Another Month of Gaming Releases (August '23)

Issue #282 of Game Trade Monthly can be found at your FLGS, or online in pdf format here.

ViscountEric's Gaming Want List
Nothing


ViscountEric's Money-Is-No-Object Want List
Atlas Games
Magical Kitties Save the Day! RPG - Kitty Noir ............................... $14.95

Even without the rulebook, I've heard enough ads on Ken and Robin to perhaps grab a copy to read.

WizKids

Ysoki Mechanic (Deep Cut) ..................... $4.99

The Imaginary Store (The Pegleg Gnome) List

2Tomatoes Games

Neat name to keep you on top of the soliciations and catalogs, decent games, but if you can't provide pricing (which means the retailer will get less than their normal wholesale discount, only a handful of a handful of stores will bite. 

9th Level Games

Return to Dark Tower Fantasy RPG ....................................................... $49.99

Return to Dark Tower Fantasy RPG Adversary Screen .......................... $24.99

Return to Dark Tower Fantasy RPG Player Tower Accessory Set ......... $49.99

There are a few things that amaze me that they got made.  This is one of them.  Over 1,200 people backed the Kickstarter.  The question is, are some of your customers part of the small group that weren't aware of the Kickstarter.  It's 9th Level, so I have some hope, but my guts telling to me order minimal or singular.

Alderac Entertainment Group

Cascadia: Landmarks Expansion .......................................................... $34.99

Ares Games

War of the Ring: The Card Game - Against the Shodow Expansion ..... $24.90

Wings of Glory: Nieuport 16 ............................. $19.90

Available in De Guibert, Navarre, and Escadrille Lafayette

Atlas Games

Magical Kitties Save the Day! RPG - Game Masters Kit ...................... $19.95

Brotherwise Games

Boss Monster: 10th Anniversary Edition ............................................... $24.95

Capstone Games

Ark Nova: Marine Worlds Expansion .................................................... $29.95

Cardlords

Floating Floors .................................................. $24.99

Catalyst Game Labs

Battletech: Mercenaries Boxed Set .................... $74.99

Battletech: The Warrior Trilogy (HC) ................ $14.99 each

En Garde, Riposte, and Coupe

Shadowrun RPG: Cyber Decks .......................... $14.95

Chaosium 

Basic Roleplaying .............................................. $49.99

Cults of Runequest: Mythology ......................... $39.99

Chessex Manufacturing

Clear Plastic Dice Cup Lid ................................. $ 4.95

Flexible Dice Cup .............................................. $ 9.98

Cups available in black, brown, and pink.  Is the separate lid a price point decision? Do they get lost and it's easier to order a new one this way? 

Nostalgia Opaque GM and Beginner Player Polyhedral 7-Die Set ............. $4.18

I have a million questions, and possibly a warm and fuzzy feeling inside if they're re-releasing "cheesy dice" from the old D&D box sets.  Seven dice in a set sounds like their including percentile d10s, when the picture they decided to use actually shows the the d20 with 0-9 twice.  

Prism Translucent GM and Beginner Player Polyhedral 7-Die Set .......... $11.98

But clear plastic dice are more expensive than some of Chessex's other polyhedral sets.   I have a whole mini-rant about ordering dice directly from China, and it's based on this pricing logic I can't follow.

Cubicle 7

Doctor Who RPG:  Doctors and Daleks - Players Guide (5e) ............... $59.99

Doctor Who RPG:  Doctors and Daleks - Alien Archive (5e) ............... $44.99

Collector's Edition for $149.99

Doctor Who RPG:  Doctors and Daleks - Keys of Scaravore (5e) ....... $34.99

Warhammer Fantasy RPG 4th - Salzenmund ....................................... $39.99

Warhammer Fantasy RPG 4th - Sea of Claws ...................................... $39.99

Evil Genius

Rambo Miniature ............................ $3.99

Rambo Cinematic Adventure .........  $24.99

Universal Solider Cinematic Adventure ..... $24.99

Exploding Kittens

Exploding Kittens:  Good vs Evil ......................... $21.99

Facade Games 

Hollywood 1947 ................................................... $24.99

Fanroll 

Pathfinder - 55mm Goblin Mammoth D20 .......... $54.99

This larger than your palm D20 begs the question: It the name Pathfinder, and a gimmick inside the die worth the price tag when regular 55mm d20s go for between $15-35? 

Pathfinder - Bundle Dice Set/Dice Bag/Dice Tray .......... $49.99

Pathfinder - Goblin Inclusion Dice Set ............................ $19.99

So the Inclusion dice, and the 55mm d20, have a goblin's face inside.  I see prize support build-up for Pathfinder events, but I don't see any consistent sales past the first one or two whimsical purchases, if your lucky. 

Kobold Press

Map Tiles .......................... $19.99

Loke Battle Mats

Big Box of Dungeon Doors ....................... $46.99

Box of Tricks and Traps ............................. $29.99

Modiphius

Achtung! Cthulhu 2D20: Serpent and the Sands Expansion .............. $43.00

Dune RPG: Power and Pawns - The Emperors Court Supplement .... $46.99

Monte Cook Games

Numenera RPG: The Glimmering Valley (HC) ................................. $44.99

Old Gods of Appalachia RPG - Character Portfolios ........................ $22.99

Old Gods of Appalachia RPG -  GM Screen ............ ........................ $22.99

Osprey Games

A War Transformed ................................................ $35.00

General Orders WW2 ............................................. $35.00

I knew the Osprey glut was real, but seeing it in person at the Historicon flea market, I'm only intrigued what these rules for WW1 and WW2 have to offer to warrant a hardcover.

Paizo Publishing

Pathfinder: Elemental Stones ................................  $39.99

Pathfinder RPG: Adventure - Rusthenge ............... $24.99

Pathfinder RPG: AP Season of Ghosts 1 - The Summer that Never Was .... $26.99

Pathfinder RPG: Flip-Mat- Rusthenge ................... $16.99

Pathfinder RPG: Player Core Rulebook ................. $59.99

Pathfinder RPG: GM Core Rulebook ..................... $59.99

The new Pathfinder rulebooks come in regular covers, sketch covers (same price), and special edition covers ($79.99)

Starfinder RPG - Enhanced HC .............................. $44.99

R.Talsorian Games

Cyberpunk Red:  Danger Gal Dossier ...................... $40.00

Steve Jackson Games 

Skull & Dragon Dice Game ..................................... $ 4.95

Wizards of the Coast

D&D - Bigby Presents - Glory of the Giants ............. $59.95

D&D - Practically Complete Guide to Dragons ........ $39.95

WizKids

Critical Role Figures

D&D 3" Vinyl Mini - Monster Series 2 

If you want your Otyugh, umber hulk, and dog-faced kobold adorable and three inches tall, this is your set.

D&D Nolzur's Marvelous Miniatures

DC Heroclix: Starter Set 2024 ....................................... $39.99

Marvel Heroclix: Starter Set 2024 ................................  $39.99

Marvel Heroclix: Wheels of Vengeance Boosters

Marvel Heroclix: Wheels of Vengeance Dice and Token Pack .... $14.99

Marvel Heroclix: Wheels of Vengeance Play at Home Kit ........... $19.99

Pathfinder Battles: Set 24 - Fearsome Forces Battle Box .............. $6.99 

Pathfinder Deep Cuts

Starfinder Deep Cuts

#RPGaDay2023 Starts Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, August 1st, is the first day of the 10th Annual #RPGaDay project, where gamers pontificate their love of RPGs through a series of questions.  

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

Each day, you're invited to answer the question provided.  If that tickles your fancy, you may use the capitalized KEYWORD in each day's question to take things in an RPG-promoting direction of your choice.  Finally, whether or not you participated in the inaugural #RPGaDay, you're welcome to look back and see how you may have answered that question a decade ago.  

I've got to admit that I have a level of enthusiasm I haven't had for a few years.  I discovered #RPGaDay halfway through the first year's questions, and did my own version in December of that year, so technically my original questions are only 9 1/2 years old, so I hope the gentle readers will forgive my faux pas.

(Painting) The Low Budget City of Carf

In a world where everything at Historicon is hand-built or Miniature Building Authority, I'm not saying you should base your first city on Death Planet Iota on packing materials, but I know I'm doing it.  

As I quickly went over in my Historicon overview, I  ran "The Defense of Carf" for all three of my Fistful of Lead - Galactic Heroes games.  Despite identical event descriptions, I had each be part of a storyline.  

In the first game, my large building and "homes" were the site of a GSM VTOL crash.  The ensuing destruction resulted in a crater where the large building stood, and new protective walls.  In the final game, a new building was erected, and the Chaos Space Gnome promptly took it over.  

Today I cover the Chaos Gnome HQ, two large wall pieces, and a smaller section, which could have multiple uses.  

On a table with 20-year old award-winning terrain and MBA, keeping the discount buildings to a minimum at any one time was easily accomplished.  The simplest part was blending them into the the cloth on the big table, as they camouflaged themselves into it.   

I have to gigantic complexes, another plaza like the Chaos Gnomes have, and some more wall pieces to paint up.  The MBA and kitbashed buildings will still come out for Planet 28/FoL, but I have less worry if something happens to packing cardboard versus custom resin.  

Chaos Gnomes battling the newest residents, the Robot Legion!

Next:  A lot is going on, but my Historicon swag has a prominent spot on the painting table.    The Robot Legion from the flea market are getting some good ol' TLC.  My Space Dwarves: The Party Kickstarter rewards arrived over the weekend, and they're already cleaned, print and block painting begun.  I also have a special WW2/Pulp figure to finish before we move onto the *DUM DUM DUM!* Pulp game, Season 4, Episode 1).

Happy Gary Gygax Day

 

(Kickstarter) Perils & Princesses RPG

Recently launched on Kickstarter,  Perils & Princesses is a "gritty and pretty" RPG where players take the rolls of\princesses, fairy tale creatures, animal companions, and other heroes on dungeon-crawling, monster slaying adventures, and other perils as they come across them.

(Star Wars d6) #99 - A Reticulan Gambit

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.  Currently missing after the Pretio's abrupt stop.

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.

Sqarl - Quarren ex-whaladon hunter, recently hired onto the crew.

Evus - Twi'lek male, former slave, then former associate of Ne'vets, who has found his way back to the Pretio but caught back up in the nonsense of the Pretio.  Former lover and boy-toy to the feared Rebel terrorist (and former Pretio crewmember), Latorna Savvn.   

"Sid" - A peculiar woman who has shown to be a better pilot than the previous one. Possible Imperial ties, but a far better shot.  Recent victim of a werewolf attack and (as of a few minutes)  below the knee amputee,  thanks to the ship's medical droid, Dr P3PP3R.  She has recently left her room and assumed the controls of the partially crippled ship.

"Ship Tarrie" - With the recent catastrophic failure on the Pretio, the subsequent reboot has an awoken an AI to the ship that seems to believe it is previously MIA/KIA pilot, Tarrie Prolek

R2-H8(r) - "H8R"  Astromech with a confusing history, and harsh attitude towards most of the crew. 

"Cousin Rancor" - Social media guru, famous for foolish holo-vids across the galaxy.  Lone survivor of last failed expedition to obtain a 'werewolf'.  Currently detained and secured in the lounge.

Bugs in the System

Still stranded in the middle of space, 

Thanks to an unmitigated infestation of

Bioxin Azure Rabbits, the crew of the Pretio

Has uncovered and an even more sinister truth:

The rabbits have become infected with 

Whatever afflicted the "werewolves" on Belkain

And they have become vicious, acid-blood hurling

Xenomorphs of their cute and cuddly former selves.

Can the crew eliminate the threat, 

Secure the missing hyperdrive,

And reach the Kwenn Space Station, 

Without any significant loss of life or limb?

Duk'k wiped more low grade acid from his armor and called on R2-H8(r).  

"Hey H8(r), there's some structural damage in the Piscopo's cargo bay.  The quicker you fix it, the quicker we all get out of here..."

R2 surprisingly complied and Duk'k could see him coming up the ship, before the Sipsk'ud left the cargo bay and walked over to the other hold.  Before entering that door, he bellowed over to Evus, 

"Hey, watch Ne'vets for me.  Cousin Rancor isn't going anywhere."

Inside, he began rummaging through the supplies, trying to find different apparatus to capture the infected bunnies.  He walked over to check the werewolf remains, which continued to be secure.  

He was forced back a moment later, as the airlock broke.  The lift for the hold opened rather quickly, sending unsecured items into the vacuum of space.  Duk'k ignored the increasing stresses of space to ignite his jetpack and stay inside.  He not only flew to the other side of the room, but managed to re-secure the broken landing gear that was sliding off the platform.  As he pulled the gear off and over to the side, he narrowly missed the hyperdrive clumsily fly into the chamber.  

The lift rose back up, re-sealing the room, and resetting the oxygen and pressure.  Once things were normalized, Evus and Dr P3PP3R came storming into the room and pulled Duk'k out into the hallway.

"I'm unsure what has happened to Mr Duk'k, but it appears to have sucked two years off of his life."

Duk'k could barely gasp, "That's two years at the end, right?"

Meanwhile, Ne'vets Aharo, had been abandoned in the makeshift medical bay in the back of the ship.  The pain of his foot injury was slowly abating with the treatments of Dr P3PP3R, but recent commotion in the front forced both his temporary bodyguard, Evus, and the medical droid to investigate.  

His foot healing, but quite tender, Ne'vets grabbed a smaller crutch and limped down the hall and follow the duo.

He arrived by the door for the cargo hold, to Dr P3PP3R standing over Duk'k, seated, back against the door.  The Sipsk'ud was panting heavily and the scent of spent rocket fuel was in the air.  

He walked over to the Sipsk'ud, but when he appeared non-communicative, he tried to venture through the door,  Duk'k reached out his arms and grabbed Ne'vets pants leg.

"Hold... depressurized.  Give it a minute."

"Are we ejecting bunnies?"

"I hope so!"

"Good job team!"

Ne'vets resorted to peering through the window.  The landing gear was missing, but a hyperdrive was sitting against a wall.

"Are we trying to collect space junk to sell as a profit? Good job, team."  

Ne'vets pulled out his com, "Team, status report."

"Ship Tarrie" was first to respond.  "Cargo hold breach resealed no issues, Sid can I assist with anything?"

"Hyperdrive secured in hold, no other issues.  Tarrie please run diagnostics on reattaching it to the ship."

Sqarl chimed in, "Cockpit is secure."

A moment of clarity was interrupted by a blood curdling scream.  Duk'k, Evus, and Ne'vets ran to the lounge.   Cousin Rancor was still secured to the couch, but two of the infected, mutated rabbits were on his chest, gnawing holes into him.  

Duk'k whipped out two blasters and unloaded on the creatures. Both were hit, and curled up into a ball, rolling off Cousin Rancor's body, and rolling away from them.   Cousin Rancor continued to scream, with quite a bit of blood.

Duk'k yelled "Medic!" and tried to follow the escaping creatures. 

Dr P3PP3R hurried over to treat Cousin Rancor. 

Ne'vets gained access to the cargo hold, to try and find a more effective cage to capture the creatures.  

Meanwhile, R2-H8(r) completed his repair work and worked over to the same hold as Ne'vets, to try to begin moving the hyperdrive.  

Duk'k managed to pin the two bunnies against the wall.  The vents were potentially out of reach for the critters, but the Sipsk'ud wasn't taking any chances.  One shot destroyed  one bunny, exploding it against the wall on the starboard side of the ship.

The lone bunny sprinted down the hallway, and crashed through a panel on the reactor.  

Duk'k peered into the reactor from the broken panel.  There was no sign of the creatures, or any other critters.  He whipped two doze grenades off his combat belt, chucking down two of the access portals. 

Except one clipped the instruments or part of the reactor, bouncing back, and detonating closer to the broken panel.  A foggy cloud emerged from the reactor, enveloping Duk'k and Evus, but the duo appeared unphased.

"Hey Tarrie, do we need to access the reactor to reattach the hyperdrive."

"No way, buddy.  The hyperdrive needs to be reinstalled beneath the starboard escape pod."

"Good, Sqarl, one of them got away.  Find a torch, and seal up this area."

"Gotcha, Duk'k, where else should we reinforce..... and where are you going?"

"I'm thinking of... a trap.  Gotta get Ne'vets involved."

 The Quarren went up to the front of the ship to find a welding torch.  Dr P3PP3R was still putting the finishing touches to stabilize Cousin Rancor. 

"He is stable, but needs significant assistance at a proper medical facility, as quickly as possible."

H8(r) managed to wriggle the hyperdrive out of the hold, and moved it towards an access port to reinstall it to the ship.  Duk'k saw the cargo equipment in action and hit his coms.  "Evus, go watch H8(r) work on the hyperdrive.  Ne'vets, let's plan to capture or destroy these things." 

An hour later, Sqarl was finishing up the welds on the reactor panels.  In his search for welding equipment, he stopped at Tarrie old locker and uncovered a suit of armor that seemed to have far more use on his body, than staying in storage. Cleaning up his work area, he worked his way back to Sid in the cockpit.

In the empty cargo hold, Ne'vets and Duk'k were busy compiling a myriad set of mundane traps.  None would hold the creatures for long, but with the wonky sensors on the ship.  Loud noises and lights seemed to be more effective to narrow down .  

Two more hours, and H8(r) had the hyperdrive hooked up and going through the basic diagnostics.  Back up at the cockpit, Sid watched that console slowly come back to life.  She turned to Sqarl.

"We've got at least another hour before we can get out of here..."

To their right, she and Sqarl could hear a noise with the walls/ceiling of the cockpit.  It was a scurrying sound, followed by a series of loud thump.  The noises worked their way across the ceiling.  

Sid reached over and closed all vents in the cockpit.

The movement dropped from ceiling above the edge of the console, and moved towards the back of the cockpit.  

"Guys, we need some doze grenades up here, stat."

Duk'k gave the bad news, "We're fresh out, what's up?"

Ne'vets asked, "Do you have a bunny?"

"I have a something."

Ne'vets and Duk'k ran up to the cockpit, miscellaneous traps in hand.  Everyone stared at noise in the wall, stopping at a closed vent trying to claw its way out. 

Ne'vets placed a container by the vent and motioned to Sid to open the vents wide.  Within seconds, the vents opened, and someTHING was making noise within the container.

Sqarl secured container and pulled it from the wall.  

Duk'k looked over to Ne'vets, "What do we do with this, boss?"

Ne'vets stared at the container stoically, "Let's shoot it out into space."

Sqarl pulled the container further out.  A number of rings appeared on the ground, interconnected. They were attached to another series of rings, still attached to a line of grenades.  

That's a LOT of grenades...

"Why are there grenade rings on the ground?  Where are the grenades!?!"

Duk'k pushed the container down the ladder, sealed the cockpit door, and ordered Ship-Tarrie to open of the ramp for the ship.  The vacuum of space sucked the container out into space, just far enough for it to detonate.  

In less than an hour, the hyperdrive was online, and the ship jumped into hyperspace.  Tentative destination: the Kwenn Space Station.

GM: Let's be honest, Star Wars sensors seem to have pinpoint accuracy, or fail to detect a hand right in front of it.  Star Trek seems far more competent, but they are are in the future, not from a time long long ago.

Again, I pulled and converted data for the xenomorph from the Reticulan Parasite from Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society #4 circa 1979/80.  The Bestiary article didn't mention xenomorphs, but the artwork was spot-on, and the bibliography was everything published when Alien came out, including the original screenplay novelization by Alan Dean Foster. 

Next: #100 - Trouble at the Kwenn Space Station?

Historicon 2023 After Action Ramblings

Summer's here and the time was right for Historicon 2023, and I daresay, we are beyond back to normal.  To avoid burying the lead in my report on my weekend, attendees looked up, parking was just scarce enough, but full tables of players were plentiful and most vendors were already thinking positive before the day-trippers on Saturday.  

When I submitted my events, my eldest daughter, Maja, was scheduled to attend a Select basketball showcase event at Spooky Nook on the far west side of Lancaster, Friday-Monday.  To ensure I caught her team's games, I crammed my three events into Thursday and Friday morning,  This allowed me to bring her and her younger sister, Millie, over to the con during the long lulls. 

Except out AAU organization withdrew from the event, preferring to put them into a showcase event in Atlantic City on the same weekend.  The new logistics of this, coupled by her Varsity away camp at Kutztown University Sunday-Wednesday of the week melted my mind, but Maja set things right.  She simply decided the team camp was more important, and she wanted to spend the entire weekend with me at the cond.

Favorite Child status... *OBTAINED*

With a 9am Thursday game, I had gotten rooms on site for Wednesday through Sunday, so once she returned from camp, napped, and swapped out dirty clothes for clean, I picked her up and away we went. 

First stop, per her request, Golden Corral, across from the Host/Wyndham.  The exterior of the Wyndham looked even better than the last time we were down, so we're excited to revisit it for Fall-In!  

I did get a call around 5:30, telling me the prime parking in the Penn Garage (attached to the hotel/convention center) still had primo parking spots available.  By the time we navigated three busloads of folks and got to the garage, those were long gone, but we did get a solid spot on the exit ramp from level 4 to 3,  off of the roof.  

Better location, and its old spot was filled in with a wonderful 54mm SYW game and the the now-classic Test of Honor table beside it.  

We unloaded necessities, checked into the hotel, and checked in to grab my badge, now moved to the front lobby, with zero issues. 

Adding Maja on as a youth badge on my account after the fact proved trying for the team at the desk, but that's why I wanted to take care of things Wednesday.  Ultimately, everything got resolved with a little patience, laughter, and kicking technology a few times.  

Waiting for a luggage cart, we moved everything into our hotel room or the room we were running games in, reconnected with everyone, and Maja snuggled in with a book while I discovered the hotel bar inside Plough closed around 10:30 - 10:45 each night.  

Thursday morning, I walked down to La Dolce Vita for my long awaited Spinach and Feta egg sandwich, a bagel and smoothie for Maja, and a small crate of macaroons, per Maja's request, before heading back and prepping for 9am.   

My 9am and 7pm Thursday "Defense of Carf" sci-fi game using Fistful of Lead were sold out weeks ago, which made me worry about the recent curse of no-show tables plaguing recent con.  I had two-no-shows out of eight, and two very eager folks quickly filling those spots.

I'll post separate battle reports later, but the crashed Gnomish Space Marine aircraft brought interest from all the gangs, and with a relief column coming, the gangers tried to control the crash site for reward money... or something worse.    

I cleaned up my table, helped get things set up for the afternoon Gnome Wars game, then wandered around.  

Test of Honor

Test of Honor

After a first wave attack on the Vendor Hall, and catching up with a  bunch of folks, I returned to the gnome game, and finding that managed chaos well in hand, I did something I wish I always did at cons: 

I took a 45-minute nap!

That gave me enough time to rest my head and feet and go forth and take more pictures. 

In the tournament area

After helping clean up the gnomes, I reconnected with Maja, and we jaunted down to Plough for a burgers and age-appropriate drinks before returning to run my second defense of Carf. 

Eight slots pre-sold, six showed up, and the chaos intensified.  The Gnomish Space Marine rescue team had been prevented from salvaging the wreckage last game, so their increased military presence resulted in the over-agressive gangers who spent a good portion of the game jumping on tanks for fun and profit. 

Friday Morning, we finally ventured over to the much-ballyhooed Central Market for their egg sandwiches, which were very very good, and provided me a chance to grab some rhubarb jelly.  

My third and final game of Fistful of Lead (6 out of 8) was full of chaos, but not just the heavily armored Chaos Space Gnomes seizing a newly-built compound in the middle of town, but also Jawas flying off of cliffs onto tanks, and the machinations of two young ladies: my daughter and a young lady recruited to the con from the library events of HMGS Next Gen. She placed her mark on every game she played.  Taking over the Chaos Space Gnomes, she rampaged the board, even when she was distracted by the Gnome Wars objectives that we never removed from the buildings from the previous game.   Having secured her objectives, she experimented with the left over tokens, hoping for unscheduled mutant or magical powers, or just a tactical bonus of some sort. 

Jawas on Tanks: the Musical!

Ultimately, the top secret science convoy was thwarted, as well as a bug infestation.  

To quote the young lady (who always had attached parental supervision that approved of the silliness), "I killed a bunch of people and I (my figure) drank two beers.  It was the best game yet!" 

 That quote right there was better than any PELA.

I immediately cleaned up and jumped into Mike Lung's Fistful of Lead Wasteland Warriors game on the same table.  

I ran a group of plant restorationists who wanted to activate a a terra-forming machine, while the other nine players had their own objectives.  

With a little help, I succeeded in my mission, only losing one teammate from sniper fire.  

After three (?) Historicons at the convention center, Maja and I finally discovered Southern Market, on the corner of Queen and Vine.  Unlike Central Market's grocery/deli/bakery feel, Southern Market is a ring of food vendors, surrounding a bar in the center.  Tons of option, from Moroccan, to Pho, to Vegan, and most things reasonably priced.  My fried chicken sandwich and yams from the Soul Food stand was one of the best things I've ever eaten, and even the 21st Century Mikey which is Maja, thoroughly enjoyed her Latin food. 

Friday night was the Gnome Joust with over 16 participants. My "Crazylegs" personna was activated for a few rounds, but I fell in a round where I willingly used the "Curs-ed Kangaroo." 

Saturday, I encountered an odd situation: no games to run!  

I went back to La Dolce Vita for breakfast, let Maja sleep in, and simply sipped coffee and contemplated life and the universe.   The day allowed me to check in on Mike's second Wasteland Warriors game at my own pace, wander the convention, and do some actual shopping in Wally's (aka the flea market).  

The HAWKS version of Fistful of Lead - Galactic Heroes.

Once Maja woke up, we revisited the Southern Market for lunch a the pizza place.  Not only did Maja approve of the pie, but some guy from the Del Val Wargamers came in to compliment them on their cheesesteaks and order another one.  

From there, Maja went into the Board Game Library, I checked on Mike, took a half-hour nap, and just chatted up every person I could.  

Fistful of Lead - Wasteland Warriors - The Terraforming Has Begun!

Fistful of Lead - Wasteland Warriors 

Fistful of Lead - Wasteland Warriors 

Amusing highlight of Saturday evening - I went down to the Boardgame Library to check on Maja, who was having the time of her life, all while chatting up the early guys for the 7pm-10pm flea market.  As 7pm arrived and we were let in, the massive line waiting to get in rejoiced, only to discover and a half-dozen, perhaps ten vendors decided to set up Saturday night.   Perhaps not the best choice in the future, but it was amusing to see three, perhaps four flea marketeers sell out of their stuff and leave in the first 15 minutes.  

The tournament area

Before the 8pm game, I grabbed the Pulled Pork dinner from the stand near the escalator and simply hung out with friends while the Gnome Wars game devolved to its appropriate level of chaos.  

It was an early departure for everyone else Sunday morning, and with the streets of Lancaster literally rolled up till Monday morning, I was relegated to the Marriot Starbucks for some form of caffeine.  Hot water over charcoal ash would be preferred to even their light roast, but caffeine is caffeine.  We check out the Sunday flea market, the slow pack of the Vendor Hall, and ultimately we checked out of our room for a reasonable lunch and relaxing drive home (the people doing 65 1/2 mph in the passing lane ensured it).

So, compared to previous years:

Lancaster Convention Center:  Still the best place we've held a convention, with no surprise.  Everything under one roof, elevators worked and there was only a small bit of confusion.   Food Service seemed to be lacking, even drinks for sale, much less refilled water coolers.  Part might be staffing, part might be the convention center's business plan, part might be Lancaster in general.  Even the Host had limited hours some years, but I would expect last call to be 1;30-1:45 for a clientele that's non-mobile and willingly has the cash.  

Hotel:  The Marriot did a very good job.  I welcome daily maid service (I've done hotels all spring for basketball. Two nights might net you fresh towels.).  Maja's only gripe was the pool being closed for renovations... so she did her usual basketball weight training in the gym.  No major mechanical issues with elevators or escalators.  

Parking:   Outside of a ticket refusing to generate for me, coming early relieved half the stress, and luggage carts eliminated the other half.  Even late into the evening, I did not see any easier parking spots to move to like I succeeded with last year.

Kill Team - Double Blind

Battlestar Galactica

Vendors:  The selection of vendors was perfect for us, with a few new guys, with a few returning back into the fold.  No one was talking, but I glanced at coffers that were uncomfortably filled every time I purchased something. 

Legos!

The Board Game Library

Wally's Basement:  No matter what, you're never going to get rid of all the folks getting rid of items charging 100 pennies per dollar of value   I had two good walk-throughs, and the other two felt rushed.   The 7-10 Saturday make no logical sense, when many folks are either (a) day-trippers or (b) trying to eat food still at 7pm. 

The Alien Queen Arises.. and kicks butt.

Blood and Swash

The Swag:

Not all items pictured

• 8 packs of Battle Valor sci-fi
• Brigade Game minis
• Bad Squidoo minis
• Stargrave: Mercenaries II (all female)
• MBA Wooden Docks 
• A collection of droids from the flea market.
• A GI JOE Cobra plane to use as a space ship for Planet 28 (flea market)
• Spray Paint, Zap-a-Gap, and one bottle of a special color for a special project.
• The AD&D Reverse Dungeon mod from the 90s.
• A couple of Osprey rule books.  
• A Fistful More - Western scenarios for Fistful of Lead I could easily adapt for other genres
• An old copy Blood and Swash.

Next years Historicon is back at Lancaster, July 17-21, 2024.  

Fall-In! is November 3-5, 2023 at the Wyndham Resort and Convention Center (Formerly the HOST). 

And a collection of Gnome Wars/Fistful of Lead pics, with limited context.

British Gnomes guarding a baby elephant????

Sikhs with a perfect view of the chaos.

Germans advance.

Gnomish Space Marine recovery team maneuvers into the outlaw city.

The tank is stopped mere inches from the Martian's head.

A gnome and a Martian, both sneaking around, run into each other....

Another half-track destroyed.