Spoilers: The actual doctor never returned my call, and the advice from the staff was woefully insufficient, hence my 911 call.
This is one of the nicer displays of the Wizkids dragons I've seen, if you're not weird and and want to keep them mint in box.
Between bringing family members on previous trips, and weird mall hours, I was last in their store pre-COVID, when they were in a smaller location two or three storefronts closer to the anchor store. The new location is spacious, definitely with some room for a few miniature games, roleplaying, or a 16-player CCG tournament without impact to gameplay or shoppers.
Cleanliness: Immaculate. Might have been the neatest looking store in the mall. Now, people usually don't toss comic books and mini blisters around like sweaters at an American Eagle, but I've seen plenty of mall gaming stores where "Warhammer Moms" would fear to tread, and after some encounters with folks at a Panera across from the hospital, the Warhammer Mom potential is super-high here.
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| Ripped off of their Facebook page. |
CCGs: Extremely well-stocked in Magic, some Yu-Gi-Oh! and if I wasn't pre-occupied with medical, I'd probably find some Pokemon. A literal ton of singles, with ingenious storage behind the counter. A good variety of singles in the case, with a few higher-priced vintage pieces, and some amusing 9.5 graded cards (see below). Lots of accessories, supplies, mats, and other options for the CCG player.
Board Games: While not immense and diverse, it was a good assortment of "holiday gift" games for folks who want to make the jump from toy store games to more complicated fare.
RPGs: If you want the 800-lb gorilla of RPGs, then you are in luck. Despite numerous visits to stores well-stocked in D&D, I don't think I fully appreciated just how much product has been released for 5th Edition. A bit daunting for a new player, but after eight years, something to be expected. Not exactly a place to pull a copy an indy-game, or even third-tier RPG game off the shelves.
Miniatures: Classic GW assortment of boxed sets, armies, units, and individual figures. Tons of the Wizkids D&D figures. GW paints and accessories, along with a display from Monument Hobbies.
Events: D&D, GW (including a 40k Pauper league), numerous Magic pre-releases.
Staff: The two guys behind the counter checked on me while on the phone with the doctor's office, and then again when I was finally off the call. They seemed friendly, nay jovial, and actually seemed happy to be doing work (breaking down a shipment). It's surprising how many folks working/running game stores don't realize they're working in a game store.
Comics: Cloud City is a traditional comic book store with a pull list, etc. Nice mid-grade Silver and Bronze age comics complimenting the usual modern stuff.
I picked up some comics (the latest issue of Flash and the Shazam mini-series) as well as some dice. As I anticipate more trips down to Easton in the foreseeable future, if I need anything mainstream, this is an obvious first stop for me. I grew up two blocks from the mall. I wasted so much money in the arcade there. The closest thing to gaming in there was the Waldenbooks and a Kay-Bee Toys. This is solid addition to a mall that trying not to die like the rest of them.
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| Oh yeah, the $90 Antiquities Atog. |
Given its location and the demographics of the area, I give the Cloud City Games Palmer Mall location four out of five gnomes.
Friday, December 16, 2022
Turning Things Into a Hobby Room
Two weeks into moving into the new apartment and things are still a work in progress. When the kids came over we christened the gaming space with a game of Formula D on the kitchen table, but there has been only gradual progress in the new "Krigut Rum," simply because all the other rooms in the house have priority.
I've also discovered the wide variety, varying quality, and limited stock of just about every folding table on the market today. Orders for adjustable height tables have been cancelled on a number of platforms due to them simply being out of stock everywhere. The existing folding table I used for an overflow table previously, and has work well as a work desk this month, will take over as my painting bench, complete with new Spicy Shelves, and a few shelves to stock flocking, etc.
The oddest "First World" problem I no longer have moving into an apartment is that I don't have basement water issues, so I can actually use my shelving units to their full potential. If my second floor apartment takes water, we have an utter catastrophe in Pennsylvania.
Another bonus: No gargantuan creatures interrupting my game.
Thursday, December 15, 2022
A Mental Snow Day
With snow and ice coming across Pennsylvania, and the kids' schedules wiped clean, it's time to stay in the house, sip on something warm, and maybe unpack a few more boxes.
Sure, there's this annoying thing called work that has to be done, but that's two small projects.
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
(Star Wars d6) #68 - The Underbelly of Naboo
The Crew of the Pretio in This Week's Episode
Ne'vets Aharo - An exotic animal broker, both legal and otherwise, majority owner in the Pretio, with no combat skills whatsoever.
Duk'k - Sipsk'ud Bounty Hunter, recently rescued by the crew. His warning shots are dead center mass kill shots.
Duk'k - Sipsk'ud Bounty Hunter, recently rescued by the crew. His warning shots are dead center mass kill shots.
"Sid" - A peculiar woman with some piloting prowess, no social skills, and a mysterious past.
Evus - Twi'lek male, former slave, then former associate of Ne'vets. Recently re-united with the crew on Naboo.
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, he's now missing after a raging gun battle on Naboo.
Tarrying in Naboo
After a horrific gunfight that scattered
The team to the four corners of
Naboo's capital, the crew members
Of the Pretio have regrouped and
Have one final mission before leaving
Naboo for good: Finding their pilot,
Tarrie Prolek.
All searches and inquiries had been
In vain thus far, and all seemed lost,
If not for a strange transmission, and
The help of a struggling artist....
Numerous trips to bars and clubs in search of their missing crew, Tarrie, had produced no lines and only space in their pockets where credits were once stored, but a bored Evus working the coms garnered a mysterious voice that an unlikely party knew their identity.
"That Transdosian's voice. I know that person. Why is your friend there???"
Evus and the crew looked up from their seats to the Rodian wearing a blonde wig, dancing on stage.
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| What type of a club did you take me to? |
"Again, your friend is missing?"
Duk'k was the first to come to his senses, "Why yes, he is. Have you seen him?"
"Have you seen this," she asked, then turned around, sashaying what her Rodian Mama gave her.
Duk'k eyes were transfixed, but replied matter-of-factly, "Why yes, I have, but here are some credits for your university education," and promptly flicked some more credits on to the stage.
The dancer suggestively shrugged, "Well, obviously, that fellow was Transdosian."
"I gathered that, you know exactly which one."
The dancer moved over to a railing and a holographic projector produced two images of her, one on each side, following her movements.,
"Yes, a real scumbag named Tray'essek. He's not bad news, he's horrible news."
Duk'k looked puzzled, "I'm not sure I what that distinction is, but do you know where to find this Transdosian?"
The dancer shot a look to a door along the side of the dance floor, and flickered her tongue like a party favor, "I'm sure I can lead you there, but first we need to check out the 'map room' for at least a half hour."
Forty minutes later, the crew huddled around the entrance where the dancers would leave for the day. The dancer they had been talking too emerged, more than fully clothed. Instead of tassels and sheer clothing, she had traded that for light body armor, and kept the wig.
She turned to Duk'k and gave a half-assed salute. "Reporting for duty."
Duk'k has relieved, but not amused. "Great, what do we get to call you."
She stepped to the Sipsk'ud, "My real name is Sinoka....," then lightly caressed the underside of his bill with a lone finger, "but you can call me Sin...let's go."
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| Sinoka, in civilian garb |
She had Sid park the Piscopo and started working back alleys. Even as the shiny towers of Naboo had been tarnished over the years, this area was equal to the worst spots on Correlia. Soon, some realized that a few flights of steps had led them to a sub-level to the city, perhaps two sub-levels below. Dozens of small alien races or creatures scampered between heavily damaged cargo containers.
Two Transdosians could be spotted down the street. Sinoka told the group to stay put and walked over to speak with them. The aliens did not appeared amused, but Sinoka took two steps back and waved them to come over.
"These two fellas work with Tray'essek, they'll lead you him. I gotta find my way out of here. Good luck."
The crew agreed, and the Transdosians led them down the street. The scene of ripped apart containers and stripped speeders evolved back to large quantities of capital ship shipping containers, repurposed as housing, offices, shops, and even sometimes, warehouses. The scattered markings and signs went from multiple languages to all Transdosian, which no one could read.
After a byzantine maze of containers and burning barrels, the duo led them to a double-wide container welded together. Inside was some form of an office, with five Transdosians. One, was standing behind a table, with a large pile of small-denomination Imperial credits sitting atop it, along with a large silver metallic bowl filled with what appeared to be candy.
"Really, these are the onesss?" the one behind table asked the pair.
"Yesssss bosssss. They're lookingggg... for Prolek."
"Prolek's dead."
The crew looked at him sternly.
"I have his com, you know that, but we turned his body into the Imperials. Easiest 10,000 credits I've ever made."
Duk'k didn't buy any of it. "Where'd you find the body?"
"He literally fell on top of me. Outside the Spyder"
"There's no way that's possible."
"Not from the roof, you sssssilly being. Naboo is riddled with thessssse underground levelsssss. I was under the Ssssspyder at the time."
"Okay, where'd you turn in the body."
"The Imperial Customsssss House beside the Old Bridge. You probably passsssed right by it when you drove into the city from the starport, I suppose. You couldn't miss it."
"Don't worry about our route, who did you speak to?"
"The guyssss behind the counter, they verified and paid out."
Duk'k continued pressed on with questions, and Tray'essek gave vague but satisfactory answers. Duk'k looked over to Ne'vets and gave a shrug. Ne'vets was satisfied as well.
"I believe we got the answers we came for, and we'll be happy to leave you be."
"I'm afraid I can't doo that. You know who paysssss even better than the Imperialsssss?" Tray'essek asked, raising his blaster from his side. His compatriots followed suit.
"You know who has trouble collecting when they're a corpse," Duk'k retorted, his hands moving towards his pistols.
Ne'vets kept the Transdosian talking, "And what's the current bounty on us?"
"I don't care what the Imperial bountiesssss are, Black Sssssun alone will make us made as we can ever get.. You can go in alive, too, but we only need one of ussssss to be alive to collect."
"In your dreams." Duk'k snorted.
Ne'vets was a bit more diplomatic, "Now, friend, it's in your best interest to let us go We've destroyed a bank, we've destroyed a gambling hall, this crate is far easier. You understand that right?"
Tray-essek did not seem to flinch, and with everyone else eyeing each other up and down, Ne'vets seized the moment, pulled out the blaster and fired at the Transdosian.
<Cue End Credits>
Next: #69 - The Killbox
Monday, December 12, 2022
Remember, Remember the Battle of Santa Poco
One day, this famous battle will get the wargaming respect it deserves....
Sunday, December 11, 2022
Mandatory Basketball Rant - Winter 2022-23 - Week 2
The season is in full swing before the holidays. I see a lot of hot dogs, walking tacos, and pierogies from concession stands fulfilling my dinners.
Local Rec League: After the board has wearily survived schedules drama, uniform snafus, and gnashing of teeth over practices (games have been relatively strees-free), I've been pulled out of mini-retirement to set up the playoff schedule for February. All assume it's this complicated algorithm. I simply pull up some sample double elimination bracket for an appropriate number of teams, plug in the normal schedule, and wait for the results of the January games. Not exactly high science. From what little I did get to see, the exodus of the good players (including Millie) has strengthened the play of the remaining boys and girls... although on Millie's off day, she may have convinced me to take her to a 6th grade boys practice to scrimmage (and mop the floor with) them.
Breanna Stewart: Last week I mentioned that my wife was taking the girls to a Breanna Stewart basketball camp up in Syracuse. There were some flaws in the presentation/communication of the camp, and there was a worry that they were all driving up (with a friend and their mom) for a style of camp that they regularly attended down in this area.
I am delighted to say all my worries were for naught.
It was well-organized, well run, with a good assortment of talent, and a hefty amount of swag thrown at the campers. Specifically, Maja won her age group's round of Knockout and got a pair of shoes signed by Breanna!
Millie didn't get swag that cool, but did have a great time (the whole reason she brought a friend, always a win-win).
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| Millie might have to grow a bit to make it to the Show. |
Millie: Millie and her friend weren't available for the Wolfpack's championship Sunday at the tournament... and it didn't matter. They still blew out the opponent 43-10 without them. The team is that good.
Everyone got home from Syracuse with just seconds to spare for the Kingston Rec season. The Wolfpack played their game (a trouncing of the local Catholic school league team) and it a moment of solidarity, finally took a picture of the team with their medals/trophy with everyone there. For a "hated" team a year ago, once your in with these guys, you're family.
Millie's Mountain Top team's season finally started with them running roughshod over a brand-new team from Berwick 42-3. Three players were in double figures, with Millie's friend Jordan getting 14 points and 10 boards.
Millie returned to action on Saturday with league play against the same team they won the championship on Sunday. I don't feel pity for the other team, and another loss to the Wolfpack 43-18. I feel pity for every other team that will taste their wrath over the season. They are the second best team in the league and they need to let off some steam.
Maja: Maja's second season of Freshmen ball started off with her NOT as a starter. Rather, she ran the B-team off the bench against the lowly team from Hanover Area (This is the team the girls beat 47-1 last year). Big shoutout to the new coach of the Hanover Freshmen and the busload of girls he brought. Despite a similar result (59-4), those girls showed high energy and positivity, cheering on their teammates with an intensity rivalled only by the team they were playing. Depth and energy has not been something that program has had in years, and here's hoping it turns around for the years to come.
Maja needed to wait, but made fast work of the "Lady Hawks", scoring a quick six before being put in admin mode, managing the B and C team. Heck, she was even helping the Hanover girls when they got confused.
The second game of the week was against a more experienced Lake Lehman team, although all of the true Freshmen I remember them having were called up to play JV.
Maja did get to start and had a solid line 4 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals in a 40-20 win. The starters were responsible for a 24-4 score, with the B and C playing to 16-16. They have a much tougher opponent this upcoming week...
7th-8th Grade Girls: My adopted kids won games! Sure the 7th and 8th grade team played the local charter school from Bear Creek (They and the girls from Hanover should scrimmage together, it would help them both). 7th grade won 34-3, with 9 of the 13 girls scoring. The 8th grade Bear Creek girls put up a fight, but it still allowed the coach to play all the 7th and 8th grade girls, with 10 out of 16 scoring.
Yesterday, they played the "hated" Dallas team. The 7th grade team won 24-14, with Millie's friend Annika getting here second double-double of the season. The Dallas 8th graders are dominated by AAU players from the same program as Maja and Millie, and with with 2 out the 3 8th graders on our team, it wasn't a surprise that it was a 53-11 blowout for Dallas.
Friday, December 9, 2022
Battle Valor Games 40% Off Christmas Sale
The formal website for Battle Valor Games might be down for some long-term, much-needed renovation, but their eBay store is still open, and they're currently offering 40% off their 28mm and 15mm lines through December 24th!
I'm not at the point of large gaming purchases, but at 40% off, it won't be a "large" gaming purchase.