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The World of Georic 1989-Present

Thursday, November 21, 2024

🧙‍♂️(Georic Gazetteer) Kingdom of Marakeikos

The Kingdom of Marakeikos 

Pantheon: Single-focused devotion to Akana.  
Ruled by: Queen Adriana Marakeikos-Hyraskos
Capital: Mirros (75,000)
Other Cities: Celsior (25,000), Califon (15,000) , Verge (10,000)
Language: Trade-Prythax, Traldar
Flag/Emblem:  A Blue Sword, pointing up towards a blue merchant vessel, on a white field.
Coinage: Marakeikan Standard
Important Personas:  Elenwynd of Whisperydown of the School of Magecraft,  Archdruid Gwendalyn Lorax, Nobles, priests, officials, etc.
Alliances:  Eastern Defense League with Stronghome and the Gnomish City-States
Hostilities:  Milosic, Yarbay, diplomatic Ispatlia and Vlachia
Open Warfare/Skirmishing: None at present  
Intrigues:  Traldar minority support for an alliance to Barthey, to bring back "the good old days" 
Demi-Humans:   Gnomes (15%) in the central region.  Elven communities plus growing groups of Agenmoor refugees (10%).
Magickal Devices:  The Agrarian Hawk, the Bow of Ski-do, a
Thumbnail Sketch: Gran Duke StephanI  brokered his ancestral lands in Barthay for the collected northern buffer states of the Traldar people in 1080.  With the coronation of King Stephan II in 1102, it has been fully recognized as it's own independent state, rather than a puppet of the Barthey Empire.  King Stephan II had instituted the Church of Marakeikos as the royal religion, a peculiar religion of the trappings of Akana, but no direct worship of a god in any form.  It was met with derision, but amazingly its priests and clerics were able to obtain divine spellcasting and perform miracles. 

When Stephan II's son, Valens, assumed the throne in 1130, a comical series of poor judgements led to the invasion of Ahk Tang's humanoid hordes from Milosic into Frandor's Keep and Califon.  His lack of control of the Church of Marakeikos led to a holy war between the native Church of Traldar, and his willful ignorance and lack of political savy led to a civil war/invasion led by the Baron of Vadevicsny and the Kingdom of Vlachia.  Valens disappeared in 1134 and Seneschal Alexius Korigan was named regent, since no direct line of ascension had been declared. On 1 Undec 1136, Valen’s sister, Adriana Hyraskos was crowned Queen of Marakeikos.

The queen has been quick to replace those within the royal cabinet/court who have been inept, and
pushed forward a number of initiatives, such as mandatory schools in major towns (but not mandatory
attendance). She has rebuilt Frandor’s Keep (Now renamed Fort Titanicus.) as well as annexing the
humanoid frontier which Ahk Tang and the Southern Orc League vacated in 1137. Now hundreds, if
not thousands, are risking it all and pouring into Califon and Fort Titanicus, preparing to venture into
the new frontier.   Fifteen years into her rule, Queen Adriana is a potent force internally and among the notable kingdoms.  

Religion:  Single-focused devotion to Akana.  Churches of Traldar and their sub-sects are formally banned throughout most of Mk.  Remnants, now named the Church of Halav, remain out of the heavily populated areas.

Geography of Note: 

Mirros: The capital is one of the major ports of the Mer Kasp, as well as the only cosmopolitan city in the Kingdom. All weapons must be peace-bonded. No spell casting on unwilling people. Mirros does have a Magic-User’s Guild. Krull’s Crossed Swords, a famed mercenary company in Crosedes has formed a new location here in response to The Master Yarbay and overall increased violence in the region.

Celsior: A smaller city at the base of the Highreach Mountains west of Mirros. A huge ornate central castle, dominates the area.  Ruled by Duke Desmond Celsior, leader of  the Order of the Griffon, the martial arm of the Church of Akana in Marakeikos. The Duke is quite influential in all Marakeikan affairs, as he not only led the Elvenguard and a detachment of the Order of the Griffon to stop the religious civil war in 1134, crushing all sides that opposed him, (even Marakeikan and Traldar army units). When Vadevinczy threatened civil war, Desmond led troops against the rebelling armies.


Califon: Former frontier town, it is the base of operations by many adventuring, trapping, and mining parties.   Ruled by Baroness Arlene Shermanova, after the recent death of her father.  She is acting Partriach of the Church, and commands a small squadron of mounted Order of the Griffon.  Califon's location close to an adventuring area has created some unqiue opportunities, such as the fame adventuring inn, the Black Jug Tavern on Fogor Island, and Cardia's Carpet Service, where a you can rent the services of an actual magical flying carpet for 100gp/day. 


Fort Titanicus:  Formerly Frandor’s Keep, a permanent outpost, protects against Milosic and the remnants of the Southern Orc League on the other side of Hell’s Throat Pass. 


Highforge: A Gnomish/dwarfish community, that pledged full fealty to Queen Adriana in 1137.  

Krakatos: Built atop some ancient Traldar ruins, it is home to the Marakeikan School of Magecraft.

The School of Magecraft in Krakatos, artwork by Senarch


Radlebb: Forest community of refugee Agenmoor elves near Vorloi.

Rifilian: Elven community, this town served as a trading post between the humans and the few Callarii elves still living in this area. Most building show elvish architecture. Most elves
‘disappeared’ in 1138. The Company of the Dragon, an adventuring group, patrols the area.

Verge:   Ruled by Nubian "Mayor" Mutumbo, it is the the largest growing portion of the Kingdom.  He recently won the title of "Mayor" from  “Mayor” Sam the Wise, a Halfling bartender of the Burning Ox and defacto leader of Verge from 1128 - 1148. Mutumbo's trading post is one of the largest trading posts I have ever seen, with extensive equipment, a wide variety of mundane weapons, and a giant collection of many magic items for sale, managed by the fame adventurer and wizard, Turvel Sit.  

Mutumbo and Turvel are largely retired members of the famed "Burning Trogs" from their deeds during the War with the Master.  Also located outside of Verge, is another former Burning Trog, Gwendalyn Lorax, the Arch-Druid of Marakeikos.    Tales of other Trogs residing in the countryside, including the infamous Gnome-Titan Madwoman Janus Redrock, have not bee corroborated at this time.  
Crusade against the Master.

Mentions of Marakeikos in the Blog: 

Almost all of the Burning Trogs Rule! is focused in or around Marakeikos. Episodes #1-8 of Burning Trogs Redux also take place in the Marakeikan interior. 

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

(Backerkit) Household - Welcome to the Garden by Two Little Mice

 The social media algorithm has certainly pinned down some of my interests, to the point where my ads go down a pretty narrow specific.  After the marketing dump for the Smurfs Kickstarter, I am leery of anything the ad campaigns even offer.  

Household - Welcome to the Garden by Two Little Mice, now on Backerkit, is definitely in my demographic, yet wildly out.  

The main Household rulebook focuses on an abandoned mansion, filled with a society of Littlelings and how things change over a period of five years. If you're of the certain age that remembers The Little on ABC Saturday mornings, then remove the humans and add a lot of swashbuckling and tri-corner hats, and you have the gist of a fun game.  

Welcome to the Garden is essentially Volume II of Household.  From the Backerkit description:

This book will expand the world of the game, opening the door to the Garden and introducing new Little Folk as well as other creatures of all shapes and sizes. You will be able to visit the Fountain where the legendary Battle of Quillwaters took place, Bramble Town where the Boggarts found refuge during their time in exile, and even the Stump of the Dèndronaos Tree and the distant Shogunate of the Silver Blade in the Backyard.

On top of that, Household Volume II will also introduces new Folk and Vocations, additional mechanics tied to the changing Seasons, new Colossal Opponents that are completely out of scale for all littlings, and much more!

I've seen versions of this game (a "Littles" RPG for the uncultured) ranging from zine scale to this beautiful monstrosity... and that's the only problem I have with this expansion.  The PDFs seem like a bargain, but printed matter is beautiful and pricey, and the books seem numerous.  Most of the focus is on the slipcases that are $200 which are phenomenal, but not a necessity for me.    Luckily, intrigued folk can pick up the Quickstart Rules, which are Pay What You Want on DrivethruRPG

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

(Gamma World) This is Not a Test #57 - Lathar's Restoration

Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers,  are at the KIA Academy.  They have successfully rescued Charley Onyxhoof, and are now trying to figure out their next steps before winter comes...

================= 

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" (CAL) 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.

================= 

The Explorers returned from the Academy sublevels back to their housing... and fighting over the options before the winter got worse. The debate still raged whether or not to use the Children's Alchemical Laser on Lathar one last time,   Lathar's stone form, which the rest of the group referred to as "Latharite" had generated a significant crack across the chest.   Pete insisted on insulting Lathar's tainted heritage, and that shame motivated him to be transformed one more time, for the better, for the worst, or even having the device explode. 

Heading outside of the facility, they found an empty field.  The cold weather seemed to affect the mutant sunflower, as the blast from the CLA went far right, missing Lathar and hitting something far off in the distance.    Before the compromised energy cell fell out of the device, Pete had scurried over and commandeered the device from Sonny.

"Just tell me how to aim this thing, we can only waste another power cell, no more." Pete demanded.  Sonny double checked the device, showed him how to fire it, and stepped back.  

Pete's shot slammed into Lathar's chest.  There was no explosion, no smoke, no haze like usual.    Standing before them was Lathar, who looked like he was back to normal, save some tattoo-like markings and darker hair.  

Lathar... Restored?

Pete:  Lathar, you look badass finally....

"I feel soft and squishy finally... and very cold since I'm in a loincloth." Lathar declared.

Sonny did his best to take credit and claim the CLA worked as it should.  

Returning back to the facility quite triumphant, they moved towards purchasing warmer clothes for Lathar, and finally working on the one project they had full consensus: try to make contact with their old friend, the mutant mountain goat Ramsay Kallax.  

Level 2 house things like law enforcement, fire, and the equivalent of a city hall.  Sonny had been able to determine the Kallax family was on Level 8, out of their authorization as common visitors.

A large, elevated desk stood just inside the entrance.  A dapper looking gentlemen with eyeglasses manned the opposite side, heavy with a wave of his cologne.   Stacks of paper files and wooden cabinets dominate the back, and separating the front from the other offices.

Sonny was able to provide enough information about Ramsay that the gentleman was able to reach out and contact them.... by written letter.   

Sonny composed a letter detailing their arrival, the location they can be contacted at, and all their good fortune.  

Once the letter was dispatched to be delivered, Sonny also inquired about work over the winter.    The gentlemen referred them to the KIA Academy Works board, but there was a generic board closer to the entrance from the Overpass that might have jobs more their 

Sonny also inquired about taking classes/lectures at the Academy.  The gentleman provided him with a large packet and a writing implement.   "Fill this out, with 100 domars, and if the Academy approves, you may be allowed to enroll."

The Works board was quite frankly employment opportunities through the Academy, from Winter Road Specialists, to janitors, to Reconnaissance Scouts outside, and the ominous Mutant Tracker.  

The outside jobs from the Works board also appeared on this generic board by the entrance to the facility.  Also included was a dated and worn bulletin for a "Salvage Specialist" interested in venturing in the "sub-ruins" for particular objects.  

It was decided to take the Salvage Specialist position, requiring a trip back down to Sub-Level 1 to venture to an establishment of a place call O'Pinney's

Next: #58 - O'Pinney's Quest

Saturday, November 16, 2024

(Kickstarter) Savage Rifts: Europa

 Kickstarter is always better when Pinnacle and Palladium are active on.

The campaign book for Rifts for Savage Worlds:  Europa is now up and running.


From the Kickstarter, this campaign includes:
  • Rifts® for Savage Worlds—Europa: With over 200 pages, this hardcover worldbook explores the British Isles, New German Republic, Neo Rome, the Phoenix Empire, the Brodkil Empire, the Gargoyle Empire, the Free Scandinavian Alliance, the Russian Frontier, and everything in between, including new character options and plenty of new gear found across the continent.
  • Savage Foes of Europa: A 128 page hardcover book with statistics for the creatures and enemies found across Europa, plus Savage Tales and a Plot Point Campaign that draws the heroes of the Tomorrow Legion into danger all over the continent.
  • Rifts® for Savage Worlds Map Pack 4—Europa Battlefields: A double-sided, 30" x 24" fold-out combat map. Sturdy, wet & dry erase, and great for tactical combat, it features the Millennium Tree Settlement and the Moscow Deadzone maps.
  • Europa Boxed Set: This has it all! The Europa source book and Savage Foes of Europa, plus the Europa Battlefields map, six all-new Archetype Dossiers, Pawns for the heroes and foes of Europa, and a fold-out political map of the region! The two books and the Europa Battlefields maps are available separately, but the archetypes, pawns, and political map are only available as part of this box.

Friday, November 15, 2024

(Painting) A Full Haunting of the Irish Ghost Brigade for Gnome Wars

Maja managed to knock out the original group of Irish Ghosts for her Gnome Wars game, but I was quite impressed with Millie's performance knocking out the remaining Irish I had in my collection.  I'm not saying this unit will ever see the light of day at an HMGS conventions (Can pots of gold be ghostly?).  Perhaps it's time to write up some rules.   

Millie was over for a solo weekend of quality time with dear old Dad and jumped at the opportunity to use the new painting bench.

Millie awesome contribution

Stanton's Irish Ghost Brigade
Still used a variant of the "Ghost Juice" videos from YouTube, with the lighter ghost glow taking over the bases of the newly painted figures.  Definitely thinking about the fantasy figure bin and finding some ghostly figures to keep applying this technique on. 

In the Queue: Death Planet Iota sort of has the feel between Sakar from Thor Ragnarok and the Void from Loki,so whle my figure selection is appropriately random, so is a random group of new terrain.  Gnome Wars, Star Wars, Pulp, OGRE, and possibly some Stargrave to sweeten the pot.

Project 350: A bump up as more stuff gets finished for future community project:  502 (310/192)  from 501 (319/182)

Thursday, November 14, 2024

New Battle Valor 28mm Sci-Fi Figures... and Vehicles.

 I have a great love for Battle Valor Games, as my pile of unpainted Space Dwarf (aka Gnomish Space Marines) can confirm. 

He's been back producing new figures for 15mm, 28mm, and newer 20mm ranges.  The 28mm Apes are very nice, but what drew my eye were the new one-figure vehicles. 

SCI-FI 900 Vehicle Prototype #1 (1 Vehicle Kit)


SCI-FI 901 Vehicle Prototype #2 (1 Vehicle Kit)

These are good hunks of metal, so I certainly accept the $35 cost.  Multiples do net you a discount!  


Wednesday, November 13, 2024

The New and Improved Painting Bench

My work-life  is vey feast or famine.  I'm either unable to take a bite of my sandwich for two days straight, or I complete War and Peace from cover to cover.  On one of the latter days, I finally decided to open up the box for my standing desk I got for my birthday, but instead of replacing my work desk in the office I turned around and replaced the my old painting bench.  

Assembly was a breeze, and while it's barely a few inches shorter in length, the cord caps have made the table  less cluttered.

The paints are resorted, about a half dozen dead bottles chucked, and glass shaker beads in every large bottle.  I do need to hit Wal-Mart for a matching lamp to the one of the right.  

I've spent the last 3-4 weeks mentioning a revision of the painting queue, and this allows me to set this up.
  1. Gnome Wars - 4x different units, including a new take on the Southern Gnomes, thanks to Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff #620.   KARTAS has been rather listless the past few months (but listless KARTAS is far better than more podcasts), but even rarer than recent inspiration is wargaming inspiration from them.  If I'm skipping Cold Wars, they'll premiere at Historicon next year.
  2. Pulp - 1 unit.   The vaporware 4th season of the Pulp game hinges on one unit, and everything is further along and supported than its ever been. Also a piece of random terrain. 
  3. Death Planet Iota - I had planned a new gang to roam the streets, but after my flea market finds at Fall-In!  I can refurb the figures I acquired and set up a second, rival gang! There's certainly another  plus another wave of the terrain, thanks to the replacement bench
  4. OGRE Minis - More Transnistrian Scientific Republic clean-up.  

I'm going to be able to get another set of shelves and give my 3-drawer "work" drawers an ergonomic lift shortly, but in reality my focus is on the bottom shelves.  All of them down below are simply unpainted lead/plastic/etec.  


Tuesday, November 12, 2024

(Gamma World) This is Not a Test #56 - Rumors and Razorback

Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers,  are at the KIA Academy.  They have successfully rescued Charley Onyxhoof, and are now trying to figure out their next steps before winter comes...

================= 

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.

================= 

While staying down in Sub-Level 2 of KIA Academy, the group continued perusing the non-ferret economy. One of the odd stories that kept popping up was some character named the The Ghost, who wanted the sub-levels to rise up and revolt against KIA.  He allegedly was recruited the crippled veterans who had barely survived the wars they fought.  

Squiggles also decided to finally tell everyone about his discussion at the barber ship.  Everyone  wanted to focus more on the crippled wolf-conscript, Razorback, and his story.  Most were immediately intrigued that he was originally from The Wall.  Pete, on the other hand, was aghast  at the Academy's policy to round up people and have them be shock troops against their random threat.  Talking to him might be worth some free drinks. 

They did return to their hotel for rest and some shopping, but it was determined they would eventually return to Sub-Level 2 and find Razorback.

Lathar and Squiggles were interested in leaving ASAP, but a quick look outside discouraged any rash decision.  The air was freezing, and the steady breeze made outside far bitter than it had been two weeks earlier.  

The De Facto Explorers also realized a few thing as they stared across the river.  A community focused on advanced construction techniques and able to build the supply overpass, but there's no bridge that crosses the river.  A ferry to Jainus was just downriver from the Academy, but they hadn't seen or heard of any refugees here, the nearest town to Jainus.   

With that, the crew delved into the sub-levels yet again, and with some questions found the wolf-man sitting on the ground behind a brining business. 

Luckily, he spotted Squiggles first, before the rest of the group turned the corner.  His first words as they approached, "I'm not fighting for anybody.  This ground is very comfortable, and I got my hair cut.  So why are you bothering me?"

"Find you interesting," Squiggles admitted.

"We're not trying to bother you," Lathar added. "We're just trying to find out your story."

"You know, asking about my story... is bothering me," the annoyed Razorback retorted.

"How bout an ale or two... or a cordial wheel of cheese?"

"You're lucky I'm one of the few wolves that ale isn't poison, you know?"

Next door to the Wexl's Brine Shop, is a very relatable bar, The Brining Barrel. 

Seated in the booth, with a green stone man, a weasel, a sunflower, a furry worm staring at him, Razorback growled at the side discussions at the table, "Get me my drink, and kept this fat ferret away from me.

"I'm not a ferret, I'm a weasel!" Pete fought back verbally.

"Same difference, just because your take a bath and wear a hat, doesn't make you more than sentient vermin."  

Once drinks arrived, the crew asked some very basic questions of him.  Razorback looked over to the quiet Squiggles, "You didn't tell them anything at all??

Squiggles replied, "Only that your an interesting character..."

"Fair enough"

The wolf regaled his backstory.  Originally from The Wall, he left after too much politicking, and found a home at KIA.  With the defense of the Academy on the line, he was forced into the military and took part in a number of frontal assaults.  He lost an arm and most of a rear paw/foot, and he's been looking for a quiet placed to sleep in the KIA underground without ferrets urinating on him ever since.

Who did he fight?  "I barely remember who or why, I just remember death ray and relics of the Ancients against our spears and flintlocks.  Luckily, the armor could be penetrated by my claws."

How did he fight?  "I think I found some sort of armory.  I grabbed a sword and a bunch of knives.  The officers didn't fight with us.  They were behind the lines, shooting at their retreating underlings more than the enemy"

The Wall?  "The fat ferret here would enjoy the wall.  I've been forced to live with to many of your kind.  Pain in the ass.  Outside of fights with each other, no one ever attacked.  Millions live within The Wall  What's the guy used to say, self-sustaining." 

The Ghost?  "I'm not concerned at all.  Not unless they're wielding relics of destruction.  The folks upstairs do a good job keeping things almost decent down here."

Blue Men?  "They're not gonna start a war right now.  It's wintertime, man!"

His wants?  "I just need a clean, covered spot to lay down and not get peed on by random ferrets." 

Lathar was shocked by some of his stories, and offered another round of drinks, a bath to deal with the ferret attacks, and an evening with the nearest brothel with mutant canines, down the street with the "Brine Hounds."

GM Notes:  Tonight's biggest distraction was determining how/if "Jade" Lathar ate.   Lots of thoughts that he didn't and if he did, he'd just grind the found through his digestive tract. This meant he could actually be a millstone.  The GM humored the group, but gave no definitive answer.  

Each town on the river in this campaign thinks they are the edge of the frontier, and that there's nothing upriver but rogue towns with outrageous people 

Lathar getting Razorback some companionship earned him an extra 200xp. "That's what we need to do for our veterans."

The group realized at the end of the conversation with Razorback that they hadn't found him or his family.  I countered that they had never mentioned looking for Ramsay since they originally left from Riverbend.  

I was wrong.  Pete mentioned Ramsay after getting the electric cart in episode #45.

Best question of the night:  Pete:  Do we care about the rebellion?  Squiggles:  NO.   Lathar:  Next Question!

Next: #57 - Lathar's Restoration 

Monday, November 11, 2024

It's Game Day!

Thanks to some well-time social posts to subdue last week's debacle, I was reminded of the meme I made a decade ago for the original #RPGaDay.

The man in the Viking Hat, Lord Blippy has moved to Long Island last I heard, and we fell out of touch, but it's still a great (and silly) way to demonstrate my GM'ing style.



Sunday, November 10, 2024

Visiting Mepacon 47 and Following the Theme to a T

 I was bad boy this weekend.  

There was simply too much going on this weekend, but gaming related, I hopped in the car after work and drove down to Mepacon 47 in Bethlehem, for just a few hours. 

And true to it's theme, Covert Operations, I used subterfuge and misdirection to visit some old friends, drop off a package, and evidently, pick up a new one.  

My primary purpose was to visit my friend Scott, who was running Battletech for Catalyst.  After reviewing the con events from the mess that is Tabletop Events, I finally uncovered he was one of four Catalyst GMs at the con, and this was a perfect time to gift him with some of the building I won at the Toys for Tots raffle at Fall-In! 2024 last weekend.  I luckily got there during down time between session and shot the breeze with him and our other friend, Droz, who was the Shadowrun GM supreme for the weekend

Not only did Scott appreciate my gifts, they were put to use less than a half hour later in his game.
 To my surprise, Scott walked away and came bag with a plastic bag... full of minis!   He somehow acquired seven of the holiday promo blisters from Reaper and thought of me!  
As they set up for their sessions, I wandered about, snapping photos, running into old acquaintances, even buying two cupcakes while following the theme of Covert Operations.
Because I wandered around the con with my lanyard of nearly a decade of old Mepacon badges, but I had not registered.  

The Grand Ballroom

The only foul taste in my mouth for the 2 1/2 hours I was there?  The row of tables lining the hallway at registration were still there, full of the sign in sheets for games, but the spaces to fill your name in was deleted and replaced with this note:  
Freaking Tabletop Events!  

There were about 200 folks at the con Friday night, with plenty of full tables, and probably a lot more attending on Saturday.  I have some gripes that the con is shorter than Fall-In! yet pricier, and the fact there's only one storefront in the vendor area. with the rest of the tables dedicated to designers and and ancillary gaming items. 

I love my figures from Scott, but the Christmas Caroling Mousling and the Christmas Present Mimic are my favorites.  More stuff to screw up the painting queue. 

Since I'm not attending Cold Wars next year, Mepacon 48,  April 4-6, should be under consideration, with me running events. Heck, maybe even Maja and Millie can become "traditional" GMs.  

The con is moving to the Delta Hotel in Allentown, off of PA-100, and Tru Best Western will be no more before Thanksgiving. getting torn down for another warehouse in the area.  



Saturday, November 9, 2024

(Painting) French Snail Cavalry by Roland Young

One of the surprises during my daughter Maja's Gnome Wars game at Fall-In! last Friday was the appearance of an actually painted French Cavalry unit!  

The sheer appearance of the slugs on the table was one of the few moments I convinced Maja to add them to the table (and use the French Infantry as well) as "Agents du Chaos).    The scenario ended for the snails with the surviving members sliding into the sewers, but it was great to finally have one of the missing units from Gnome Wars finally show up on the table. 





Friday, November 8, 2024

(Painting) Steel Wool Smoke

Clearing the blog of an old placeholder, and all for two bucks or so. 

Making smoke out of steel wool is an ancient technique, and with the amount of games we play with people who pretend their arsonists through their figures, it was time to make some more smoke counters.   

Of course, my biggest  Finding plain ol' steel wool!  Supermarkets, department stores, pharmacies, dollar stores?  All soap-infused brillo-esque products.  Swinging by my local hardware store, I finally found a bag... and twice as much as I needed.... for two bucks!

I originally used the post from Armored Ink for guidance, all the way from 2010, even thought I've already made smaller smoke clouds.   Alfrik ran a great blog, full of quirky subjects that I am most certainly the demographic for.  Then, one day in 2015, he posted about the Conan boardgame and never posted again.  All the posts are there, but the pictures have erratically shown 

And the best thing, I have a very useful box screaming out my name to store there's things, plus the tiny smoke counters from before, plus some other cumbersome stuff, as we go along. 

In the Queue:  Gnomes, Zulus, and Miscellany.

Project 350: Finally, a big drop, almost getting under 500 with 501 (319/182)  from 513 (324/189)

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Wal-Mart Holiday Building Deals

'Tis the season for lucky finds on Lemax Halloween buildings and hopefully not getting gouged on those Christmas village buildings that are easy conversions or perfect as is.  Work on some Michael's cheap wooden buildings I acquired last Christmas haven't been going smoothly, so I was quite happy when Wal-Mart, of all places, had a few pieces that seemed affordable.

The water tower ($8.95) is seven inches high, which appears to be the roof height for many of their line of Christmas village houses.  What excited me more were the gingerbread houses are $5.95 and fit with the existing gingerbread homes!   As usual with holiday terrain, the snow fencing is just ridiculously oversized, but I can't wait to try out the Christmas sidewalks in a long-overdue holiday game.

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

(Gnome Wars) What War to Fight?

If a Third Edition of Gnome Wars were to ever come out, there are a lot of things that can be corrected, updated, and expanded upon.  

Finding a conflict to fight shouldn't be one of them.  

Somewhere in the back pages of the Burning Plastic rules I helped create and heavily promote, the primary mentions something like, "It doesn't matter if it's the Planet Pluterax or the Toybox Rebellion you're recreating, so long as there's an excuse to have fun."    While there is plenty of material to fight Swiss vs Germans until you're blue in the face, scaling the gnome tech allows the player to be inspired by far more than Great War battles.  I could safely argue that, removing support weaponry and vehicles, you can easily replay any conflict Post-Napoleonic to Pre-Spanish Civil War.  

Wikipedia has nicely compiled the List of the Wars of the 19th and 20th  centuries.   I mean, there's nothing like a little beyond-wiki research to see how you can turn the Mejba Revolt  or war in the Kingdom of Kandy into the latest and greatest Gnome Wars game!



Tuesday, November 5, 2024

(Gamma World) This is Not a Test #55 - Leave it to Lathar

Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers,  are at the KIA Academy, successfully rescuing Charley Onyxhoof, and trying to figure out how to restore those affected by the Children's Alchemical Laser (CAL) 

================= 

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.

================= 

Staring at the re-transformed Lathar, Sonny was at a loss for words.  

"I'm leaving things to Lathar... if it eventually works, it works, but there's a chance for a devastating explosion."

"I like those odds," Squiggles quipped.

Lathar agreed, at least one more attempt before he would be resigned to live in whatever form he had been transformed into.

Sonny took the CAL back the TMS for a third look-over.  This time, the techs requested a two-day hold, as their work failed on the previous two attempts.  The sunflower agreed to the terms.

Sonny wandered KIA Academy before reuniting with his comrades.  Despite a very futuristic high-tech facade, the bars still served grog out of barrels, the lesser classes are still poorly dressed, and beyond the equipment used for road-building and the news channel on the monitors, things weren't much better than Riverbend.

Two days later, Sonny returned to the TMS.  A considerable amount of work had been done to the CAL, including removing the main 250+ selection dial and placing it in a clear bag, taped to the device.  The techs reassured him that the five settings he had requested, plus the return to normal/reset button.

The techs still had Sonny confused as a dandelion, but the sunflower left to find Lathar and an open field.  

With the first flakes of winter descending from the sky, a shivering Sonny aimed and fired.  A flash of light, followed by a blast knocked Lathar off his feet.  With steam coming off of his body, the barbarian sat-up.... revealing not his human form, but his green stone/mineral he had been..  The was a new crack, coming from under his right armpit, following under his right press, then stretching up towards his collarbone.

"It's kinda worked, although if I change Charley, I guess I can revert to a rampaging stone horse again."

Everyone decided to stay in the lower levels of KIA Academy, frequent the bars, and keep the wandering to a minimum.  

All, except Sonny.  Sonny couldn't access the true upper levels of the Academy itself, but he did wander the sectors with the well to-do, all the way down to the dregs of society no one wanted to talk about.  

He did find the source of the e-carts. "Wasteland  Wheels" was found on the first sub-level.  He only got to speak to "Tom" a pure-strain female who worked there, but it appears most of the personal transportation that's not completely under KIA's jurisdiction has come out of the shop, between their scavengers and tech guys.  

Sneaky Pete was true to his word, taking up all his time waiting while trying to not just read minds, but find people with abilities similar to his.  There were quite a few minds that Pete who couldn't penetrate, but no one obviously had a poor reaction.   Most mutations seemed to be physical, rather than mental. 

Sonny's first foray in the sub-levels motivated Pete to delve further in the sub-levels, looking for other weasels.  He didn't find any, but a number of smaller, smellier, unwanted cousins: an entire underground market run by ferrets. 

The Ferret Underground Market

Pete wanted little to do with his undeveloped relatives, but his adventure inspired Squiggles to venture down there the next day for an odd request:  a haircut.

The furry earthworm was definitely an interesting fellow walking into a barber/groomer on sub-level two.  

He had three barbers/groomers to choose from:

Felix, a polyamorously  confused snow cat with a lisp and an appreciated for Squiggles' body coif. 

Evelyn, a pure-strain human whose only oddity of note was a large pink bouffant hairdo

The third haircutter was behind a divider, the sounds of multiple scissors, and some general discomfort from possibly the recipient of the services.  With a name like Grizzle, Squiggles decided on the flamboyant cat.

Squiggles quickly learned that with no monitors below level 1, news from the outside rarely trickled down to here.  He quickly told the story of Charley, and other tales he caught on the monitors.  Intrigued by these stories, the patrons and barbers shared their own.

Their biggest fears seemed to big something they coined "The Big Three" :  Wizards, Sentient Living Metal, and Beings from Another Dimension, like the Blue People.  

"The Blue People are from another world?"  Squiggles asked incredulously.

"Obviously, they're blue!"  Felix quipped.  "We even had a few come down here.  Traded jewelry for food.  Pretty fabulous pieces if you ask me.  Didn't have a quibble or a quarrel with them, but I guess the folks upstairs do... and that's a problem for us."

The people in the sub-level did not want the fighting to escalate any further between KIA and the mysterious blue people.   Warfare meant that the agents of the academy would sweep down here and impress any able bodied person to fight.  KIA Academy wasn't a fighting place, so they simply sent the conscripts out to fight, wave after wave.   Veterans of these previous wars were a rare find in the sublevels, although a severely mangled.  The barber shop did have one in the crowd, a mutant wolf named Razorback missing an arm and most of his back paw.  Worse yet, he complained that he had left a place called the Walls due to fearing for his life, and he ended at KIA and nearly died in the process.

"And I've got nothing against Living Metal, we even have one of our one,"  Felix quipped while a small bot emerged from the back and tried to vacuum up the hair on the floor.    "It just can't have a soul."

In turn, Squiggles regaled them with the stories of the Living Metal they've encountered, deadly and benign.  They hadn't checked for souls, though...

A very deep voice came from the back of the shop, "Felix, he's not a wizard is he?"

"Do I look like a wizard?" Squiggles fired back.

"I don't know, boy. Let me get a good at you."   

With that an 8-foot tall mountain of a man with four arms emerged from behind the privacy screen, wielding razors and knives.
Grizzle + Two Arms...

Felix:  "Squiggles, meet Grizzle"

Squiggles:  "Okay, certainly not a wizard..."

Grizzle:  "You guys from the Hinterlands down come down the Academy, much less the underground."

Squiggles:  "Some of us prefer to be underground."

Grizzle harrumphed and returned to his chair.

The shop crew then descended on their hatred of the ferret posse, including chasing one away from the front door with a broom.  

After paying and tipping for his massive haircut, Squiggles got a few reputable locations to check out.  

The first place on the list was the "Time-Travelers Relic Gallery... and Saloon."   The walls of the establishment resembled that of the Restorationist's Aspiration Hall in Riverbend.    The bar had a number musical instrumets for sale, fewer flintlocks, but sitting above the hearth with a Ancient rifle:  

"How much for that?"  Squiggles asked, pointing at the rifle. 

"Out of towner?  8,000 Domars.   6,000 Academy Credits."  

Zara admits that she should work down to 4,000 domars with enough trade.   Squiggles promised to bring back friends with a lot of junk to trade. 

Squiggles did managed to acquire two thin books for Sonny,  The sunflower was delighted by this new knowledge, especially since it seemed related to mutant animals, and the entire group went back into the sublevels to look at the weapon.  

There was minimal haggling once Pete dumped the gold bars on the table, and despite the fact that they brought RHA-9 down with them (a very sentient looking living metal), they acquired the weapon.  Pete even made arrangements with vendors to hunt down four more piranha-bird feathers.  

In no time flat the energy cells were going to be completed, and the group needed to figure out what to do.

Winter was coming....

Sunday, November 3, 2024

Fall-In! 2024 After Action Report

 Ah, time for Fall-In!  The crisp autumn weather, the leisurely drive right after work on Thursday to hang out with the guys and play a game.  Heck, even my phone's brightness was set for scanning my QR code to print out my badge

None of that happened

Each day was excessively, the drive down Thursday was filled with statues of deer than neither moved nor flinched to oncoming traffic, and when I did get to the convention, the badges were printed and organized in plastic shoeboxes in alphabetical order. 

Innovation!  


But after a lead in with much delay, questions, and tut-tutting Fall-in!  was actually here and we could play games. 

Oh yeah, that whole travel day being Halloween meant my daughter Maja and I couldn't leave until she completed sorting her spoils from trick-or-treating... and finish packing.  But soon enough we were on our way to Lancaster!  


We checked into our room and I headed off to the bar to grab a drink and play... Crokinole?

This odd mixture of bocce, darts, and shuffleboard brought a number of out-of-state attendees to play in a sanctioned Crokinole tournament on Saturday morning.  I had promised to learn and play for the tournament, so Thursday night was flicking a wooden puck and getting used to the rules.

Friday:  This was the first Friday in quite a bit where I didn't have a morning game to run, and it was nice to sleep grab some IHOP, and casually unload the car where games would be run in the afternoon. 






Yes the Crokinole boards were everywhere, and I practiced more...







The afternoon game was Gnome Wars, conceived, organized and run my Maja, age 15.  As the only Gnome Wars game up on the registration, it quickly sold out all ten slots on day one.  

It was a basic Swiss/Scots raid a German brewery for some wintertime supplies.  After helping her set back and welcoming everyone, I got to sit back and relax as Maja orchestrated the chaos. 

Me?  I got play a greased pick the Swiss discovered in the field... and it was glorious.

Maja unleashed her latest idea and painting project: Irish ghosts haunting the brewery and its surroundings.

RIP Irish King Stanton
Maja had a rough first half hour getting things started, but quickly controlled initiative and the zany results a traditional Gnome Wars game has.  
No, the pig didn't kill the Swiss, just a lot of slipping and falling. 
I finally got to see the debut of the French Escargot Cav.  
We don't talk about what happened to the French surgeon... no war crimes here.


In the end, the Germans made a truce with the ghosts, while the Swiss had difficulty stopping a magical convoy.  Maja ended up with 11 players, had 14 roll dice at some point, ran a three-hour slot in 3:05 with a lot of happy players, ages 9 to 59.  










Thanks to my own scheduling snafu, we had an hour to break down the game, so I could set up for another annual installment of The Joust!

Even with charity chariot races happening upstairs, we got 20 players for the joust.  Like a groundhog and his shadow, a young child unhorsing an adult in the rules example set the tone.  

I was quickly unhorsed in the first round, but valiantly fought through the loser's bracket until I reached the finals against.... my own daughter.    Rumors of collusion aside, I simply ran out of gas and Maja was named champion.  

The chariot races had sponsors (for Toys for Tots) and were very fashion forward, despite all the death and destruction.


The event ended perfectly, allowing me the last 15 minutes to run over to Wally's Basement and actually pick up the first of increasingly better deals for the weekend.

We then hung out, played more Crokinole, and tried to visit Waffle House late, only to meet over convention goers already there, telling us to leave as fast as possible.    We ended up and Wawa and slept hard after we ate. 

SATURDAY:   Saturday was divide and conquer.  I was out the door earlier to grab Starbucks and fulfill my friendly obligation to play Crokinole in the tournament.  With people coming from as far away as Wisconsin, it did bring in some fresh faces to the con, even if they were largely flicking disks for most of their stay.  

Lampeter, with Crokinole, Wally's, and the usual tournament scene

More Lampeter
The tournament structure starts round-robin, consisting of four games with one opponent within 8 minutes.  It's doable, but it was all business as folks focused from casual play the last two nights to serious National Crokinole Association sanctioned play and points.  

I'd like to proudly state I only stunk up the joint twice, to two of the top players.  Each game is based on a point system for the pucks (discs) remaining at the end.  Winner earns two points, loser zero, and each get one for a tie.  In addition in players keep track of how many "20s" (pucks that fall in the center) that they have.   

The good news is, beyond those two games, I performed admirably, although when round robin was completed, I still found myself in the play-in game.  I almost gave that up, and had the honor of playing the top seed in the knockout round.

Knockout rounds are first to 8 using the 2/1/0 point system, with no time limit.  Surprisingly, I played extremely well against him, staying on offense longer than before, keeping things close in most games.  In a shocking turn of events, I actually one a game 35-30, before he ground me into the dirt to kick me out. 
I'll say this, Crokinole is certainly not a wargame, much less a historical wargame, but it did draw a few extra registrations, those folks were extremely nice, and it did not appear to impact on space for the tournaments in Lampeter,   Any attempt to draw more attendees, expose the community to wargaming (historical), and not significantly impact convention resources, I'm all for.  In an alternate universe, the Crokinole could have easily become wargamers, and many of our regular convention attendees were quite familiar with the game.  Many folks dropped in to play a game or two over the weekend, and quite a few asked questions and played for the first time.   It seemed like a win-win situation all around.


While I was flicking discs, Maja was living her best life as a teenager: judging people. She had already been a judge for the PELAs last Fall-In, and then at Historicon, so she was easily approved for two sessions on Saturday.  

While I played Crokinole, she wandered around with the other judges, observing events, debating criteria and presenting the awards.  

She might not have the resume of the other judges, nor have the historical acumen yet, but she has technically been to HMGS cons for the last 13 years and played in at least a half dozen award winning games.  Plus it's fun to sit with her afterwards now and get her feedback and provide my own personal  interpretation, which like everything else dear old Dad says to her, she takes as she pleases. 

This one is from HMGS social media empire....
The later afternoon was a flurry of mostly father-daughter activity.  We hit the tail end of the afternoon session of Wally's, went across the street to fulfill her demand for Golden Corral, finally got to the Vendor Hall to discover she left her headphones on the table at the buffet, ran back over to pick them up, drop her off at Hobby U to paint. while I perused the last 15 minutes of the Vendor Hall.  

I will say this, despite missing her headphones, I didn't know anything about it until she asked for my car keys, and already called the restaurant to confirm they were there.   No fuss no muss, just an extra task for a full afternoon. 

Hobby U Paint-and-Take








I finally wandered over to the Toys for Tots in the main lobby for the raffle drawing (I won!) and the auction.
Raffle Action

Some of the auction items

Auction Items

We ended the evening with some hardcore Scrabble action from the boardgames library (Maja also played Don't Break the Ice and Don't Spill the Beans with some younger congoers who attached to her).  We didn't have our normal Saturday night Gnome game, due to scheduling and logistics issues, we still had an appearance by the Kaiser himself.  

Hotel:  The Wyndham is still a half-million-times better than the Host, but i's now a few years since the renovations.  The Honeymoon phase is over.  Most things are holding their own, a few outlets don't work for one reason or another, and there's a non-gamer smell here and there that can only be equated as "Not New Anymore Hotel Smell."  Still, the beds were comfy, housekeeping was tidy and consistent.   The bar could still use one other person, and from numerous opinions the food ranged from better than adequate meals  to less than stellar hot dogs and sausages.  The Starbucks girl needs a promotion, so long as it doesn't effect the line for coffee.
Parking:  My normal bugbear was a non-issue.  We always got a primo spot near our room, and we even got prime loading/unloading spaces near the dealer hall.  Of course this makes me question attendance, but even the Distelfink was pretty full after dinner on Saturday, a rarity in recent years.  

Vendor Hall: Sorry guys, with my schedule, I got to visit the vendors twice in two 15-minute increments on Saturday.  A double sorry to everyone lamenting the vendor selection today versus a decade over.  It's not coming back, your favorites who are back are running a different business model than before, and in many cases a shopping list is mandatory to guarantee 

Wallys:  The flea market seemed pretty great to me (more to come).  The sessions seemed full, the variety diverse, and only a few oversized loads complicating the flow of people.  

Toys for Tots:  Fall-In! is always the Toys for Tots fundraiser, with toy donations, a double raffle for donated items, and an auction for more donated painted figures and terrain.   It was a blast, although I recommend someone donate a microphone and speaker for the announcements 

Tabletop Events:  I have despised Tabletop Events for the past five years, the set-up, the registration, the encroachment of fees.  This isn't my first rodeo with it, and this first attempt for HMGS felt like a slow-motion fall into the mud, face first.  Now, being able to see open and filled games, plus the GM seeing his players' names is a convenient plus, but watching registration and adding Tabletop Event registration on top of basic attendee demographic info before registering brought out a number of dissatisfied faces, and others the sweet look of relief.  

Swag: 

  • 146 West End Game Star Wars Figures 
  • A number of micromachine-esque Star Wars vehicles
  • Bigger Battles for Fistful of Lead.


And for once, Maja started accumulating swag of her own:














Cold Wars is February 28th - March 2nd, 2025.  We will not be attending