A New Year, a Time to Explore New Gnome Worlds

 

(Kickstarter) Back to BasiX and Gamma Zine - Double Fanzine Offering by Thom Wilson

I originally became a fan of Thom Wilson through the use of Travis Hanson as his artist on earlier project.  It's progressed to some fine-quality items through Gamma Zine. 

Back to BasiX and Gamma Zine - Double Fanzine Offering combines two smaller campaigns into one, offereing Back to BasiX #13 and Gamma Zine #4, separate or bundled.  pdf or pdf/Print on Demand bundled.

I'm a little disappointed that these aren't launching for #ZineQuest, as the $4 entry point for one of the pdfs is perfect for that (and has been done in previous years).  

Print on Demand and shipping for Gamma Zine #4 is a little steep, but I do want to keep my run of physical issues going.  

2025 #CharacterCreationChallenge is Upon Us!

 It has been confirmed that TardisCaptain will again be hosting the 2025 #CharacterCreationChallenge.

The idea of creating 31 new characters over the course of a month might seem easy for some, but most people have resorted to careful planning and some early prep time to get things going smoothly from the get-go.  Last year, I regrettably gave up after 13 days.  

I've got a couple themes for this year, some statted out for Savage Worlds instead to start, then a bunch of fantasy at the end.  The I still have dreams of using the middle of the month to start making up GI Joe characters into one of the zine RPGs I own: Pew-Pew, but I doubt that will happen.  Even so, the serial numbers will only be partially filed off, but I'd like to see if it works better than the licensed RPG products.

Another Month of Gaming (January '25)

Issue #299 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

Archmage Arispen

Miami 86 RPG:  Cocaine Cowboys, Hight Speed Chases, and Deadly Shoot-Outs in Vice Filled 80's Miami .................. $22.00

I think that title covers it all.  Cue the Jan Hammer....

Archon Studio

Dungeons & Lasers: Owlbear Family .................... $19.00

I am a sucker for different owlbear minis I will never, ever paint.

Atypicialfaux

So You've Been Chump-Dumped .......................... $4.00

A Zine about your sci-fi character being ejected into space.  For Mothership, but four bucks is hard to argue. 

Come Martin

Green Dawn Mall .................................................. $17.00

She Traveled, You Stayed / You Traveled, She Stayed ........... $6.00

The 7th Rainbow .................................................. $6.00

Two Summers ....................................................... $17.00

Two Summers: Other Summers ........................... $17.00

The Imaginary Store List (The Pegleg Gnome)

25th Century Games

Diatoms .................................................. $49.99

AAW Games

Adventure Arcs #01 (5e) - The Red Tree of Grudges  .......... $29.99

Archon Studio

Dungeons & Lasers:  Armies of Delusair .............. $69.00

Dungeons & Lasers: Giant Kraken ........................ $49.00

Dungeons & Lasers: Koaz, The Soul Harvester .... $19.00

Dungeons & Lasers: Warlords of Chaos ................ $39.00

Dungeons & Lasers: Chambers of Torment ........... $89.00

Dungeons & Lasers: Halls of Ancestors ................ $89.00

Bone Chanter

Wraithlands RPG ........................................... $34.00

Catalyst Game Labs

Battletech:  Cities Central Park/Shopping District Battlemat ......... $40.00

Battletech:  Sinkholes/Mountain Lake Battlemat ............................ $40.00

Battletech:  Battlefield Support - Hvy Battle & Sweep Lances ....... $40.00

Battletech:  Legendary Mechawarriors II ........................................ $35.00

Battletech:  Salvage Box - Savannah Master 

Compass Games

Golden Age of Piracy: 1718 ..................................... $69.00

Cubicle 7

Warhammer: Age of Sigmar - Soulbound RPG - Ruins of the Past ... $39.99

Warhammer 40k - Imperium Maledictum - The Inquisition Slipcase .... $149.99

Deep Dark Games

Home: Mech X Kaiju Mapmaking Game .................. $20.00

Exalted Funeral Press

Black Antlers: Frozen Adventure (Mork Borg) ......... $15.00

Feral: Solo Rules for Primal Quest ............................ $22.00

The Molt RPG (Mork Borg) ...................................... $35.00

FASA

Earthdawn: Magic - Deeper Secrets .......................... $49.99
Earthdawn: Grand Bazaar - Crown Jewel of Throal ...$34.99

I'm a big enough goober to stock Earthdawn in my imaginary store... again.  But I refuse to stock the spell cards until it's proven its needed/super convenient and not just a cash grab gimmick.

Flying Frog Productions

Shadows of Brimstone:  Enemy Pack - Draugar Undead Vikings ........... $24.95

Foxhen Creatives

Trash Cult ................................... $24.99

Free League Publishing

Black Powder and Brimstone RPG (Mork Borg) ........................... $49.99

Gallant Knight Games

Path of the Aram Thyr RPG ...................................... $39.99

Siege Perilous RPG:  In the Age of Arthur ............... $39.99

Six Crowns in Hell RPG .......................................... $24.99

Goodman Games 

Crypt of the Devil Lich SC (5e) ................................ $24.99

Hegeominic Project Limited 

Hegemony: Crisis & Control Expansion ................... $29.99

Hegemony: Historical Event Expansion ................... $11.99

Konami Digital Entertainment

Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG:  Maze of the Master Boosters

Legendary Games 

Black Flag:  Asian Monsters ..................................... $29.99

Clerics & Cultists (5e) .............................................. $21.99

The Dragon's Hoard #45 (5e) ................................... $11.99

The Dragon's Hoard #46 (5e) ................................... $12.99

The Dragon's Hoard #47 (5e) ................................... $12.99

Sea Monsters (Black Flag) ........................................ $22.99

Sea Monsters (Pathfinder) ........................................  $21.99

Loke Battle Mats

Big Book of Battle Mats: Cells & Shrines ................ $26.99

Giant Book of Battle Mats: Streets, Sewers, & Cemeteries .......... $46.99

Ludospherik

Barbarians of Lemuria:  Mythic Edition .................. $37.50

M. Allen Hall

Godspark RPG ....................................... $20.00

Foul: A Funnel Adventure (Mork Borg) .. $24.00

Sprinkles is Missing RPG ....................... $25.00

Modiphius

Fallout RPG: Astoundingly Awesome Tales ......... $44.00

Star Trek Adventures RPG: Starter Set 2nd Edition .... $30.00

Mongoose Publishing

Traveller RPG: Fifth Frontier War: Opening Moves ....... $49.99

Traveller RPG: Fifth Frontier War: War Fleets of the Fifth Frontier War ...... $49.99

Paizo Publishing

Pathfinder RPG: AP - Spore War 3 of 3 - A Voice in the Blight ................ $29.99

Pathfinder RPG: Lost Omens - Rival Academies HC  .............................. $44.99

Pathfinder RPG: NPC Core HC....................................$69.99

Starfinder RPG: Flip - Mat - Rivers Multipack .........................................$29.99

Starfinder RPG: Flip - Mat - Alien Ruins ................................................. $19.99

Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Deadlands: Night Train - 25th Anniversary Boxed Set .......................... $49.99

Necessary Evil RPG: Boxed Set .......................................... $169.99

Necessary Evil RPG: Breakout ............................................ $24.99

Necessary Evil RPG: Cosmic Crisis .................................... $34.99

Necessary Evil RPG: Invasion ............................................. $29.99

Necessary Evil RPG: Action Deck ....................................... $19.99

Necessary Evil RPG: GM Screen & Adventure ................... $19.99

Necessary Evil RPG: Legend of Ghost Mountain - Pawns .. $24.99

Necessary Evil RPG: Map Pack #1 - Cosmic Battlegrounds. $14.99

Savage World RPG - Accessory Box .................................... $24.99

Wendigo Tales Vol Zero - Savage Tales of the Weird West ... $24.99

Random House

Marvel Multiverse RPG - Spider-Verse Expansion ............... $49.95

Rio Grande Games

Power Grid: Bremen/Manhattan Expansion ......................... $14.95

Power Grid: Outpost ........................... $74.95

Wizards of the Coast

Magic: The Gathering CCG - Innistrad Remastered

Collector Boosters, Play Boosters

Wizkids

D&D Onslaught:  Ancient Construct ........................ $39.99

D&D: Edge of the Realms ........................................ $24.99

D&D Nolzur's Marvelous Unpainted Figures - W25

Marvel Heroclix - Iconix - First Appearance - X-Men ..... $59.99

Pathfinder Battles Deep Cuts Unpainted W25 -  $5.99 each

Warlock Tiles: Dungeon Upper Levels .................... $59.99

Warlock Tiles:  Inn Upper Levels ............................ $59.99

Post-Christmas Swag

 Christmas was exactly what I needed this year.  The girls helped with cooking, we baked, we make artisanal popcorn, and played games.  

Outside of one gift I got no miniatures.... sorry lead pile, you don't grow today!   

Sorry, no time to be John Larroquette in Stripes

The kids adored the gifts I got for them, and they learned getting practical stuff I and a few hear-strung gifts just hits the old-man 

Not shown:  My first socks and undershirt gift since COVID.  Maybe it's a Dad thing, but I'd rather take that money off my Christmas total.

Beware of Gnomes sign from Millie.  No comment necessary.

Tile-Lock Scrabble:  Maja got this after she learned Scrabble.  It doesn't hurt that the girlfriend is a Scrabble buff as well..

Dice:  I will never argue with Dollar Store/Dollar General Dice.

A Gnome Stick book: Bravo.

How the West Stole Democracy from the Arabs  by Elizabeth F. Thompson.  A mid-November addition to my small list, thanks to a mention on Ken's Bookshelf on Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff.

Spring is Almost Here, According to the Dollar Store

Last weekend, I made one last delve into commercialism to finish off my Christmas shopping.  My last three stops, in reverse order: the grocery store, a barbeque place for lunch, and Dollar Tree.

There hasn't been much at Dollar Tree this fall/winter that I wanted to use in a game, but as I saw the Christmas displays changing over to Valentine's Day, and even Easter, I was also greeted by the beginnings of a friendly sight. 

While this warmed my heart a bit, referencing the Dollar Tree website, these are the old houses from this year. There are remodels, repaints, and even some new items.  I don't remember the fountain, and while I appreciate the three inch long piece of stream that goes with the footbridge, I don't think I'll be buying multiple foot bridges for a new rivers system.

(Fistful of Lead) Snowbrawl!

Christmas Eve has been the high holy day, both secular and religious in this household.  It's usually a rush of last-minute-shopping, half-day at work, and a tone-down traditional Swedish Smorgasbord.  Family gifts are exchanged, and hopefully the kids were exhausted and fell asleep early, as I put together toys in the freezing garage for Christmas morning.  

The kids are too old for all the Christmas morning magic, but the divorce meant that the kids were here the 23rd-25th, so they helped me greatly getting everything set up for the food, while I monitored my ecommerce obligations on Christmas Eve. 

Over an extended lunch, we did get the table set up for a test run of Wiley Games' "Snowbrawl" scenario for Fistful of Lead.  

Feliz Navidad

I probably needed an extra read-through of the new rules, but some impatient teenage girls are just as bad as the impatient pre-school girls I had playing these games, many moons ago.  

We only did two fights, instead of the recommended best out of five.  The snowmen always came out strong, obtaining the snowballs on the board (surprise!) , but the giant Santa heads always seemed to have the speedier guys dash towards the opposing fort, plus they had knack for drawing jokers and subjecting the snowmen (Millie) to random events.  

Since it's a season, not a holiday game, we'll probably take a crack at it a few more times.  It was a great opportunity to use some of the dollar store eraser figures, but I can see gnomes having way too much fun out there.

Snowbrawl is a $1.99 pdf on the Wiley webstore normally, but till the end of the year it's free!  

Merry Christmas 2024!

Christmas Eve 2024!

God Jul 2024!

(Gnome Wars) Swiss Training Practices

Swiss Gnomes have always been regarded as the quintessential gnome nation.  The many nations citizens and troops outfit themselves in the classic gnome look, well-known among the commoners, but the Swiss have adopted it as their national persona.  

The Swiss army is well known for their miners, their cheese grenadiers, and the rows and rows of blunderbuss to defend the country.  but that is not how they start their training.  They start with giant gnome-sized wooden spoons.

Swiss mandatory service and conscription, while serious, is grounded in their values of discipline, community, and resourcefulness.

The use of giant wooden spoons as the primary training tool for Swiss gnome trainees stems from both practicality and symbolism. Maintaining the proper armory of weapons is difficult in a nation where everyone is armed, so trainees begin with the giant wooden spoon for many practical reason. In the context of military training, these spoons serve as a unique metaphor: before a soldier can wield a weapon of destruction, he must first master the tool of creation.

The giant wooden spoons are heavy and unwieldy for the small gnomes, making them an ideal tool for strength training and endurance building as they drill. They help the recruits develop their coordination, dexterity, and upper body strength without needing to immediately wielding weapons. The trainees must practice complex drills with these spoons, learning balance, timing, and teamwork. The weight distribution of the spoons forces them to develop into the sturdy stocky troops the Swiss are known for.  

In some drills, the spoons are used in mock combat, where the trainees must hone their agility, defense, and deflection rather than brute force, reinforcing defensive strategies. The philosophy behind this training is that gnomes, who are traditionally peaceful creatures, must exhaust every option of defense and strategy before resorting to violence.

Once the trainees have spent a significant amount of time mastering the wooden spoon, they undergo a ritual called "The Stirring of Resolve," where they symbolically stir a massive communal stew, representing the unity and strength of the nation. Following this, they are finally permitted to transition into formal combat training.  

They are also scheduled equally for "Kitchen Patrol" or KP, where their spoon is used for creating daily communal meals.  

Even the progression from spoon to real weapons is gradual.   The spoons are stored properly and trainees move onto wooden blunderbuss and wooden melee weapons and finally then, the traditionally issued weapons.  

Many Swiss that complete training proudly mount their wooden spoon on the kitchen wall, a sign, like the blunderbuss over many hearths, that the gnome is part of something much larger. 

When an elderly Swiss gnome musters out of the militia, many receive a giant wooden fork as a gift from his unit, a play on the saying "Put a fork in him, he's done."  The proud veterans often find a spot adjacent to the spoon in their kitchen.  

And that is why many Swiss gnome grandchildren visit their grandparents and see the giant spoon and fork on the kitchen wall. 

Winter Has Officially Arrived

We got snow yesterday, cancelling all of the kids' activities, and today the temperatures dip down for a frigid weekend.  

Time to fight the crowds for some final gifts, pick up the food for my Kjottbollar, and start baking bread.

 

(Painting) Rusty Steel Pyramids for Death Planet Iota

My little world of Death Planet Iota, a place where a miss-mash of figure that fight it out realistically, is honestly somewhere between Sakaar from Thor: Ragnarok and the Void from Loki. Portions are murderously deadly wasteland, but there are sections where civilization thrives.  

I'm hoping is civilization finds these items spawning on the planet, they would snag them up for defense.  

These are originally packing caps for the standing desk I recently set up as my painting bench (see 11/13 post).  Some spray paint, dry bushing and sponging on two layers of rust.  

The best part about this terrain?  Completely stackable for easy transport! 

In the Queue: The Star Wars refurbishment continues on the side, with Gnomes, Zulus, and unpainted Star Wars in the queue.  Shooting for one more post before the holidays.

Project 350:   Maintaining the status quo at 496 (311/185).  I've got five open days without a post between now and the end of January, thanks to the #CharacterCreationChallenge, so a goal of 450 in the next month could happen.... but probably I'll come up just short.

(Star Wars d6) #105 - Flashback - Life Day Special - Shadows of Yavin IV, Part 2

Two lovers of wildlife walked through the crystal clear waters of the pool back to the adjacent bar on the pleasure planet Zeltros.   Famed Safari host Abel Norrum was buying the next round of neon-green drinks for his friend, exotic animal broker, Ne'vets Aharo, while Aharo apprised him on all the outrageous tales that occurred since their last meeting.

"So Ne'vets, let me get this straight... you and your crew are crammed in a tiny rental freighter only meant for one person.  To make some repairs, your new pilot Tarrie has some connections to fix the ship and rest.  Only... you land on a future rebel base, and your pilot's sister is infamous Rebel bomber... and pilot Latorna Savvn?" 

"You make it sound so simply, Abel..."

"And the rebels are willing to fix the ship and pay some credits if you clear out some large mammals out of the ruins."

"In so many words"

"And these massive creatures were feral Selonians?  And you used yourself as bait to trap them, but they sprung their own trap and escaped with you?"

"I'm not proud.  I never used that plan prior, and I've never done it again...."

With the dust settled and the Selonians in retreat into the jungle, the crew feared the worst:  Ne'vets, the employer of all of them, had been kidnapped by some of the Selonians.  There were no easy tracks to follow. 

The group began a search and worked their way out, but quickly they all succumbed to a group collapse. the large rock fell into a sinkhole, at least 20-foot deep. They landed into an intersection some underground tunnels, more akin to burrows.  The air was quickly overcome with a thick layer of musk and the chittering came from every direction.

Evus took one look at Latorna and volunteered to take point down one of the passageway.  The rebel took hold of his shoulder and pulled him back,  "I like your pluck, but I've been doing this longer than all of us combined."

The group made some turns until opening up into a large cavern.  There were a host of Selonian young, and a number of females ushering them behind.  The females began hissing at the party, forming a desperate defensive position at the back of the cavern.

Evus yelled, "WHERE'S NE'VETS" , eliciting more hissing from the Selonians.

Latorna: Do we take hostages?  

Frokazza:  I say we do...

Tarrie:  Or we throw some grenades in and call it a day.

Evus:  WHERE IS NE'VETS!  The Twi'lek fired a single blaster shot into the ceiling , bringing down some dirt.  The Selonian quieted, the females continuing a hiss at a lower register.  

The group still argued the use of grenades on feral species, as Latorna turned back... and it was Tarrie with a quick change of heart,  keeping a watchful eye to ensure Frokazza and Evus accidentally dropped grenades in the corridor.  

They didn't have a chance, as at least a half dozen male Selonian guards came down an opposite hallways and quickly engaged everyone.  Latorna pulled out her blaster and quickly blew the head off lead Selonian. then kicked another would-be defender, knocking them prone before putting a blaster shot point-blank into its back.  

The Selonian guards managed to squirm around the death machine that was Latorna and engaged the others, with little effect.  Latorna still had a frightful impact, grabbing a Selonian by the neck, then shooting it in the abdomen which her blaster on her hit.  

Frokazza dispatched one of the them that snuck through, and tried to pin another one on the ground.  Tarrie jumped up and stomped the creature.... 

The whole adventure was based on this artwork...

One Selonian managed to elude Latorna and tried to wrap its claws around her head.   Latorna couldn't seem to shake it, but she stumbled forward from a powerful attack.... Frokazza using his bowcaster on the Selonian on her head.... The Selonian was dead and the rebel definitely had a concussion as she staggered around the corner.

Evus:  "WHERE'S NE'VETS!?!"    He fired a blaster round into the head of the last Selonian in the hallway, guts splattering across Tarrie's face.

Slowly getting surrounded by reinforcements, Latorna knocked one unconscious with the butt of his rifle, and shot the one opposite him in the gut, as it slumped down on the ground. 

The other guards retreated in all directions,and the crew pursued.    

Latorna turned a few corners and ended up in a much larger cavern than the youngling warren.  A warm red glow bathed the area.  A handful of Selonian guards populated the cavern, including some who had retreated. There was a giant red crystal, which was pulsating, near the middle of the room.  A giant, hulking Selonian with red eyes emerged from behind the crystal.  

This can't be good.

Latorna laid out another Selonian with blaster fire.   The large, evil-looking Selonian raised a hand and Latorna flew up and back into the wall, her arms pinned to the wall. 

With the dark being distracted, Ne'vets popped his head out from the far side of the cavern, he fetched his possessions and began running down a corridor that only he knew was towards the exit to the outside.  

Tarrie entered the room and saw the fate of his sister, he drew his blaster and fired upon the evil entity.  The massive Selonian moved his other hand, reflecting the blaster shot into Tarrie chest, immolating the knitted vest and putting him a few steps away from death.  

Frokazza came into the room, surveyed the carnage, and began firing his bowcaster into the giant crystal, causing glowing white cracks in it.  

Evus was the last to emerge.  Using the Wookie as cover, he ran over to Tarrie and desperately tried to revive.  At best, he prevented the pilot from dying in the cavern... if they could escape this monstrosity.  

Latorna realized that the second Tarrie's blaster shot deflected back to him, she could move her left arm.  Frokazza's shot showed weaknesses in the crystal, if not the massive creature.  With a mediocre flick of the wrist, she threw an object near the crystal.  

"Thermal detonator... I think you have ten seconds to get out of here." 

The thermal detonator landed opposite side of the crystal than the evil being, so it couldn't see, much less comprehend what was going on. 

Frokazza shot his bowcaster over the being's head, ultimately high-tailing it out of the cavern, following Ne'vets lead.   The missed shot was enough of distraction to break the being's concentration, and Latorna used her willpower to break the hold.  She helped Evus drag Tarrie down a different corridor.

BOOM

The initial explosion crawled through the tunnel system.  Ne'vets got out unscathed, Wookie emerged from the initial dust cloud, covered in dust.   The explosion and the damage to the crystal imploded most of the caverns, imploding the stone plaza above ground.  

Dr Emory Talen, the Rebel Biologist, had stayed above ground and seeing the survivors, fetched help.

Two days later, the next rebel transport arrived, luckily with some construction and excavation equipment.  Evus and Latorna were recovered, very much alive, with a special look between the two of them.  Tarrie was stable but still unconscious.  

There was no sign of the Dark Selonian monster.  

Tarrie was transported to a Bacta tank. 

Once Tarrie and the Oh-Ba-Die were up and running, Ne'vets determined it was time to go.  Evus pleaded with Latorna to come with them, but she refused to consider it.  The Rebellion was her true devotion. 

"That was the last any of us saw Latorna, until she magically appeared on Botajef and bombed that Jawa Juice." 

"Ne'vets, your operation has the oddest kriffin stories," Abel retorted.  

"Buy me another drink, and I'll tell you what happened with Evus told the crew how he hooked up with Latorna, buried under the ruins.   As it could be imagined, Latorna's little brother, Tarrie didn't take it well."

GM Notes: With Ne'vets kidnapped, his player, Steve, got to play Latorna this session. To go from a bureaucratic animal lover to deadly demolitions and combat monster was certainly a Christmas gift to him. The only failed roll was getting the Selonian on her

This two-part Life Day game is a first-time chronological appearance for Latorna, and establishes the unstable and possibly unhealthy relationship between Evus and Latorna.

Next: #106 - ????

(Painting) Deep Cuts Keg Barrels by WizKids

Some final holiday themed minis before my week of holiday gnome-filled posts kick in.

This is not one of the Reaper holiday-themed figures I got from my friend Scott at Mepacon, although it was a quick purchase at my FLGS down there before *gasp* a date!     

Desperate to buy something at Cloud City Games in the Palme Park Mall, these WizKids Deep Cuts Keg Barrels were about as perfect a purchase to whet my appetite.  

Obviously Santa is stocking up for the winter on Sugar Cookie, Pecan Sandy, and Oatmeal Raisin Stout. 

Holiday Game Day!

Okay, it's not a glorious day setting toy soldiers on the floor, but tonight's the hopeful completion of my online group's Star Wars d6 Holiday Game.  It's been fun to return to West End Star Wars after over 80 sessions of Gamma World (with more of both to come in the future).  

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

 I had the good fortune this weekend to see my eldest daughter Maja, perform in two showings of Willy Wonka.  Friday into Saturday I had Millie, and had a happy mixture of watching basketball, Christmas shopping, and in a rare act, yelling at Dunkin' employees who had misplaced my order not once, not twice, but thrice!  Time to go back to the local donut shop...

Oh yeah, Millie and I got painting time.  A decent portion of that time devolved into Millie cleaning the accumulated crud in the caps of my craft paint bottles, but she did finally finish the second of her WizKids My Little Pony miniatures.

Here's Rarity, 

Her Jackson Pollock technique remains strong, and while we had no good concept for the base, breaking out some of my "Objective Jewels" for the base seems like a good direction.  Of course, I put them on the base before spray sealing them, but they are just white glued on.  I'll probably research some different options for her (diamond patterns, etc), but I'll probably just Zap-A-Gap fresher, shinier jewels on.

(Painting) Christmas Penguin Familiar - 01553 - by Reaper

My friend Scott gifted me a bunch of Reaper holiday minis when we met up at Mepacon, There's a host of other painting projects I'm working on, but there's not better time to paint Christmas minis, than, well...Christmastime! 

The one for today is a Christmas Penguin, part the Christmas Familiars, 01581. 

Remind me not to paint up an army tiny penguins familiars.  Outside of an objective marker or similar plot device, I see this fella getting put safely away.  

There's technically 13 holiday-related minis on the painting bench.  We'll see if anything else get finished, especially with an uptick of basketball games this week.  

(Painting) The Original Gamorrean Guard

 As the holidays approach, I continue clear out the Star Wars minis from the flea market at Fall-In! 2024.

These bad boys were the main reason I bought the big bag of scum and villainy... and the reason I kept going back for more throughout the weekend. 

I did want a standard melee gang statted out for Fistful of Lead for Death Planet Iota, even if they're just  objective points for my possible game for Historicon.  

This batch gets added to the Refurb total.  Almost no paint touchup, and I removed them from largely penny bases to my standard 25mm MDF.  As there are only two poses, they are numbered 1-6 on the back of the base for record keeping purposes.

In the Queue: The Star Wars refurbishment continues on the side, with Gnomes, Zulus, and unpainted Star Wars in the queue.  Shooting for one more post before the holidays.

Project 350:   Another nice post-Thanksgiving decline in scheduled post from 496 (311/185) from 499 (312/187).  If I can finish a project for 12/20, I'll have scheduled posts coming off for over six straight weeks. 

(Georic Gazetteer) Kingdom of Pohjola

Kingdom of Pohjola

Pantheon: Kulervan Mythos

Ruled By: Queen Smauhl
Capital: Lokka

Other Cities:  None

Language:  Sjappi

Flag/Emblem:  A silver foxhead on a field of blue ice with red flames

Coinage: The Louhi (gold piece only)
Important Personas:  Juli Vouhi, the most powerful spellcaster in Pohjola

Alliances:  None

Hostilities:  None

Open Warfare/Skirmishing:  Only skirmishing with other ice races

Intrigues:  Always talk of expanding southward

Demi-Humans:  Ice Elves - Pikta Tontu (7%), Gnomes- Lyhyt Tontu (5%), Dwarves - Toykea Tontu (2%)

Magickal Devices:  Sampo of the Nethersphere

Thumbnail Sketch:  The northernmost land on the continent, this icy land north of Zieland, Wyrmnal, and Kulervo has is shrouded in mystery.  Run by "Ice-Witches", Pohjola is rumored to be as populous below the surface as it is above, if not more so.  Not only are their rumors of connections within the Drow Empire itself, but further travels into an alleged Hollow Earth came to light, after numerous expeditions from the southern lands to find an entrance to said world resulted in every explorer perishing.   While not common knowledge, there are numerous locations with access points. 

"Tontu" is the term to refer to all demi-humans, with prefixes attached to differentiate.  

Religion:  A mixture of Kulervan Witchcraft, and various snow entities.  Most notable is the near-god worship of one Juli Vouhi.  This warlock is particularly powerful, and actively recruits from the Tontu population to work at his remote enclave, raising magical creates, and experimenting with powerful Magicks. 

Juli Vouhi, the most powerful spellcaster in Pohjola

Geography of Note: 

Palace of the Snow-Queen:  The seat of Pohjola government, the Snow Queen’s Palace has elegant clusters of spires towering up to 120-foot in the air, composed of thousands of needle-thin ice splinters. Despite this dominant structure in Lokka, the spires are empty.  The vast halls of the palace are actually underground.  A broad stair of blue ice descends a great circular portal into the halls of power.

Queen Smauhl in her underground palace

The Frigid Heart:   Occupying an expanse opposite the Spires of the Snow Queen’s

Palace is the Frigid Heart: an open area of snow leading to a vast entrance, leading to an indoor market, and other businesses further below the surface.  

Mentions of the Country in the Blog: 

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #32 - Merchant Angalm Zhule is from Pohjola.  Never wishes to return home.  

GM Notes: Pohjola is the only ice kingdom that doesn't border Galmar.  It's only ever been an area I've dipped a toe in and embellished with L'Haan and the Northern Reaches from Talislanta.

(Star Wars d6) #104 - Flashback - Life Day Special - Shadows of Yavin IV, Part 1

Sitting on the pleasure planet Zeltros, two old friends continued to commiserate over neon-green drinks in a tropical theme poolside bar. Ne'vets Aharo, exotic animal broker, and Abel Norrum, big game hunter, were trusted colleagues, trusted enought to get themselves faced while celebrating recent professional successes.    Drenched in credits, Abel prodded Ne'vets to fill in gaps in their histories.  

"So you got out of Bespin intact, your rental ship, the Oh-Bah-Die,  in tatters, and still not enough credits to get her anywhere legit?"

Nevets:  "Yep, we were pretty much screwed, but Tarrie, my pilot, promised us some time to lay low and get free repairs if they could visit her sister on some moon around Yavin.  He had me at "free" so I couldn't argue with that plan. 

I mean, I regretted a two day trip with four of us in a craft meant for one, but is was Frokazza the Wookie who made the refresher off limits on day two......"

As Tarrie jumped into the system, he heard a voice immediately kick on over the comm,  "Security Code Zulu Alpha, please provide security code, unidentified ship.  We will fire for lack of compliance."

Tarrie:  "We are looking for Latorna, if you can get her on the comms, that would be great!"

"What the kriff???  Standby..."

A few minutes later, "Maintain course, follow coordinates .  Do NOT deviate..."

The rest of the explorers were concerned.  Outside of the ancient ruins jutting out of the jungle, there was nothing resembling even the smallest amount of civilization.....

A few minutes later, the comms came alive again, perhaps a bit early:

"Vanya, why did you call me hear?  Who?  What?  What the kriff?  This is Latorna.  Identify yourselves or we will immediately fire!"

Tarrie:  "You do not need to start firing, sister.  It is I, Tarrie..."

Latorna: "Hello Tarrie, what trouble are you in now?..

Tarrie filled in the details, and Latorna sighed heavily and provided coordinates, "We'll meet you there, Tarrie.  You owe me and we're going to collect immediately.  

Tarrie guides the Oh-Bah-Die to the destination,  an exposed stone courtyard, sticking out like sore thumb from the jungle. 

Ne'vets: This is your shin-dig, Tarrie, lead the ways.  

As they disembarked, the crew realized they might be the only sentient lifeforms in the area, that is, until the knowing high-pitched whir of some speeder bikes.  The five bikes come to a sudden stop on the edge of the jungle, four humans and a Sullustran.  

The last rider removed their helmet, revealing a tall woman with the remnants of face camo.  

Latorna Savvn

She immediately walks up to Tarrie and punches him on the shoulder.  

"Hopefully nobody followed you here.... Is that a rental code on that tiny ship? ..... Kriff....  Tarrie, what did you get yourself into."

"Latorna, we're legit, I'm under contract...."

There was an in-depth discussion with Latorna and  Ne'vets, Tarrie and Frokazza interjecting at the wrong times.  Latorna was even more curt with the crew than she was barking orders to the techs trying to begin repairs on the ship.  She stepped back, incredulous to the questionable activities of the crew, Tarrie choice of life partners (the Wookie), and possible Imperial ties.  She walked over to Evus, the Twi'lek scout and servant, minding his own business off the to the side.  She stared through Evus' soul, but the Twi'lek only flashed a smile. 

Latorna, taken aback:  Hi....

Hi!  I'm Evus!

Evus Monval

Her head tilted: What do you do around here, Evus?

Whatever Ne'vets needs....

She tried to intimidate him.  Evus, what does this thing haul?

"Animals... lots and lots of animals, usually above board transactions."

Latorna smiled, admitted to their big secret, and presented her offer... to cover all the repairs.

She admitted that this was the early recon mission to establish a clandestine base for the rebellion against the Galactic Empire.  The ancient structures offered great protection, and the jungle canopy hid anything else too big.  

Many klicks away was a large courtyard or promenade, large enough to land sizable supply vessels.  However there was an infestation of large feral lifeforms.  She offered everyone a speeder bike to travel to the main camp and offer more details.  

Following Latorna, the party gingerly meandered through the jungle.  Then, everyone heard a large explosion... and everyone noticed Evus was missing, and the jungle was exploding.

Evus was found on the ground, away from the explosion.  Latorna pulled up next to him and offered her hand.  Evus accepted and quickly he was lifted onto the back of her speeder, holding onto her mid-section for dear life. 

They finally arrived at the main base, a collection of tents, tarps, and netting, some sensitive equipment had already found its way into a ziggurat. 

Latorna fully explained that there had been numerous engagements with this tall, lean mammalian bipeds, and the Rebel Commander Maren wanted them removed without and reduction in manpower.  Killing, luring, capturing, even selling them were all acceptable results, so long as the rebels were no longer attacked at that location.   One shot with a blaster rifle was usually enough to scare them off.  

The rebels had managed to kill a few around the site, but they had not been able to capture any of them alive... yet.  

Latorna procured two additional speeder bikes.  She offered one to Evus, but he much preferred to ride  behind her.  Latorna did not protest. 

A Mon Calamari arrived in the area, in a lab coat.  

Latorna:  This is Dr Emory Talen, our head biologist of the Rebellion.  She's coming as an advisor to ensure we're not "impacting the delicate ecosystem of this moon." 

Ne'vets:  Fair enough...

As they prepped to delve deeper into the jungle, Latorna dealt out rations, and a gift for Tarrie.  Handing him a package in plain brown paper, tied together with a string.    Tarrie opened it up and was hit with a wall of the color mustard.  Latorna had found a cable-knit sweater vest and it made her think of her brother.  

Tarrie and his latest gift

One prepared, they travelled out to the future sit of a landing pad.  The two bodies were still on the edge of this.  The bodies were lean and long, nearly two meters, with rodent features and wearing some odd jewelry on their forearms. 

Ne'vets was aghast, "These aren't animals, they're primitive Selonians! 

Everyone was confused, but many were shocked into reality, as very alive Selonian jumped out of cover and attacked Tarrie! 

A poor recreation....

The Selonian failed to bite or claw the smuggler, rather landing on him, cross body, pinning him to the ground.   Its claws dug into the sweater and soon the two were tangled in mustard colored yarn. 

Ne'vets sensed more of these aliens around them and pled in galactic common to cease and desist.  The Selonians did not seem to respond.  

Latorna was slow to notice the other aliens and opened fire on them, scaring a number of them off.  One of her shots hit the first Selonian tangled with Tarrie, wounding it and setting the yarn webbing on fire.  The alien escape its bindings, but that left Tarrie on the ground with a flaming sweater.  

Everyone else finally got their bearings and drove them all off. 

It was decided that Ne'vets would pretend to be as bait, sitting on the stones.  The others were hidden and were ready to act it he was attacked. 

Once everyone was positioned, a single Selonian lurked onto the stones, almost slithering towards Ne'vets.  The others braced their shots, but were surprised from behind.  A half dozen of the aliens had worked up the hillside, and seemed to evade the shots being sent downhill.    There was a frantic flurry of blaster fire and melee weapons.   Again, it took some aggressive action, but they were driven off...

The Explorers turned back to the stone field, and discovered Ne'vets was no longer there....

Next: #105 - The Finale for Shadows of Yavin IV

(Gamma World) This is Not a Test #60 - Sub-Level 7

Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers,  are at the KIA Academy.  They are looking for some money making opportunities to keep the Academy's roof over their heads for the winter.

================= 

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... multiple times.

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. Currently safely in their hotel room on KIA Academy Level Zero.

================= 

Descending down the stairwell, the crew followed the concrete wall on the left.  The right side of these deep stairs opened up to row after row of steel columns.   Beyond the columns was a considerable amount of darkness, as well as strange noises.  No one was particularly interested in investigating the right side and focusing on a lone door situation on the landing of the steps, before it continued to go down.  

The stairs continue down, into Sub-Level 7, perhaps? 

Staring at the odd cube-shaped depression in the wall where a keycard should be swiped.

Squiggles used his telekinesis to open the door.  Lights from the inside spark and flicker inside.  A blue liquid sprayed from inside the room, covering Squiggles.  Two bodies hang off from the ceiling.  

The liquid didn't seem to harm the furry worm, save dying the creatures hair.    

One of the bodies was missing a head, yet still hung from the ceiling.  Looking at the second body, this human form didn't have legs do much as a set of treads like RHA-9.  

Behind the bodies and along the wall, were a number of blue crates.

Sonny investigated the bodies further.  It appeared a large hook and chain held the bodies, from small compartments in their backs.  This appeared to be living metal with soft, false exterior.   He lowered the headless living metal to the ground, and promptly ran through his pack to find the living metal head he had acquired earlier.  It fit perfectly, along he was unable to activate the unit.  

Lathar was standing watch in the doorway, rummaging through his pack for rations.  He pulled out a clear cube, 9"x 9" x 9".   Sonny was astonished by this thing magically appearing.

Sonny:  Hey, that thing could open up doors.  

Squiggles and Pete further investigated the living metal with treads.  It appeared it's hands had been removed and replaced with actual mining drills.  

Lathar was able to reached the treaded living metal, and after fiddling around, finds a control panel and press a button.

The living metal's eyes light up with a yellow hue.  At the same time, both mining drills on the bot's hands began to turn, building up to full speed.  The barbarian stepped back, only questioning, "Did I do that?"

The living metal began rotating side to side, still attached to the hook and chains.  

It emitted a stuttered voice, "IN-TRU-DDDERR  IN-TRU-DDDEERR.  UN-AUTH-ORIZED."  Somehow it managed to lower itself.  

Pete quickly whipped out his blaster pistol and fired....  Shocked by the turn of events, Sonny pulled out his new laser pistol.  Nothing seemed to discharge from the weapon when the sunflower pulled the trigger, but portions of the living metal burst into flames, 

The living metal was badly damaged and appeared to go through a countdown.  

Sonny realized what was happening, "It's gonna blow!!!"

Everyone scurried out the door, Sonny pulling the other, still deactivated living metal.  A small explosion occurred in the room, only a small bit of debris flew out the door.  

The explosion appeared to have destroyed any interested items that were in the room.  

They moved onto the next door, using Lathar's cube again, the panel lit up.  The seal to the door opened, release the sounds of screams, grunts, growls, and even a flash of fire or two before the door completed its motion.  

A race collection of white furry and armored being are pointing spears at a large creature in the middle of the room.  The creature ignored the spears getting stabbed at him, stared at the party and roared.  

Sonny quickly walked over to the cube and removed it from it's square console, closing the door... with a five second delay.

"It looks like this thing will resolve itself shortly.  Let's wait it out."

The large fiery beast raised what appeared to be an arm and shot out a red ooze through the door, hitting Lathar for burning and blistering damage. The ooze ate through Lathar's armor, the studs on his leather falling directly to the floor.

Squiggles called out, "Remember, red ooze bad, blue ooze good!"

The door continued to muffle more noise, but finally everything fell silent.  With Squiggles armed in front with rifle, Lathar opened the door again. The large humanoid was all that remained in the room, the bodies of the white furry folks turned to smoldering piles of ash. 

Squiggles fired his new rifle, but nothing came out.  One second later. the creature explodes.  All the equipment in the room had been destroyed by ooze/fire.

The next door opened into a huge open, but definitely open area, similar to the street layout of sub-levels 1 and 2.  Most of the buildings were ruined, but a number of small, glowing emerald light were installed on the standing structures.  Bones littered the entire area.  

They had arrived.  

Two of the party member quickly placed bones into the sack they were provided.  

There was certainly movement down the streets.  Three individuals with robes and points masks came scurrying down the street, a fourth looked the same, but with two antennae sticking out of their head.  Sonny waved and Peter used his telepathy to no effect.  Spotting the De Facto Explorers, this group shook their hands as they ran across their view to a corner out of the party's view. Sunny yelled at them, to no effect.

The sound of multiple people hitting something with bones, Pete turned the corner to see them destroy a computer terminal, and then they ran back in the opposite direction.  

Once that attack on technology occurred, there was a loud hum emanating through this chamber.  The Explorers though it was high time to back-track and leave.  

They returned to O'Pinnery's with only some opposition by the rabbit-folk they encountered earlier.  They finally collected their 1,000 domars.

They finally returned to Level 0 at KIA Academy and found a letter at the front desk for them: 

A Letter from Ramsay Kallax

GM Notes:  The De Facto Explorers are pretty banged up after their first foray into the the bone-strewn sub-level 7, so it might be a while until they make another attempt, but these sub-levels were heavily modified from A Fallen Star for All, a Mutant Crawl Classics module from Goodman Games.  The module definitely helped me flesh out some of the more feral inhabitants, and certain rooms that were untouched can be expanded into whole areas within the sub-level.  Not too shabby for a $9.99 module.

Next:  We'll take a few weeks off for the holiday and return with a different adventure for a bit.  #0 - Beyond the Eastern Barrier.