Happy Halloween 2024!

 

Evil is Afoot in the Mushroom Forest

 

(Gamma World) This is Not a Test #54 - Horse's Asphalt

Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers,  are exploring outside the KIA Academy, have finally recovered Charley Onyxhoof from wilderness and are attempting to claim their reward.

================= 

Sneaky Pete: A mutated weasel scout.  Pete's telepathy and night vision take a backseat when he whips out his electrical powers.  

Sonny Helianthus: a sentient sunflower artifact examiner with trusted Restorationist ties. Knowledgeable,  but not a good one with device repairs or upgrades.  Very interested in a "Children's Alchemical Laser" he recently acquired.

Slitheran Wurmtail (aka Squiggles): a mutated earthworm scout, in impromptu power armor, looking for trouble, and finding it often.  Previously "gave birth" to a litter of sentient earthworm babies, but recently has been subject to genetic testing and developed super-human strength, a more human body, and a thick coat of shaggy white hair.

Lathar Bracken: A pure-strain human from River Bend.  He's got the muscle, the face, and a mount for most encounters.  Lathar's trusty beast of burden, No Name, travels wherever he does.  No Name has recently been fitted for a artillery device of the Ancients that chucks spears further than any human.  Looking for trouble in all the right places.  Former jousting champion of Fair-Town and has been awarded... a peacock he has named Chambray.  He's recently been struck by a weapon by a strange race of people and transformed into... something else.

RHA-9: A lab assistant piece of "Living Metal" that seems to have befriended the group... for now!  Currently getting repairs done by the Restorationists.

================= 

Walking on the KIA Overpass to go into KIA Academy, the group discussed Lathar's recent transformation and his value to the party.  Since being transformed in some type of green mineral/stone, Lathar was afraid of getting hit by blunt objects or falling. Everyone else, save Sonny, thought it would be best to have him appraised.  

Sonny was dead-set on getting his Children's Alchemical Laster (CAL) repaired so the "revert to original" function of the device was working properly.  

He asked a number of folks inside the KIA himself to send him in a proper direction.  Most advised that he needed to go to "TMS"  on Level 4 to investigate/repair Ancient technologies.  

The TMS appeared to be a non-imposing office with just the letters "TMS" on the door on barely-frosted glass.  Going inside, he saw a very long counter dominating the room with a lone middle-aged woman with pair of red glasses with multiple attachments, manning the entire counter.   

"Hello Madam"

"What's broken now?"

"My alchemical lasers is broken..."

"Your Ali-Baba what is broken."

"No, my alchemical laser I came upon.  We engaged some ne'er do wells with their own alchemical laser and my compatriots were changed.   I understand if the alchemical laser works correctly, there is a reset option."

"I do not know who this gang called the Ne'er Do Wells are, but, Sir or Madame, I believe you also got turned into a giant dandelion.

"Sunflower.  I'm a sunflower, and I was grown like this..."

After a bit more difficult conversation, the woman directed Sonny to use the display in the corner to generate a "ticket" for the techs to evaluate. 

A half-hour later, a technician finally emerged from a hidden door along the wall.  After reviewing the ticket with Sonny and reviewing the brittle and erroneous instruction booklet.

The technician pulled some ancient books and began disassembling a number of dials, buttons, and keypads, replacing some, cleaning others, reattaching many of them. He specifically mentioned that the schematics he had didn't match up with how this device was constructed, but Sonny was not worried.

There were a few tension-filled moments, but the technician hit the power button and the device turned on.  Following Sonny's instructions, the tech set up the device to "Revert to Original Material" mode, as well as the settings/codes for five base materials:

• Copper
• FROYO
• Dirt
• Gold 
• Water 

"I think this will work..." the tech said, handing the CAL back to Sonny.  

Sonny returned to a bar where he had left the remaining Explorers, the CAL still on his back.   He gave Lathar the good news that he could change him back.

"And Charley," Lathar added, "Let's test it on Charley first."

Evening time, they arrived back at the Onyxhoof home. They knock on the barn door, and it slides to the side, Charley's wife, Stormchaser, answering the door.  

"It's you guys?  What did you do to my husband?"

Sonny answered  "We tried our best to undo the damage those blue people did to him.  I believe I can do more now...."

Sonnny and Charley wandered to a remote part of the property.  Sonny opened fire....

When the smoke cleared, Charley was still standing there, much blacker, and a strong sulfur-like smell emanating.  

Charley Onyxhoof, King of the Asphalt Jungle

The first positive the evening, Charley could talk normal.

"What... did... you ... do... to me????"

Charley's facade was quite black, cracking at the joints.  He stared at his hands.

"You turned me into asphalt!?!   You sonuva btich!!!"

Sonny:  "I was told that this was fixed to revert you back to normal..  Sometimes science isn't exactly science."

"Just get out of here and leave me alone..."  the centaur pleaded.

Sonny peered down at the instructions.  The keypad seemed at the right setting, but the dial was at a different position.  

The next morning, Sonny returned to the TSM for more modification.  The tech proceeded to review the notes and weld the selector dial shut.  

"You circumsizable laser is ready to go!"  the tech said proudly. 

Not wishing to correct any more techs, Sonny left and found a field for he and Lathar to test it out again.  

"You ready for this?"  Sonny asked.

"The good news is if it fails, you know the guy who can fix it a third time."  Squiggles quipped.

Sonny inserted another power cell and fired.  Lathar felt the blast hit his chest, tearing him apart and reconstituting him. 

The green stone-like Lathar emerged as a caramel color, complete with extra naval.

Werther's Original Lathar

"That's as close a color as we're going to get,"  Sonny sighed.

Squiggles sniffed the barbarian, moved closer, and then, licked him.

"He's some sort of sweet treat?  Butterscotch?"

Lathar shook his head, "Great job, everyone...."

GM Notes:  If this was classic 1st Edition Gamma World, and I was pulling and converting ideas from AD&D, I may have required a System Shock roll.

FROYO is definitely a mistranslation, but was the first substance the group thought of...

TMS is an abbreviation for Traffic Management Systems. 

Next: #55 - Leave it to Lathar

(Painting of Millie) Applejack from My Little Pony #Wizkids

With Fall sports officially ended, I got the girls for a portion of the weekend finally.  There was was much-needed napping, and once they were even keel, the painting broke out, namely, they found all the blisters of WizKids My Little Pony miniatures and went to town.  

The only one they finished before they needed to leave was Applejack, by Millie.    She likes a certain Jackson Pollack aspect to the large open expanses of color on all of the ponies she started painting. 

The eyes and cutie mark come as stickers AND water decals.  I much prefer the decals to the sticks, as Applejacks eyes are not perfect (the cutie marks were decals with zero issue).

We may have a commission for Millie, painting a generic pony named Peanut Butter.  More to come.  

I was responsible for the stickers/decals and the basing.  

Between Fall-In!, Mepacon, and the start of winter sports/holidays, I don't know when we'll have quiet time again, but the rest of the ponies are safely stowed away for this to continue...

Another Month of New Gaming (November '24)

 Issue #297 of Game Trade Magazine can be found at your FLGS or online in PDF form here.

ViscountEric's Want List

Nothing

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

Exalted Funeral

Satanic Panic at the Crowley Place Mall / Dead Mall ............... $13.00

Platypus Industries 

Drop Bears

Drop Bears: Ol' Bruce Expansion

The Imaginary Store List (The Pegleg Gnome)

25th Century Games

Sauasage Sizzle .............................................. $14.99

Arcane Tinman

Dragon Shields Christmas 2024:  Brushed Art ................ $15.49

Dragon Shields Christmas 2024:  Playmat ......................  $24.99

Dragon Shields: Brushed Art - Gremlins ........................... $18.99

Gizmo or Stripe

ARCHON STUDIO

Dungeons & Lasers: Dragons........................................... $10.00

A host of different dragons... each priced at ten bucks?   That's much cheaper than the current figures on their website, so color me intrigued.

Expansion Set - Ancient Ruins Scatter Terrain ................ $49.00

Expansion Set - Entrance Pack ........................................ $34.00

Expansion Set - Modular River ....................................... $34.00

Expansion Set - Trees Pack ............................................. $69.00

Expansion Set - Village Pack .......................................... $49.00

Miniatures - Scenic Urban Bases Set .............................. $34.00

Miniatures - Deuslair Core Set ........................................ $99.00

Miniatures - Deuslair Deceptive Encounters ................... $39.00

The Army Painter

Gamemaster: Wilderness Adventures Role-Playing Paint Set ............... $49.99

Barrel Aged Games

Plantopia ..................................................... $24.99

Catalyst Game Labs

Battletech: The Art of War ......................... $15.00

Battletech: The Batlletech Cookbook ........ $15.00

Battletech: Battlemat - Cities HPG Heliport/Plaza ........................... $40.00

Battletech: Battlemat - Savannahs Large Lakes/Box Canyon .......... $40.00

Dire Wolf Digital 

Dune - Imperium Bloodlines Expansion ................... $40.00

Doctor Finn's Games

The Feds ............................................... $24.99

Dolphin Hat Games

Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza:  Valentine's Edition ............... $9.99

DPH Games

RV Glamper ....................................... $20.00

Draco Studios

Party Panda Pirates ............................. $35.00

Dranda Games

Explorers of Navoria: Base Game .......... $50.00

Dyce Games

Bad Choices ................................................ $19.99

Doodle Heist ............................................... $24.95

Rate My Friends ......................................... $24.99

Dyskami Publishing

Anime 5e: Beyonder Worlds - Realms Beyond Fantasty  .............. $44.95

Anime 5e: Monstroum Libri Vol 2 - Aquatic and Desertic ............ $39.95

Anime 5e: Creature Cards Vol 2 - Aquatic and Desertic ...............  $29.95

Elf Creek Games

Paradox Initiative .......................... $45.00

Santa's Workshop (2nd Edition) .... $40.00

Exalted Funeral

Foresaken RPG ................................... $18.00

Desiccated Temple of Locha - Adventure Compatible with OSE ........ $15.00

Intermediary Mund (DCC  & OSE) .......................... $15.00

Fanroll

Valentines Advent Calendar ...................................... $49.99

Yes, it's a 14-day calendar leading up to Valentines Day.

FASA Games

1879 RPG: Maps of London .................................... $49.99

1879 RPG: Saurids Sourcebook ............................... $34.99

Eastdawn RPG:  Alamaise Plush .............................. $29.99

Interceptor: Babylonian Union Squadron Set ........... $39.99

Interceptor: Campaign Supplement ..........................  $39.99

Interceptor: Starfield Battle Mat ..............................  $79.99

I completely forgot Interceptor was a thing again!  

Firelock Games

Port Royal: Core Set 

Port Royal: Rulebook 

Port Royal: Player  Aid Card Deck 

Port Royal: Terrain Set 

Port Royal is a campaign based, tactical, small-scale warband-sized skirmish wargame that is easy and fast to learn and play. Loosely based on the historical events following the 1692 earthquake that devastated the island of Jamaica. In Port Royal, players take control of small companies of pirates, privateers, Native Americans, African Maroons, or local government forces as they battle against opponents for their share of the plunder that litters the ruins of the place. Players will gain loot and experience between games while building infamy and growing in their piratical expertise. Scheduled to ship in November 2024

Gate Keeper Games and Dice

Aeither Dice, Chromomancy Dice, Mercurial Dice, or Sea Glass Dice.  It doesn't matter what you call them, with the holiday season coming, the $15.00 dice set better be amazing, and not just an over-tumbled Chessex-equivilant. For the holidays, moving ten dollar stocking stuffers and the high-end dice sets should be priority

Goodman Games

DCC #108 - The Seventh Thrall of Sezrekan ........................ $10.99

DCC - Cats of Rahtlu .................................................... $15.00

DCC - The House of the Red Doors ............................. $16.00

MCC - Enchiridon of the Computarchs ........................ $20.00

RPG Stamp:  Classic RIP .............................................. $19.99

RPG Stamp:  Quest Complete ....................................... $19.99

RPG Stamp: You Survived ............................................. $19.99

Jasco Games

Universus TCG: Star Trek - Lower Decks - Playmat - Tribbles ............ $24.99

Last Night Games

Alpine Trails ........................................ $34.95

Legendary Games

Black Flag RPG (5e) The Fiddler's Lament ..................... $10.99

Black Flag RPG (5e) The Murmuring Fountain ............... $10.99

The Dragon's Hoard #43 (5e) ............................................ $11.99

The Dragon's Hoard #44 (5e) ............................................ $12.99

Legendary Bestiaries: Mediterranian Monseters (PF) ....... $34.99

Loke Battle Mats

Giant Book of Shadow Scar Battle Maps .......................... $46.99

Ludonaute

Arctic ................................................. $24.95

Modiphius

Dark Deeds ....................................... $45.00

Mongoose Publishing

Traveller RPG: Aliens of Charted Space, Vol 4 .................  $59.99

Traveller RPG: Bounty Hunter ........................................... $49.99

Traveller RPG: The Fifth Frontier War Campaign Sourcebook ........... $49.99

Monolinth Board Games

Tower Up .......................................... $49.99

Monster Fight Club

Cyberpunk Red: Combat Zone - Wild Things Starter ........................ $50.00

Oink Games

Souvenirs From Venice ........................ $23.00

Paizo Publishing

Pathfinder RPG -  AP - Spore War 1 of 3 - Whispers in the Dirt ....... $29.99

Pathfinder RPG - Flip-Mat Fungal Forest .......................................... $19.99

Pathfinder RPG - Wars of Immortals Pocket Edition ......................... $29.99

Starfinder RPG - Flip-Mat Space Station ........................................... $19.99

Pine Box Entertainment

Heroes of Wakesong RPG (5e) ........................................................... $19.99

Pokemon USA

Pokemon TCG: Scarlet and Violet - Surging Sparks Boosters

Random House 

(Little Golden Book) Dungeons & Dragons - The Perfect Party ....... $5.99

Ravensburger Games

Lorcana: Rise of the Floodborn Boosters

Lorcana: Deck Boxes/Card Sleeves ...............  $5.99/$9.99

Scar, Winnie the Pooh

Playmat: Donald Duck ........................... $19.99

Playmat: Elsa .......................................... $19.99

Rowan, Rook & Decard

Eat the Reich RPG - New Printing ........... $30.00

Sirius Dice

D&D Adventure Dice ............................... $15.99 - $24.99

Mostly class-based dice for $24.99.  See my previous rant, although official D&D dice seem to move off shelves quicker because they're "official."  I personally hate the "fancy" $20-30 range dice because they're generic dice with fancy sigils and designs. 

Steamforged Games

Tales of the Valiant Starter Set ....................... $44.99

Stillfleet Studio

Robot Hospital ............................................... $15.00

Wizkids

D&D 7" Scale Action Figure - 50th Anniversary Elkhorn 

D&D 7" Scale Action Figure - 50th Anniversary Zarak

D&D Bookends - Black Dragon .............................. $59.99

D&D Bookends - Red Dragon ................................. $59.99

D&D Builders of Balders Gate ................................ $64.99

D&D Nolzur's Unpainted  Adult Black Dragon ....... $59.99

D&D Icons - Painted - Adult Black Dragon ............. $79.99

(Kickstarter) Hail To The King! 28mm Dwarven King on Throne

I can't remember the last time I painted up a fantasy dwarf, but Macrocosm Miniatures makes great figures and have great turnaround time for delivery, so it's a no brainer to at least promote their Hail to the King! Kickstarter. 

The figures from their Dwarf Slayers line are also available as add-ons for £7 per dwarf.   

If you dig the Dwarf Guard to the throne, additional figures are also available for £7 per dwarf.

Who Needs a Miniature Dungeon Crawl, When You Can Build Miniature Corn Maze?

 

(Painting) Concrete Traffic Barriers for Death Planet Iota

I've had a lot of miscellaneous pieces collected in the apartment, definitely going back as far when I moved in almost two years ago.  It's nice to see some of them finally get put to use.

I'm thinking these concrete barriers might have started life as corner protectors for my laptop I'm still using today, or perhaps a similar purchase.  

The Gnomish "Chimneysweeps" take security (and wanton corruption) very seriously.

Base colors were camo brown spray primer (my new favorite), Americana Desert Sand, American Bleached Sand, America Bright Orange and a Black for the metal reinforcements on top.  

Highlights are Army Painter Rust paint, and Huge Minis Rust Powder on the metal, and sponging Americana Desert Sand (the darker one) over most, with some lighter sponging with Ebony Black.  Basing is my own Mulligan's stew of various ballast and bits, and one of the few times I paint the base Desert Sand, to better blend into the cloth it will normally be used on.  

In the Queue: A special Gnome Wars project for Fall-In! is all that's left in my pre-con queue.  I'm going to enjoy that weekend and re-evaluate what's next.  Don't worry I'm still using  the plans I made less than a month ago to set up the queue.

Project 350: Maintaining.  513 (324/189) from 513 (325/188). It's always dangerous when a bunch of cool new ideas come around a week before a major con.  The scary thing is, anything that I do accomplish this upcoming week won't see the light of day on the blog until after Fall-In anyway...

(Kickstarter) 28mm Halfling Sniper Squad by Warblade Miniatures

With all the pdfs and stl files floating around Kickstarter, I'm pleased as punch for the Halfling Sniper Squad in 28mm metal from Warblade. 

Not that I'm ungrateful for some very nice sculpts, but 12 is a LOT of snipers.  I don't think I've had more than 4 snipers for the Gnomish Space Marines on a table at one time.  What makes things great is that your options are a 12-man squad of halfling snipers, or double it, for 24 halfling snipers.  

The remainder of the Warblade sci-fi catalog is available as add-ons, but you must pledge for a 12 or 24 halfling pledge to make that happen.  

(Painting) Inflatable Discount Mummies

Last month I made mention to the lack of gaming related holiday stuff for Halloween, save a few 54mm-esque cheap mummies at Dollar General.  I did manage to get two packs of the mummies (for a buck each!) painted up and maybe we'll sneak in a weird game before Fall-In!  

They're oddly sized and cheaply made, but that allows me to delve into a holiday trope I personally detest:  Holiday inflatables.  

We don't ask about the magic behind it, the lawn inflatables take on a life of their own and terrorize the town!  

A quick search reveals the Mummies are paired with a pack of Skeleton Army figures which I've never seen in the store.  Last year, I took full advantage of the Zombie Pirates they offered, and hope to do the same this year. 

In the Queue:  A ton of Death Planet Iota Terrain is in the final stages, plus a special project for next week's con.  

Project 350:  This will get an update on the regular Friday morning painting post. 

(Kickstarter) Smurfs RPG

 After what has been a non-stop marketing blitz, at least all over my social media, Maestro Media has finally launched their Kickstarter for Smurfs: The Role-Playing Game

My only complaint is that I'm suffering from marketing fatigue, but they've spent their dollars wisely with samples of the product, and videos of gameplay and it's easily shattered its goals after the first two days.

(Gnome Wars) Mustard Gas and its Condimentation in Warfare

During the Great War, the use of chemical agents was a horrific evolution of modern warfare.

In Gnome Wars, it's a bit more of an overpowering flavor experience.

Painted by Mike Lung, circa 2012

Mustard Gas can be fired from large mortars and, if the scenario presents itself, off-board artillery.  It should be represented by a large piece of cotton, preferably colored yellow, which can be stretched and molded, and even divided to represent the cloud moving, filling in depressions, and even splitting off.

Shells from on field mortars create a cloud the size of a 3" blast template.  Off-board artillery is more powerful, creating a 5" blast template.  These shells do not cause physical damage like traditional ordinance.  They are ineffective against tanks and fortifications in the traditional sense.  Gas shells do NOT create craters.

Effects:  Mustard gas requires requires each figure within the cloud to flee d8 inches in a random direction. Terrain modifiers still apply.  All figures with the cloud at the end of a round are incapacitated for the remainder of the game and should be removed.   These cloud do not dissipate quickly, so they should remain on the board for the remainder of the game.

Gas clouds obscure line of sight.

Initiative:  Once on the board, all gas clouds should have their own imitative, whether at the same time as the artillery crew that fired, or all clouds collectively as their own entity.

Movement:  The gas cloud can move deceptively quick across the battlefield, but will settle in the lowest spot possible.    Determine a random direction for ALL clouds to move each turn.  Each cloud moves 1d6+6 inches each turn.  Once a cloud finds a lower elevation (downhill, trench) it will pool there and only move the path of least resistance (Ex1:  a gas cloud with a portion in a trench line will remain over the trench unless the wind moves it in a direction that allows it to follow the trench   Ex2: Clouds that fill in, then hover over craters, remain there.)

As I continue to review old correspondence, I found a discussion that each nation's mustard producers are notorious manufacturers of WMD "Weapons of Mass Deliciousness"    The German artillery crew from Mike Lung pictured above is actually from 2012, but I'm not seeing any rules for it.  

Remember, Gnome Wars should be fun and somewhat silly.  Chemical weapons and flamethrowers are graphic parts of war.  Spicy Mustard Gas and Cheesthrowers are devastating but fun.  

So that's it, feel free to model some artillery wagons sponsored by "Gulden's Spicy Brown"

You can also keep the culturally appropriate brands for your army (Loewensenf for Germans, Grey Poupon for the French, and amusingly French's Brown Mustard for the Americans.)

Yellow Mustard has no effect, but are being considered for training rounds for new recruits. 

(Gamma World) This is Not a Test #53 - The Stone Pavilion, Part Four

Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers,  are exploring outside the KIA Academy, have finally recovered Charley Onyxhoof from wilderness and are attempting to claim their reward.

================= 

Sneaky Pete: A mutated weasel scout.  Pete's telepathy and night vision take a backseat when he whips out his electrical powers.  

Sonny Helianthus: a sentient sunflower artifact examiner with trusted Restorationist ties. Knowledgeable,  but not a good one with device repairs or upgrades.

Slitheran Wurmtail (aka Squiggles): a mutated earthworm scout, in impromptu power armor, looking for trouble, and finding it often.  Previously "gave birth" to a litter of sentient earthworm babies, but recently has been subject to genetic testing and developed super-human strength, a more human body, and a thick coat of shaggy white hair.

Lathar Bracken: A pure-strain human from River Bend.  He's got the muscle, the face, and a mount for most encounters.  Lathar's trusty beast of burden, No Name, travels wherever he does.  No Name has recently been fitted for a artillery device of the Ancients that chucks spears further than any human.  Looking for trouble in all the right places.  Former jousting champion of Fair-Town and has been awarded... a peacock he has named Chambray.  He's recently been struck by a weapon by a strange race of people and transformed into... something else.

RHA-9: A lab assistant piece of "Living Metal" that seems to have befriended the group... for now!  Currently getting repairs done by the Restorationists.

================= 

The explorers led Charley back to his work headquarters: Station Petro.  Going through the giant service doors, they encountered the entire service crew lounging about.  Most of the workers recognized their missing co-worker, even if his human portion of his body was covered in horse's hide.  

A few had run back to grab Vinn, the Station Manager.    

"Charley.... is that really you?"

"Yes, it is me,"  Charley spoke with a slur and a stutter.  

Vinn turned the group, "What happened to him."

Sonny replied, "Some group of blue-skinned creatures attacked him with treasures of the Ancients.  Turned him into stone, stripped his mind, and we managed to use one to turn him into that."

Station Petro

Realizing the power of this device, Vinn second-guessed himself, "Wait, that guy wasn't green, was he?  Was the worm furry? Were you a Dandelion?

"I was a sunflower. Still am? We're the same fellows you originally met."

Vinn let Charley punch out of work finally and go home.  Charley galloped away.

"There was something about a reward?"  Pete inquired.

"There was!"  Vinn answered.  He raised a hand, and a crew member returned with a blue and white plastic cooler, filled with 5,000 domars.  

The explorers tried to negotiate some advanced tools from the work crew.  Sonny did end up with an old and dented toolbox full of modern non-powered tools. 

Pete was more interested in refueling used power cells.  Vinn does have the technology, but it would hamper their production on their contracted jobs from the KIA Academy.  The collection of cells would all be filled within ten days. Vinn rejected a number of cells, mostly ones Sonny had tried to use with the Children's Alchemical Laser (CAL). 

Lathar tried to bribe Vinn to push back the department's normal projects, but Vinn feared the folks inside the KIA Academy, more than he like random gold.

Sonny had been looking for scientists to help him fix the CAL, but the group got horribly lost with less than helpful directions.  They did manage find a random shopping district, very little window shopping was done, as the attention was largely direction to the numerous news screens. 

The person on the screen was a female mutant housecat with bold orange and black tiger striping...

Blaze Shadowpaw reporting.... Attack by outsiders rocks KIA Academy.  Reports of a new faction of uncivilized scum  encroaching on the Academy have been confirmed, and now they're attacking civilians.  Video here [Video is a bird's eye view of the clearing around the stone pavilion] shows our dedicated public servants at ALLA CARTE RENTALS as their recovery team was retrieving a misplaced E-Cart.  Dozens of these blue skinned beings assaulted the team and murdered them all with a mixture of primitive weapons, gifts of the Ancients, and dark pagan magicks.

Blaze Shadowpaw, KIA Academy Reporter

Pete, We should probably head over there and reconcile the cart rental

The group navigated out of KIA Academy and back to the Great Overpass and the cart rental next concern for the group was the e-cart rental.  Black banners hung in the windows, mourning the loss of most of the staff in the unfortunate attack.  Pete decided to stay outside and let the others deal with the e-cart issue.  

 A person now stood behind the counter, a hardened older man, with minor physical mutations.  His name tag bore a hastily written "DEX" on it.  

Yeah, what do you fellers need?

We rented one of your carts, and went from a human into something different because your cart turned into something different.  I'm looking for restitution...

Dex....

Dex was non-plussed by this customer service issue:  Do you have a rental agreement number?

Lathar fumbled a bit, and Dex followed procedure.  The e-cart's signal had terminated outside the agreed rental service area, forcing the recovery team to be dispatched, and ultimately losing all of the their lives.  Stinky Pete had signed for the cart, and his bio-metrics were forwarded to the Academy.  

Lathar stumbled to find proper words, Our friend Pete, died out there....

Dex: My condolences, but your dead friend Pete did sign for the insurance. 

Lathar pushed some of the gold domars in front of Dex, What can we do to close out this horrible experience for our dearly departed co-workers and your friend.  

Dex, palming the gold:  You will lose the deposit, there's nothing I can do about that....   You pay off the daily rate, and you fellers are clean in my book.  You folks have a great day! 

GM Notes:  This was a largely bookkeeping session, tempered by some technical difficulties.   The group is intrigued by a "Repo Men of the Rental Cart Facility" future campaign.

Next:  #54 - Horse's Asphalt

Game Day!

The dice were flying last week, unfortunately they were radiation dice in Gamma World.  Let's see what Hell the players have wrought upon themselves. 



(Kickstarter) One-Page Bulge by Lombardy Studios

Lombardy Studios has launched a Kickstarter to do much more than reprint Steve Jackson's wargame of effective simplicity One-Page Bulge. 

For the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, Lombardy Studios will make a full fledged boxed set.

One-Page Bulge  will be a solitaire and 2-player wargame that includes state-of-the-art graphics and the high-quality components that Steve and Dana's fans have come to expect. Sample art, video back story discussions with Steve and Dana, and more will be posted before and during the Kickstarter campaign.

The Call of Cthulhu Encore Humble Bundle

 Apparently Chaosium has delved into the Humble Bundle again with the Call of Cthulhu Encore bundle.

For the next two weeks, $25 for 26 PDFs that would normally go for $400+ sounds like a pretty good deal.  Plus, proceeds from this campaign go to the World Wildlife Fund

(Backerkit) Ars Magica 5th Edition Definitive by Atlas Games

Atlas Games was launched their first crowdfunding campaign through Backerkit, blasting through the base goal for the Ars Magica Definitive Edition in mere minutes! 

What's Ars Magic? Let the campaign explain it best....

Ars Magica is a troupe-style, storytelling game. Players take the role of not only powerful magi, but also the companions and grogs who serve them. Each of these characters contributes to the communal “covenant” where they all live, and to the story itself.

Players work together to tell the story of their covenant. This tale can span decades or centuries of game time. It might be heroic, tragic, or both in turn. The covenant could influence the fate of their small corner of the world, or alter the history of all Mythic Europe.

The Definitive Edition is a comprehensive collection of the current 5th edition rules, so all current books and supplements are compatible!  

The Definitive Edition physical rewards includes the Core Rulebook, Reference Book, and a Storyguide Screen, all in a beautiful slipcover.   $39.99 for the PDF, $149.99 for the physical slipcover plus PDF.

(Painting) Gnomish Space Marine Dreadnought III

And with this, I believe I'm finished painting all my Dollar Tree "Dreadnought" for the Gnomish Space Marines.

The Automated Drone P-131 from the Final Faction toy line is long our of the toy rotation, but with the various accessory packs, they could serve a variety of support function.  This one is a stock model, with plenty of firepower, even if it suffered a barrage of light arms fire where more than a few things hit true. 

With that, all "Gnomish Space Marine Dreadnoughts" are painted, three active duty, and one garish rogue operator.  The GSM also has two mobile artillery platforms, three Hlutr Halftrack Tanks, one flyer, and let us not forget, the tiny armored personnel carrier for the beleaguered Chimneysweeps.  

The current line of Final Faction toys are too generic action figure for use in smaller scale wargaming.  Too stiff, too upright. The robot, labeled a "Med Droid" is so stiff it belongs a stand-in for The Day the Earth Stood Still.    

Besides the Mecha and the Artillery platform, the only toy from the line I'd like to see return are the Khan Perimeter Defense Crawlers, which I painted up to look like dollar store genestealers. 

There's a few more vehicles to add to the GSM Arsenal, one more Hlutr halftrack tank, a few dollar store traditional modern tanks, and a ridiculously oversized 4WD vehicle for the Chimneysweeps.  I also have and untold number of bikers, hover bikes, and grav-attack vehicles, but I think some actual troops are required first....

In the Queue: Death Planet Iota Terrain  and some special Gnome Wars projects for Fall-In, coming way too fast.

Project 350: Despite all the October build-up, I've crept up to  513 (325/188) from 510 (323/187).  In past years, I'm normally knee deep in work, but with the new job, I've managed to clean up the backlog of drafts.   No matter how I space things, projects get delayed/pushed back and the months are filled with projects and ideas I don't have time for.  Like an accordion, I need to review and stretch out those posts, to  a reasonable amount for 2026, and organize the future projects.   Everything's color coded, everything's so pretty.  Now I just need to play some games and paint some minis! 

🧙‍♂️(Georic Gazetteer) The Dark Kingdoms of Vlachia

Bargle the Infamous' Alleged Castle

Dark Kingdoms of Vlachia

Pantheon: Ferasean

Ruler: King Satu Cagares (former dominion in the Thacarian Mountains).
Capital: Amatay (Formerly Fort Doom/Formerly Shelley Harbor)

Other cities: Halag, Richemulot, Borca, Kartakkass
Language: Vlach

Flag/Emblem:  Black Bat on a Field of Gold

Coinage:  Vlachian, although surrounding currencies are accepted 1:1.

Persons of Note: Durbar of Clan Steel Mountains, the Dukes of Keening, Darkon, Vechor

Intrigues: Multiple ongoing
Alliances: Miolsic, Hermetus
Hostilities: Marakeikos, Stronghome
Demi-Humans: Half-Orcs and Half Ogres.  A scattering of dwarves in the Thacarian Mountains
Magic Items: The Prism of Eight Rays, The Seeking Dart are known royal treasures. Each of the separate lords are known to have quite substantial collections.

Thumbnail Sketch: The worst kept secret for all but the most naive travelers is Vlachia's ruling class being predominantly Vampires, with an odd werewolf or other entity beyond the natural.  Traveling alone or without a sizable entourage is widely discourage, mostly foolhardy.  And if the threat of vampire lords descending upon your weary traveling bones isn't discouraging enough.  Their fervent human supporters make up the "Cult of Ghouls" to support the vampire lords in any capacity they can. 

For years a human was elected King of all the dominions, most recently "King" Ludwig von Hendricks, the Black Eagle. Von Hendricks and his court wizard, Bargle the Infamous, gave wide berth to the Vamprie Lords, and focused on a campaign of terror against the halflings of Stronghome. King Ludwig was kidnapped by Halflings in 1134, but escaped and has been rumored to be residing in Milosic ever since. Bargle the Infamous had been working for the Baron of Vadevicszy through the civil war. His whereabouts are currently unknown, although he does have the entire Duchy’s treasury in his  possession. The Lords of the Realm chose one of their own, Satu Cagares as King in 1139 who promptly used his magic and followers to destroyed the Halfling fleet blockading the former Shelley Harbor.

Vlachia has always been in open conflict with Marakeikos, and it wasn't until the the kidnapping of King Valens and the subsequent civil war that Marakeikan forces made inroads into the vampire kingdoms, seizing and permanently annexing territory adjacent to Vadevicsny.  Travel in this particular region is not for the faint of heart, but for an entirely different and more mundane reason.

Points of Interest:

The Crowned Beast of Stone - In the depths of a boreal forest west of the immortal city of Richemulot and north of the Marakeikan Barony of Teleorman can be found a statue of some great beast crowned with a rusting iron band whose spiked ends, now snapped off into jagged spears, suggested gems or valuable crystals once ran astride the crown. The weed-choked creature now stares forlornly into the stream which begins life as spring whose waters pour from its open mouth and which rushes by its front paws before disappearing in the thick forest and eventually emptying into the great swamp and mire to the north of Richemulot. 

The wizards and alchemists of the region have set traps and guards within the forest, paid druids to charm creatures and enchant plants, illusionists to hide the spring, necromancers to set guards that neither sleep nor rest nor tell tales, as well as magicians and witches cast dire spells to protect this source of so many of their potions, solutions and balms.

Mentions of Vlachia in the Blogs:

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #40:  Mentions the the western border of Vlachia borders the Duchy of Vrianos in Ras-Prythax.

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #51: The Tower of Enerk and Vlachian human adventurer named Viesbustus

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #54:  Safe travel across Vlachia in a large group.

Burning Trogs Rule! #5: Cecelia Darkspruce travels through Vlachia to arrive in Marakeikos.

Burning Trogs Rule #17  Mentions of troubles along the border with Marakeikos

Burning Trogs Rule #18: The Trogs spend a day in Amatay before getting waylayed by the Slavers of Roark.

Burning Trogs Rule! #22: The Redrock Cohort clears out some dungeons along the border.

Burning Trogs Rule! #33: Mentions of the conflict between Stronghome and Vlachia in 1135.  The kidnapping of King Ludwig.

Burning Trogs Rule! #37:  Cecelia Darkspruce travels across Vlachia, only moving during the day.  

Burning Trogs Rule! #38:  Descriptions of the dark woods, Lawlessness along the border.

Burning Trogs Rule! #45:  The start of the Marakeikan Civil War. Bargle's attempted communiques with the kidnapped King Ludwig.

Burning Trogs Rule! #50:  Marakeikan troops disappearing en mase in Vlachia.

Burning Trogs Rule! #51: The death of Count Vlad'Neer of Morosvia by the Terval Sit and the Burning Trogs

Burning Trogs Rule #52:  Chaos traveling Vlachia in the aftermath of the Master's surrender. 

Burning Trogs Redux #0.3:  Cecelia Darkspruce named Baroness of Teleorman in 1148. 

Burning Trogs Redux #2:  Clarkos Metropoulos, veteran of the Black Eagle War.  

Georic Gazetteer: The Almond Coast: Mention of Prince Morteos Woszlany, formerly of Vlachia, now a lesser Prince of Emron.

(Gnome Wars) The Great Snail

This past Historicon, my Saturday night Gnome Wars game had an unexpected visitor: a D&D flail snail that a player had purchased at the flea market and I could find no good reason not to allow it on the table.  I made up some rules on the fly, and, as I planned, it proved more of a distraction to players than a game breaker.

Going through some ancient Gnome Wars correspondence with friend of the blog, Award-Winning-GM Mike Lung, I discovered he proposed giant snail rules way back in 2011!  

Great Snail (Wild or Unmanned)

• Moves Slow:  6" 
• Moves Randomly unless guided by gnome, guide gnome can also encourage the snail to use its acid spitting attack.
• Moves over any obstacle without penalty, except salt or fire.
• Hard to Kill: Only legal 6's with light arms wound the creature.  Heavier weaponry, treat as a tank.
• Wounds: 4 (Tank results supersede wounds)
• Weapon:  Acid Spitting  12" artillery, 3" diameter template
• Leaves a slime trail behind, effect lasts 3 turns.  Roll d8 for each gnome crossing, on a 1-3, the gnome slips and falls. Each roll to get up, the difficulty goes up by 1 (1-4 fails on first attempt, 1-5 on second, and so on.)  Gnomes that can't mathematically succeed are removed from the table. 

(Gamma World) This is Not a Test #52 - The Stone Pavilion, Part Three

Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers,  are exploring outside the KIA Academy, and have uncovered a new race, a weapon of alchemical destruction, and a certain Stone Horse of Destruction that's back to flesh.

================= 

Sneaky Pete: A mutated weasel scout.  Pete's telepathy and night vision take a backseat when he whips out his electrical powers.  

Sonny Helianthus: a sentient sunflower artifact examiner with trusted Restorationist ties. Knowledgeable,  but not a good one with device repairs or upgrades.

Slitheran Wurmtail (aka Squiggles): a mutated earthworm scout, in impromptu power armor, looking for trouble, and finding it often.  Previously "gave birth" to a litter of sentient earthworm babies, but recently has been subject to genetic testing and developed super-human strength, a more human body, and a thick coat of shaggy white hair.

Lathar Bracken: A pure-strain human from River Bend.  He's got the muscle, the face, and a mount for most encounters.  Lathar's trusty beast of burden, No Name, travels wherever he does.  No Name has recently been fitted for a artillery device of the Ancients that chucks spears further than any human.  Looking for trouble in all the right places.  Former jousting champion of Fair-Town and has been awarded... a peacock he has named Chambray.  He's recently been struck by a weapon by a strange race of people and transformed into... something else.

RHA-9: A lab assistant piece of "Living Metal" that seems to have befriended the group... for now!  Currently getting repairs done by the Restorationists.

================= 

With the aid of the Toard Jakey Children's Alchemical Laser, the great Stone Horse of Destruction had been transformed back to.. Charlie, half-man, half-horse.  Similar to Lathar, he was in a state of confusion, but the current state where even his human torso was covered in horse-hide, He was regaining his faculties. 

Pete tried to run over to calm the transformed mutant, perhaps to use his telepathic powers to calm him, but No Name had come running around a tree and stunted at the man-horse.  It took Pete all his telepathic power just to chase No-Name away far enough so Charlie wouldn't bolt.  

A concerned No-Name

Pete tried to calm the man-horse, but the moment he spoke again, he was aware of a speech impediment that he apparently did not have previously.  "What happened?  Why do I talk funny?  What happened? What's wrong with my mouth?"

Pete tried to calm him, "Hey friend, we're friendly, but you've been through an awful lot, We're going to help you!

"Why can't I speak? What's wrong with me?

"We're going to explain to you, but you've been through something terrible to your body, and we're going to get you back to your friend and friends.  You're Charlie right?"

"Yeth, but do I have the same issues as those two over there.  One is a green man and the other's a talking flower."

Pete realized Charlie was pointing to Lathar and Sonny,  "The green man still suffers like you did."

"What about the furry worm?  That's an abomination!"

"Can argue with that, Charlie..."

Sonny walked around the e-cart that had been transformed to terracotta clay towards Lathar to see what had become to his friend.  Lathar had transformed into some shiny green mineral, or precious stone.  Squiggles had questions, "Are you like that inside and out. Do you need to eat?  Do you poop?"

Sonny attempted to allay Green Lathar's fears.  He was still greatly confused but recognized the happy flower.   With his task completed, he planted into the ground and attempted to decipher the instruction manual for the Children's Alchemical Laser.  

Pete searched the remaining blue men bodies that hadn't been vaporized in the blast.  The had a few rare and random coins on them, and some hardy longbows.  Pete did detach a number and clasps, emblems, and insignias.   He then went back to the pavilion to investigate that shimmering lines that looked like obvious traps.  He climbed over the pavilion side to find himself inside the stone structure to see the the supports for the roof.    Pete did detect each line had holes drilled into the rock, and the shimmering abated the closer you got.    Pete called Squiggles over to have a look...

"Just watch out for the booby traps."

"What booby traaaaaa......."

The furry worm stumbled towards the steps.     Pete pulled him away until he was out of harm's way.  Squiggles' right leg, below where his knee would be, sat on the steps, completely cut out clean and cauterized. 

Squiggles cried out, "That's supposed to be attached!!!"   

Sonny went through the inventory of drugs and such on RHA-9.   He ordered RHA to apply anesthesia, which knocked  the worm out.  Sonny then applied a med-kit to Squiggles.  It didn't reattached a leg, but it did make him get out of shock.

RHA-9 with the anesthesia,

Pete, "Doesn't he regenerate his limbs?"

Sonny, "I've never seen him do it in all our years."

Between Squiggles' accident and two confused individuals, Sonny wanted everyone out of the clearing and heading back to KIA Academy proper ASAP.  They strapped Squiggles (and his leg) securely on top of No Name and headed out.    Pete searched for traps and ambushes, while Sonny tried to fill in Charlie on what happened.

"I got hit by children's ray gun?  I've been destroying parts of town for no reason?  Are my wife and kids okay?"

Sonny, "Yes,  that's our best guess.  And we talked to your family, they're physically fine, just worried."

"Do I still have my job?"

"I don't know...."

Going over a small ridge, the source of some smoke became quite prominent... the RUINS of the Toard Jakey!  

RIP Toard Jakey

Pete was much more concerned about the set of giant tracks moving around the now-ruins, akin to RHA-9's treads but much much larger.   Even more concerning was the tracks coming and going came KIA Academy lands.  The group walked along the edges of the road to be less conspicuous.  

Charlie was certainly coming to his senses, even if everything was calibrated.  He identified the tracks for a construction vehicle,  uses for digging, building and destroying.

Sonny actually asked for directions from local homesteaders to exactly where the White Hand was located in, and the locals surprisingly complied.  

At the White, there was great interest to the group as they walked up  They did have enough domars to afford to reattach Squiggles' leg.  This procedure took many hours, and the rest managed to get some much needed sleep.  Both Lathar and Charlie began acting more "normal" than they had before.   The White Hand attendants, did do a complimentary once over for the two transformed creatures.  Charlie seemed to be reconstituted into flesh, but even the human parts were covered with horse hide... including his tongue!

Without further testing, they believed Lathar was all mineral, with working organs made of a malleable version of the material.   They diagnosed both as suffering from cases of "Izagone." or "unwilling transformation" 

With all the extra-time, Sonny found a plot of land outside, sunk in his roots, and continued to work on the instruction manual for CAL (Children's Alchemical Laser).   Sonny realized there were significant issues between the instructions and the physical equipment.  The CAL in the book had eight basic settings, with a white pull-string randomizer.  A keyboard was used to for color codes.

The physical CAL Sonny was looking at had a dial with over 200 settings, along with a much more complicated keyboard.  Everything sample instruction in the book focuses on a button for "bubble gum" that does not exist on their device.

The surgery was a success, although Squiggles took hours longer than normal to recover from the anesthesia.  Outside of a large shaven band below with knee with a straight line scar around his leg.

Charlie:  "Can I go home finally?"

GM Notes: During an aside, we calculated that semi-precious Lathar would be worth $32,000,000 domars.  They will not be selling him off for parts... for now.

The description of  fancier White Hand facility at KIA was interpreted as a Post-Apocalyptic Apple Store.  They weren't far off.

Next: #53 - The Stone Pavilion, Part Four

Game Day!

The Kansas State University Game Lab

 I had the good fortune of having a gentleman simply lurk off to the side of my Friday Gnome Wars game at Historicon this past July.  Despite repeated offerings to grab him a unit, he simply enjoyed watching the chaos.  

That gentleman was  Brad Burenheide, Associate Professor at Kansas State University and the co-creator of the  K-State Game Lab.   The Game Lab is a creation out of the College of Education, a research and play organization that allows students, faculty, staff and members of the community to play a variety of games to look at their potential impact in learning and education.  A variety of card, board, role-playing, and miniature games are played with the purpose using them in ways to augment teaching, and learning in general.

It also helps that they can have a blast in doing so... which really is the underlying reason for the project in general.  

The actual website for the Game Lab can be found here.

(Painting) Independent Gnomish Dreadnought for Death Planet Iota

 Paint continues to be applied to stuff, although it's more stuff I'm not quite sure how I'm going to store. 

Different 40k Dreadnoughts run anywhere from $50-$75 online.

A Gnomish Space Marine Dreadnought?   $1.25.    $2.50 if you include the accessory pack for the missiles.

Automated Drone P-131 from the Final Faction toy line distributed by Dollar Tree

The recent Final Faction line doesn't have the same wargaming appeal, which makes the two P-131 Automated Drone far more special to convert into one-gnome mecha.  

I have not idea when I picked up this shade of Army Painter Hydra Turquoise, but it might be the first and last time I use it, to represent a captured, repurposed and repainted mercenary mecha.  Like Ignate Peritius, it's just another rogue individual trying to survive on Death Planet Iota for Planet 28. 

In the Queue:   GSM and related terrain and Gnome Wars.

Project 350:  510 (323/187)  from  512 (322/190).  We'll see what extra projects I can get done to fill the mid-month, as the week of Halloween is quite full, and as the scheduled posts drop, I at least need to finish up some long-term projects to even the numbers out. 

(Gnome Wars) The Rise of Gnomish Horology and the Red Cap Cults by Mike Lung

Gnome society is an enigma. They generally live a simple bucolic or woodland lifestyle, yet they also are great tinkers and inventors.

 

Depictions of a traditional simple gnomish lifestyle

 

Tinker gnome riding his invention

Gnomes usually live and dress in very traditional ways. The are often very slow to adopt new ideas or material items. Yet at the same time, they can be very progressive as far as accepting other creatures with different backgrounds and ideas. They generally are willing agents in helping and teaching other species and therefore promoting change within those animal societies. In fact, gnomes are often given credit for teaching the animals how to talk and act in a civilized manner.

 

Traditional gnome dress

 

 Gnome teaching animals how to read

The Great Gnome War and the rampant outbreak of the znombie plague decimated the gnome population creating a vacuum for civilized animals to fill. As the war progressed, many animals were called on to serve in the wars. At home, they were also used to support the war effort. This presented an opportunity for animals to take leadership roles in society. Animal doctors, lawyers, clergy, and politicians (positions once held almost exclusively by gnomes) all became much more common in the years proceeding the dual catastrophes. Recently, an animal, Hedgerow Wilson, was elected President.

 

Animal classroom taught be a cat teacher instead of a gnome.

Most gnomes were accepting of this change feeling this was the natural fruition of their own progressive ideas. However, some gnomes rejected this view and still held fast to their insular traditional beliefs. Many of these gnomes believed the world had gone completely crazy, and there was a general feeling that they felt lost with no role in the future. They yearned for a return to the good old prewar days. Others philosophized that the world was like a clock. Like a tooth of a cog, each member of society whether a gnome or an animal had a specific role to play. When everyone did what they were supposed to do, the clock runs smoothly to perfections. However, when the teeth of the cogs are reshaped or changed, or whole cogs are changed, the function of the clock is disrupted. It will no longer function too perfection, or worse yet, if there are too many changes or the changes are too significant, the clock will cease to function at all! It therefore was the duty of all gnomes to make sure that all the teeth and cogs did what they were intended to do. Order and structure hierarchy had to be restored. Those who wish to make or allow these changes to society were an enemy that had to be stopped for the good of all.

 

Animal run society gotten out of hand.  Order had to be restored under Gnomish leadership

Advocates of the philosophy of the world clock were collectively known as Horologists. This philosophy was highly debated by the citizens. Some openly embracing it, others denouncing it, while most paid not real attention to it as they went about their normal lives. While most of this discussion was theoretically, some secret societies of gnomes did start to form to carry out the mission of restoring the clock. While by mostly lawful means, these secret societies did at times cross the line. Likewise, some animals formed their own secret groups in reaction to advocate their own beliefs. While the government fought to suppress the growth of all of these movements, it was not always successful, and the actions of these groups furthered the cracks in society.

 

  

Imaginative depiction of Horologist fixing the World Clock

There were, however, some extreme members of the Horology movement that came to the conclusion that too much change had already occurred. It was impossible to repair the broken cogs of society by normal political or social means. The old clock needed to be discarded, and a new clock needed to be made with a completely new, unbreakable cog system. In other words, these cult-like groups advocated a creation of a new world order. Those members were collectively known as “Red Caps” and would stop at nothing to achieve their purposes. To build their new clock, the consulted long lost or hidden tomes of knowledge. There efforts to obtain these tomes and to advance their goals have no bounds. No animal or progressive gnome was safe from their depredations and their other terrible, deeds.

 

Sample of symbols used various horologist groups. The last two are variations used by Red Cap cultists.

(Notes from the Editor:  Gnomish Historiography is complex, even amongst the keepers of Gnome Lore, The Stout Gnomes.  Much of this article covers the post-Gnome Wars world, which Mike is excellent at with his "Gnömerdammerung" or "Twilight of the Gnomes."  Hist fantastic modelling and conversions have brought many a smile to the Gnome Wars table, but he's also brought about the znombies, the Cult of Urinitas, and has a lot of material for a far darker gnome world.)