I love gimmicky dice, even if most Kickstarters are complete overkill. SagaBorn Dice: An Icosahedron D100, now on Kickstarter, takes an old school staple and turns it up a few notches for a useful novelty.
Pages
Thursday, April 3, 2025
(Kickstarter) SagaBorn Dice: An Icosahedron D100
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Donald Trump - Meglomanical Presidential Nilbog
It's not often that there's a gift that keeps on giving, but I should written this up in November....
![]() |
The Don from Brigade Games |
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
(Gamma World) This is Not a Test #70 - The Murder Hole
Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers, are spending the winter scouting around KIA Academy. They continue to encounter and at this time, befriend the blue-skinned Kirothians, and have offered to rescue some kidnapped villagers from a "wizard" and his "demons"
=================
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.
================================================================
The gigantic demonic-looking beast ascended from the pit in the center of the cavern, flaming sword in hand.... Sonny, trapped in his invisible box, could see it rising up. His compatriots back in the side passage could barely see a odd glow through the blue Kirothians staked around the top of the pit. Until they heard the roar, they just knew SOMETHING was coming.
![]() |
"Big Ugly" |
Pete noted the terrifying roar, and focused three individuals atop a cliff, pulling out his blaster. He wounded one of the individuals was disheartened that the person grew.... The others followed firing at those odd humanoid shaped creatures, only to injure them and forcing them to grow...Their weapons, which had vaporized a lesser demons only a short time ago, was far less effective against these individuals.
The Demon entity finally emerged from the pit, knocked some of the captured Kirothians down into the pit, and used the newly empty space to land.
Hollis, the Kirothian youth wielding the Children's Alchemical Laser, lowered the device and the fired his only shot at the Demon. The shot went far left and slammed into the cliff face. Suddenly the underground cliff face became alive with lush, green vegetation.
![]() |
Hollis the Kirothian |
Sonny had played around with the invisible force around him. The sunflower carefully pressed against it with his dagger, sending visible ripples across the surface but not penetrating or breaking. Watching his friends engage the demon and his cronies, with pending doom, Sonny panicked, digging deep and letting rip his Death Blossom.
Sonny was shocked by the power of all his seeds exploding, especially since it seemed like far more seeds than normal. He felt like the closest the plant could feel nausea, The force of the blast seemed to eradicate the box, and most of the surrounding area in a massive explosion.
Many of the trapped Kirothians were killed and some of the odd humanoids. Chubby little Hollis took a lethal hit, killing him and damaging the alchemical laster.
When the seed cloud dissipated Lathar stared down the 30-foot demon... and ran back down the tunnel.
Squiggles was confused, watching the barbarian turn tail, "Where is he going???"
The demon unleashed a fiery torrent upon the party, setting Pete on fire.
Squiggles tried to lay down covering fire and put out the flaming weasel. Neither was initially successful. Lathar recovered his senses, but turned to see Squiggles running backwards, and the weasal on fire, trying to put himself by rolling on the ground. Sonny was nowhere to be seen. He layed down a barrage of blaster fire, most of the distant shots hitting the demon, but not doing any apparent damage to it.
"It's over man, it's over!"
The last thing the guys saw before turning tale was the demon devouring the crispy body of Hollis, and extending his sword down the passageway to no avail. Finally putting Pete out, they climbed out of the side shaft and wandered back through the snow towards the Kirothian's village.
Sonny's fate was unknown.
Monday, March 31, 2025
(Fistful of Lead) Dead Birds
Months into the zombie apocalypse, there was considerable confusion about how the outbreak originated. There were talks of fungi, molds, and infections, but almost all of the scientists and doctors were dead... or walking the earth trying to consume the living.
But deep down, humanity knew there wasn't a logical explanation for everything... something otherworldly, maybe not voodoo or necromancy, but something that warped their reality into the hellscape they were living in.
The good news: this apparently supernatural force could be killed my physical means.
Kyle had a rap sheet a mile long for bar brawls, street fights, etc. He also liked the character Darryl Dixon from the Walking Dead, so when the real shit hit the fan, he found himself a leather vest, a machete, and a crossbow.
Two problems: a) he had never shot a crossbow in his life before then and b) he was blind as a bat without his glasses, which he had lost early on.
Just his look and demeanor was enough to have him join groups. Somehow everything went wrong on his watch.
Recently, things had gotten a little better. After escaping a horde with just his trusty machete, and getting rid of the kids in their protection, the group moved faster. The world before the apocalypse had created a generation of women who thought swords and silver could eliminate most evils. He had run into a few overconfident ones, but Jelly, their current top dog, was the real deal.
She had gotten info on a stash at a nearby farm, weapons, food, gold... it didn't matter what it was, but there were a few hiding spots to check out.
They arrived at the farm, cleared out the outbuilding, and got some rest so they could better search in the morning. Kyle took that last watch, and as the run began to rise, he noticed what the darkness had hid.
The barn was right next to a large family cemetery, and somethings were wandering in from between the tombstones.
One looked like a ghost, the one behind it was definitely a zombie. '
Turn One:
Kyle banged on the wall to wake up his friends. Then he picked up his crossbow, and took aim at the entity coming in and out of reality.
*click*
Nothing
The idiot, like always, forgot to load his crossbow.
The older man everyone called Father, ran out first, firing a shotgun blast through the creature when it went incorporeal
Jelly charged right at the entity, sword in one hand, and a "blessed" silver dagger in the other. She may not have injured the specter, but their was a glancing blow.
Mel, the machine gunner, looked in the opposite direction, counting three zombies coming right them.
And Old Man McGuckett? He took a bee-line to the old stone wall, one of the alleged hiding spots for the cache.
Turn Two:
Jelly slayed this graveyard wraith, a solid torso laying on the ground, with the arms and a flowing robes dissolving into the ground. The zombie following met Jelly and it's head was quickly removed from it's body.
Old Man McGuckett got to the wall, finding nothing, but another zombie shuffling in from the east.
Mel lowered her machine gun and actually incapacitated one of the zombies, but it would keep moving, so she wisely fell back.
![]() |
Zombie kills: Jelly =2 |
![]() |
Jelly Zombie Kills: 3 |
![]() |
Jelly: 2 Zombie Kills |
![]() |
Jelly Zombie Kills: 4 |
At the end, it was a commanding 9-2 victory for the humans, although Father slowly succumbed to a wound, and then finally lethal damage. There were still some bad rolls to start, but Jelly performed as expected, and a more experienced Mel kept the north flank at bay. Kyle always rolls a 1 (out of ammo) with his first shot.
Sunday, March 30, 2025
(Kickstarter) Woodlander: An Animal Fantasy RPG
Woodlander, now on Kickstarter, is an Animal Fantasy RPG, covering the influences from Redwall to even Disney's Robin Hood cartoon.
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Another Month of Gaming (April 2025)
The thing with the perusing a game distributor's monthly solicitation magazine is that they should be a magazine-sized advertisement for all the products they're pushing. Outside of cool cartoons, and regular columns like Painting Happy Lil Mins, the best submissions for Alliance's Game Trade Magazine are usually excerpts from a company's new book coming out.
Issue #302 has a introductory scenario for Star Trek: Into the Unknown that looks pretty sweet. An exclusive scenario like this draws players to the world of solicitations, or the FLGS can use is for a demo.
Issue #302 of GTM is available at your FLGS, or online in PDF format here.
ViscountEric's Want List
Nothing
By the Axe: The Cyclopedia of Dwarven Civilization ........................ $45.00
The Imaginary Store List (The Pegleg Gnome)
Friday, March 28, 2025
(Painting) Kerru, Mos Eisley Gotal by West End Games
I'm continuing to clean up random pieces off the painting table, in between the larger, longer, and more laborious projects.
Despite being sorted into the Tatoonie/Bounty Hunter bag of my large Star Wars Minis acquisition at Fall-In!, this Gotal kept falling in with the Jawas, begging to be painted.
This figure (Kerru SW84) was found in the Mos Eisley Cantina Boxed Set, as well as three figure blister, WEG 40443 Aliens of the Galaxy II Kerru (Gotal).
A reminder of who exactly the Gotals are can be found in Wookiepedia.
Star Wars Minis: 71 out of the 146 from my flea market purchase are painted or refurbished.
Next: Cultists, Mouslings, Ducks, Gnome, sci-fi, and more Gnomes. A slow and distracting process, hence the individual figures.
Project 350: The scales are tipping up again to 475 (301 drafts and 174 scheduled posts) from 471 (299/172) last week. Since COVID, this time of year is when the backlog slowly rises again through Easter. I still haven't gotten anything major off my drafts, and obviously I've added a few more.
Thursday, March 27, 2025
(Painting) Ghost by Reaper Bones
Perhaps it is the newness of opening up the blisters, but while my larger projects are moving at a grind, two out of the three blisters I randomly opened up last week on a whim? They are finished.
Today is just a Ghost from the original Reaper Bones line.
![]() |
RPR 77007 - Ghost |
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
OttoCon 2025
Children, there was a time when Historicon wasn't in Lancaster, stolen to Virginia. It was then that "The Weekend" emerged, a small group of like-minded individuals putting together a no-frills convention with games people wanted to run, a snack table, and some running commentary on a horrible movie during the evenings.
There was something endearing with the convention, originally in the basement ballroom of the Continental (now Cartoon Network hotel), intentionally set up there to be across the street from the Lancaster Host. I attended once or twice, using the con rates to bring the family down for the weekend once. They shopped and swam, I played games and hung out with guys who like history. A win for everybody.
The original organizer, Otto Schmidt, passed away in 2019, but his cohort kept it going, and now it operates every summer out of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, as "Ottocon" in his honor.
Why all the reminiscing? I did notice on TMP the announcement for this years Ottocon.
Copied and Pasted:
OttoCon 2025
It is time to announce (and prepare) for OttoCon 2025 to be held on the 27th and 28th of June 2025 at the Comfort Suites, 10 South Hanover Street, Carlisle, PA 17013.
OttoCon is a small, low-tech convention (I really did mean to get a FB page up and running this year) put on by the Society of Daisy, founded by the late Otto Schmidt, and is dedicated to the preservation and the advancement of humor, imagination, and fun in wargames.
There are no board meetings, membership meetings, or massive dealers area.
It's like a big game weekend where folks can relax and play miniatures games, board games, or decision driven card games.
Standard Daisy fare includes the return of Military Science Theater 2000, where we show a dog of a movie on Friday night and Saturday night, the infamous "Munchie Pit", the classic board game Divine Right, and the convention theme "Naval Games", which everybody ignores.
We've spoken with Walt Leech about running an ADLG tourney and we'll have the Bring and Buy Open Not Quite Flea Market, as well.
Other games being planned are ACW Naval Ironclads, Cod Wars modern naval action (it's all about the fish), and Western Gunfights (with or without Prairie Schooners….)
But we mostly ignore the theme.
Did we mention it was Naval Games?
Registration fee is $30 USD at the door for the whole weekend, or $20 USD for a single day.
There is a block of rooms available at the hotel. You can make a reservation by calling the front desk and 717-960-1000, then dial "0", and specify the "OttoCon" room block.
If you want to run a game or have any questions, then you may contact us at saxenviolets@gmail.com Ask for Tracy. He's still our Grand Poobah.
You can also contact me at epturner29 AT aol DOT com and I can get you in touch with Tracy.
Hope to see folks there.
I do have a tendency to stay on the eastern bank of the Susquehanna for cons, but that might be worth an extended day trip. I'm certainly more excited at the prospect of going to this than Cold Wars, particularly the half-hour shorter drive each way.
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
(Gamma World) This is Not a Test #69 - Nearing the Circle of Death
Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers, are spending the winter scouting around KIA Academy. They continue to encounter and at this time, befriend the blue-skinned Kirothians, while other, more powerful faction prowl the forests.
=================
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.
================================================================
![]() |
Just prior to the Wilhelm screen... |
He beckoned the others forward. He couldn't figure out what type of ambush or trap was laid, but who leaves sacrificial victims tied up to the obvious pit of their doom? Pete could barely communicate with them telepathically, but they were still alive.
Sonny tried to teleport over to them... but it didn't feel right. He was completely surprised when he thought his mutant power failed, yet, there he was, standing in between two of the tied up Kirothians, a very dark and deep pit only feet from him.
That's when things began to get weird. Sonny reached out his frond, holding a knife to try to free the nearest Kirothian, but an invisible barrier preventing him from doing in. After another two or three further attempts, he stepped backwards, into another invisible barrier behind him. In a matter moments, Sonny ascertained that he was trapped in a clear box, barely bigger than himself.
Pete still stood by the entrance of the shaft, feeling a presence trying to enter his mind.
Pete: Stop with these charades! Show yourself villain!
A single dark word entered the weasel's mind, "No...."
Sonny stared down to see a light at the bottom of the pit, to what was climbing out....
"Guys??? I think I found Big Ugly..."
GM Notes: Yep, I completely forgot assault rifles in Gamma World can shoot single shot (+2), burst (+4), and full auto (+8 to hit). The human mercenaries were more than enough to capture folks, but couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.
Next: #70 - The Murder Hole
Monday, March 24, 2025
Wild Gnome Red
In a weekend where Maja had play practice, Millie travelled to watch their high school basketball team completely crash and burn in the state playoffs, and their mom handled all transportation, I had a free weekend, and.... a date.
It was decided we would spend the Saturday afternoon in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. She had never been, and I had been with the complete family when the girls were younger.
I won't go into full rant mode about the lack of street parking and the public parking monopoly that rewards hardcore tourists, but discourages casual and local foot traffic. We were coming from two opposite directions, but next time I would drive down and take one car.
Jim Thorpe has prided itself on the train rides downtown, and the Victorian architecture developed from the wealth of the Pennsylvania coal boon, the canals, and most certainly the railroads. The main tourist trap is maybe six square blocks, with cutesy shops, and a LOT of caffeine and alcohol.
Curiosities Coffee and Ice House - 77 Broadway, Jim Thorpe, PA - She was impressed so much the first pass that we came back for another round on the way back. She gives it Five out of Five Cheshire Cats, for the drinks, the service, and an all-in Alice in Wonderland theme.
Notch Eight Craft House - 107 Broadway, Jim Thorpe, PA - One reason not to visit with kids. There is an alternate universe where I just sit at the bar and drink the Belgian Quad they were serving until the end of time. The Japanese Burger I had was way out of my comfort zone and was still spectacular. More importantly, SHE was wildly impressed, and she's quite picky about her alcohols. Five out of Five gnomes, even if the senior citizens came in halfway through our meal and asked for Guinness and (Yuengling) Lager, despite being directed to the board for available brews. I believe the craft beer samples they were provided may have generated the theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey.
At least they didn't ask for Coors.
Stonekeep Meadery - Also 77 Broadway, Jim Thorpe, PA - Another reason we went back for more coffee. The building with Curiosities had multiple shops on two floors, full of shops of trinkets, plants, and what have you.... plus a small room serving mead and wine samples. The two meads tasted like Yule and Summer, and I actually tried one wine and ended up buying a bottle.
It was almost a requirement:
It was described as a red and white blended wine with a red aftertaste. I bought it without concern, but haven't cracked it open for a full review.Final notes on a great day:
It's just over twenty bucks for the train ride for an adult, actually a cheaper and longer excursion than Strasburg's down by Lancaster.
If the bakery is set up in front of the train station, it's a much visit. Yes, the eclair was a bit much for my delicate constitution, but it was worth every penny.
Sunday, March 23, 2025
Free RPG Day - June 21, 2025
Free RPG Day is slated for June 21, 2025 this year, and I am stoked at the number of publishers already part of the annual event.
Like its older cousin, Free Comics Day, Free RPG Day works with top RPG publishers to create the can’t miss RPG event of the year at specialty game stores around the world.Participating stores will have piles of exclusive new RPG adventures and other exciting new RPG related items!
Every store handles the event differently, hopefully with events, special sales.
- 1985 Games
- Avantris
- Chaosium
- Don't Panic Games
- Exalted Funeral
- Free League
- Goodman Games
- Kobold Press
- Paizo
- Renegade
- WizKids
Saturday, March 22, 2025
The Social Media #TTRPG List
Hey, gentle readers, did you know I'm on Bluesky!
@viscounteric.bsky.social
As social media traffic goes, Bluesky is still a distant third in traffic than the Facebook and Twitter, but I
am satisfied with the engagement. That brings up on those classic lists that sprung up on usenet, then aol, then message boards, and so on, and so forth.
My limited research credits Capricorn Iscariot @deaconblues1979.bsky.social for this particular barrage, but I'll flesh out my answers here.
3. TTRPG I've played the most?
Friday, March 21, 2025
(Painting) Androids in Bones Black by Reaper
In a search for some missing items, I fell upon some blisters of easy-to-paint figures. Although it's been years of "You don't need primer" for any variety of Reaper Bones, the only figure that has chipped and cracked that I've primed before was a large Bones figure that warped over the years.
I'm still slapping on a quick coat of black primer, even if the figures are Bones Black link, just to help .
![]() |
Androids (2) RPR 49011 |
I have a bunch of worker bots, but androids/protocol droids, will be great objective markers, or (god forbid), someone wants one in their unit.
Next: Cultists, more quick Reaper stuff, Ducks, Mouslings, Gnome, sci-fi, and more Gnomes
Project 350: We take a bump up to 471 (299/172) from 459 (296/163). After the #CharacterCreationChallenge and #ZineQuest, it was time to reload some holiday posts and some new game concepts. Right now, my mission is to play more zombie games and find my missing parts for the Pulp game.
Thursday, March 20, 2025
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
(Painting) General Balfas
It was an off weekend for once, I eschewed the demands of my painting queue, focusing on some easy to paint figures.
I can't tell you what random line this figure is from, but I remember picking him up, missing arm and all, at one of the Historicons.
(Edit 3/31/25) In my cleaning of the shelves, I uncovered a blister insert revealing the figure as Krieg the Relentless from Fantasy Flight's Descent. I am amused he is intentionally missing his left arms.)
I picture him as General Balfas, a ancient warrior that was originally part of my first D&D campaign, recollected in my Lost Dispatches of Feraso series.
In the follow-up, they never completely destroyed the corpse, instead transporting the bones back to the village for a proper burial. Even in the write-up of a this narrative adventuring party, I forgot some of the special ability of the General, particularly his regenerative powers.
The blessing by Celeste was insufficient to break any such undead curse, so the good General has regenerated. Eventually crawling out of his grave. His sword, "The Betrayer" is long gone, as well as most of his fancy armor. He acquired a weapon and a redirected vengeance on humanity. After slaying the villagers, or forcing a few to flee, it's unsure exactly where he is....
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
(Gamma World) This is Not a Test #68 - Who's Worse than the Cabal of Evil?
Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers, are spending the winter scouting around KIA Academy. They continue to encounter and at this time, befriend the blue-skinned Kirothians, while other, more powerful faction prowl the forests.
=================
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.
=================
Back at the "modern" bridge which seemed to denote the southern extent of KIA Academy influence, the De Facto Explorers and the Kirothians hastily set up camp around the old website. Most ate what meager food they had, and huddled around the fires. A few set up defensive positions along the bridge.
Sonny pulled aside Elona to help speak with the three new Kirothians they had encountered.
Even Sonny could tell that they were dressed different than the first twenty or so they first encountered. Despite asking numerous ways, they didn't know who the strange attackers were. The attackers murdered a number of their villagers, but the Kirothian adult male does remember a few of the villagers being tied up and pulled away.
Elona finally explained that the first twenty Kirothians were all from the village of Vaeloria, which allegedly was upriver from their current positions. She also added one vital piece of data: The attackers of the new Kirothians were a completely different group than the robed human wizards that attacked them original Kirothians.
Satisfied for the moment, everyone got warm around the fire, until reports of a large, white, furry worm approached the bridge.
Squiggles was tired, but was not actively running from something.
Squiggles reported the decimation of the attacking living metal skeletons, by a very powerful unknown entity. He provided from unidentifiable fragments that were all that was left from their previous attackers, as well as the skull logo.
Realizing they were relatively safe, the conversation turned to what to do with the Kirothians. Elona had been firm with their desire to reach Fair-Town for refuge, but the logistics of getting them around the KIA proved problematic. Lathar questioned if helping them was even something they should be doing. Thankfully the other three ignored his ill-suited logic.
It was agreed upon that they would hunt for more provisions for a day before taking a long track around KIA, reaching out towards the ruins of the Toard Jakey and the old stone pavilion, before tracking back towards the main road on the northern border.
Everyone was surprised that no other scouting groups... of any sort or faction was encountered.
On the second day, as they began circumventing familiar sites, chaos came from above. The Kirothians panicked as another flying living metal device, spewing smoke flew in the direction of upriver along the tributary.
On the following day, the device returns in the sky, followed by three simply gargantuan eagles, one of whom is injured. They all flew back towards the river, and probably some site on the other side.
On day three of their journey, they moved into unfamiliar territory, and an unmarked, makeshift village!
The architecture is off, but despite the crudeness, there was obvious and different ornamentation.The attached Kirothians were unfamiliar with this group, although they were relived to encountered more of them.
The group decided a gentle, indirect approach, emerging cautiously from the treeline. Squiggles expected to find some sort of passive traps or ambushes, but was concerned that NOTHING at all had been set out.
As they got closer, a few heads timidly popped out of buildings, watching the large group with concern.
Elona acted as translator, but many of this group of Kirothians seemed to have picked up more trade speak. The village was largely populated by women, children, and some smaller men. Most emerged with bows, a few hand muskets, and a chubby child Kirothian had a Children's Alchemical Laser strapped to his back.
![]() |
A Children's Alchemical Laser, wielded by an actual child (Hollis)! |
![]() |
Thalindra Malen |
Everyone spent the night in the village, getting warm, and sharing food. Sonny compared notes with Hollis' alchemical laser, although it appeared to be in the original factory settings that they Explorers encountered with their own device.
Later that night a drunk, older Kirothian stumbles into the common building, staggers towards Lathar and points...."You are made out of caramel!!!!! How is that possible?... Can I lick you? I'll let you in on my secrets if I can lick you... lick me... no, lick you!
Lathar stuck out his arm, "Friend, you're going to be disappointed..."
The Kirothian took a long, disconcerting lick of his arm, and was repulsed. "You're disgusting!"
It appeared that the weird old man, Mathias was second person to escape the mines, and he knew exactly where the mine shaft they escaped from was....
A journey to the hills was in order....
Monday, March 17, 2025
Sunday, March 16, 2025
Introduction to Wargaming--The Battle of Elchingen
Saturday, March 15, 2025
(Kickstarter) Red Dust by Supernova Press
Sometimes you want to play an RPG set on the fourth planet from the sun without spending the dough on something awesome like Terraforming Mars.
For those fine folk, there's Red Dust, a 5e adventure, now on Kickstarter from Supernova Press.
From the Kickstarter:In Red Dust, players become elite troubleshooters dispatched to Jezero Station Bravo, a cutting-edge mining colony on Mars operated by Red Ore Ltd. Communication has gone silent following a devastating Martian storm and a groundbreaking discovery of rare metals deep beneath the Martian surface. Designed for Dungeons & Dragons 5e/5.5e, this module immerses players of levels 5-8 in themes of corporate greed, technological peril, and survival against environmental dangers and rogue AI.
Friday, March 14, 2025
(Fistful of Lead) Sitting Ducks
![]() |
(L-R, Kyle, Dog, Tina, Bouffay, Mel, Timmy, and Father) |
In the early days of the zombie apocalypse, this group was formed, escaping from the big city, then the suburbs, now scrounging for supplies around an abandoned farm. There still wasn't any concern for tactics, or cohesion, as they all crashed out in the barn, Kyle slumped over by the one barndoor, leading out to an open field.
Turn Two: Maybe the FoL Zombies are like the 28 Days Later version, because on a small board, they moved fast. Each direction (NSEW) went as a group, so when they moved unimpeded, that 8" was a jog.
Kyle abandoned the child, grabbed his bag of ammo, and staggered back by the grain silo to reload. Mel also fell back into the barn to clear her weapon/reload, while Bouffay met the zombies coming from the west and was fighting two of them off along the fence.
Timmy was wounded by the advancing zombies from the south, and was barely rescued by Father, emerging out of barn with his trusty shotgun!
![]() |
RIP: Dog |
![]() |
RIP Timmy |
For the next encounter, I'll reset things, and set up the loot markers. I think zombies need to be slowed down an inch (to 3"). Nine zombies total coming from all sides was a good, but brutal test. And I'll allow zombie groups of two for imitative.