Fall-In! Begins... Pick Up Those New Releases

 If you're still en route to Lancaster, have fun storming the castle.. or bunker... or dirigible made of cheese....

(Painting) Hawaiian Gnomes Wave 2

It's been a bit of fun with the research but the rest of the Hawaiian Gnomes are complete!

Like I've said before, I've seen them called Hawaiians, Polynesians, Tiki, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and to be honest, there's enough borrowed from each culture that they could all work.  

With that many variables, here's my big in-game suggestion: The Polygnomials.  

I did paint the early batch as Rapa Nui stone heads, but the rest I've fiddled around with bulky wooden Tiki-inspired heads.  The head style does not bring out the best in some Tiki styles, so I kept them simple.  

Now the strange little critter I had found during my early research post-Historicon, and as luck would have it, I failed to write in down and now I'm at a loss.  Polynesia in general doesn't have a good sized primate, but I swear it's some sort of trickster character with black and white colors. 

I also completed the previously missing figure from the three-piece goblins with spears set coming from Brigade Games. I updated the original post.

In the Queue: More Gnomes, Pulp, and Miscellany cleaning up the table, as things have already exploded.   

Project: 350 - Ah, the double edged sword of productivity!  I'm at 488 (281 drafts /207 scheduled) up from 481 (287/194). 

(Savage4) Tomb of the Serpent - #4.3 The Haunted Hall

There were more dreamers around the world, who dreamt of Egypt, who dreamt of ancient artifacts.  For one group, their dreams led them to Scottish Borders, through West Linton and Blyth Bridge, past Kirkurd Church and solemn gravestones, then down a narrow, tree-lined path to Fotherington Hall.  They recognized the building immediately.

I know there are some nice set-ups for Tomb of the Serpent, but my kids are more amused by building it out using Jenga blocks. 

Our Heroes

"Mango" Tangier, Dolores "El Dobbie" Gato (Wild Card) Diana "Dibby" Boyle (Wild Card) , and Aurelio Farmer

Dolores "El Dobbie" Gato was already on her third career.  Disgraced nobility, turn rooftop cat burgler, turned South American explorer, she only really trusted her right hand gal, Diana "Dibby" Boyle, a former nightclub singer known to go toe-to-toe with famous boxers who got a bit too frisky after the performance.   "Mango" Tangier was a seaplane pilot who needed to ditch his last plane (and very illegal cargo) into the Carribean, and Aurelio was a former reporter who fell in love with the concept of treasure hunting and adventure, but... just wasn't very good at it. 

TURN ONE:  Of course, the group split up in three directions.   Mango flew up the center hallway, kicking in doors, looking for anything they would help them find the relic.  

What he encountered was a strange robed individual... with no face! 

That person quickly had no pulse as Mango blasted him with his shotgun.  If anyone else was in the hall, they certainly knew they had visitors.

TURN TWO:  Dibby had a single-minded focus to reach the fireplace for some reason, but she stopped dead in her tracks and turned around when Aurelio's rifle went off.  A different dead cultist, with a giant knife, lay dead.

So far, so good.

More trouble was near, as the cultist with a tommy gun starting making too much noise in the darkness, the sound of metal clicking, and ... a dog barking?

Dolores had gone solo, and started to move a painting in the room... too many safes in walls from a past life.  The visage of a ghost appearing did surprise or hurt her all....  The faceless cultist who attacked her drew blood.   She needed to get rid of both of them, fast! 

Dolores drawing a LOT of attention. 

Mango had found a body of the maid at the end of the hall. Searching her uncovered a key that looked very old and important.    

TURN THREE:  

Mango didn't have much of a chance to think about it, as another cultist (with a hood, face status unknown) ran up and pistol-whipped him! 

Meanwhile, Dibby dodged a rain of bullets to get to the fireplace, and Dolores had her hands full with two cultists and a ghost, but held her own. 

TURN FOUR:   Gunfire was exchanged in the main room, the tommy gun finally silenced by Dibby.   Aurelio moved up carefully to investigate the barking.  

TURN FIVE:  Dibby pulled one of the wall sconces and she could hear a secret passage open... somewhere.  Aurelio found the source of the barking: a very scared old dog, properly belonging to the (probably deceased) master of the house.  He couldn't get the dog calmed down.  

TURN SIX:  Dibby wanted to explore more, but the sight of cultists running OUT of the building, rather than attacking signaled something was very wrong.  She starting moving out of the hall, firing at the escaping cultists.  Her shots were matched with Dolores' who had managed to compliment the faceless cultist with a headless one from her machete.  Grabbing her rifle, she was firing back at the cultists and ghost as she headed to the door.  

Mango couldn't take control the dog.  The rumbling floor gave the old canine a reason to run and it made it out okay.    Mango also grabbed the unlucky and unconscious Aurelio, a nice bump on his head.  

The explosion was deafening and the ensuing fire drove everyone out of the hall.  The cultists serving some evil master escape into the night, probably with the relic. 

When asked what to do now, Dolores answered calmly, "I've had other dreams,  I know where to go to next..."

I am converting the Temple of the Serpent campaign for Pulp Alley, into Savage Showdown (Savage World lite), the system, we've been using for our Pulp "Egypt" games for over a decade.  Episode 4.2 was a nail-biter until the end.  This one made me realized that there should be at least one more character in these crews.  I did find it amusing that the leader of each game thus far has been bogged down for most of the game, allowing the others to try and finish the scenario.  

After a decade of playing with the girls, I've learned to let them do their silly things, and I'll tweak things in the write-ups.  I had originally thought we would get Maja's gang up and running, but I was blessed with a lot more Millie time as I ran them back and forth from friends' houses.  Millie showed off her Gen Alpha energy, adding annoying phrases and number combinations in the names, but a simple request in ChatGPT gave us the names used in the scenario, as well as pretty elaborate back stories I toned down.  

Next: Episode 4.4 - The Thing in the Well

(Gamma World) Not a Test #96 - Currying the Favor of Inanimate Objects.

Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers, have returned to their "Pool Room" with their "glow-resistant" suit to clear out some odd objects, and continue their experiments on the Alchemical Laser.

================= 

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.   Looking for trouble in all the right places. The two-time champion of the Fair-Town Queen's Joust.

Sneaky Pete: A mutated weasel scout.  Pete's telepathy and night vision take a backseat when he whips out his electrical powers.  Apparently addicted to his newly uncovered yellow powder found at "The Pool House"

Sonny Helianthus: a nearly 10' tall sentient sunflower artifact examiner with trusted Restorationist ties. Knowledgeable,  but not a good one with device repairs or upgrades. 

Slitheran Wurmtail (aka Squiggles): a mutated earthworm scout, in impromptu power armor, looking for trouble in all the wrong places,  and finding it often.   He  has been subject to genetic testing and developed super-human strength, a more human body, and a thick coat of shaggy white hair.  He may be pregnant... again!

================================================================

Sneaky Pete was giddy.  Sonny was using a scoop to lower a small log in to the pool for the Alchemical Laser.  The sunflower had notated the settings for the control room, and after a few clicks, the log was still floating atop the pool, but transformed.  Sonny carefully lifted it out and it seemed to disintegrate upon touching the table.  

Pete scurried over, using his yellow-stained hands test the material, without any other concern.

He didn't say anything, shoving two handfuls into mouth and scooping the rest into the old glass jars held had carefully lugged through the wilderness, just for this one occasion.  He gleefully toted his treasures into the back corner of the control room.

Pete's addiction to the yellow powder seemed to grow.  Back in Fair-Town, he had broken of one of his jars sending the powder airborne.   Dropping a container of some of the of the powder had made him irate.  Squiggles tried his best to understand, but most activities only seemed to distract him.  His paws, face, and clothing were all stained, and while the spicy, pungent aroma of the powder was originally intriguing to his friends and neighbors, it was now becoming overbearing every time he stayed indoors. 

Sneaky Pete, Yellow Powder Addict

Placating the weasel, Sonny pulled out a series of large "farmer's nails." He had already kept copious notes involving their last trip to the Pool House, as well as the defective settings on the Children's Alchemical Laser, and with a few experiments with the nails, they were being transformed into a shiny gold substance, albeit one that seemed to crumble into a more chalk-like substance.   Using his "A" and "B" settings as something close to the intended goal, it was working on the "C" "D" and "E" dials where he thought he would need to fine-tune things. 

This post-apocalyptic attempt at the scientific method brought surreal results.  Some nails needed to be fished out of the pool, others floated to he top.  One gold nail floated up from the bottom and floated to the top of the 15-foot ceiling.  

Sonny also seemed immune to some of the odd effects these transformed nails exerted onto the others. The sunflower's senses were different that the human/animals. The other felt psychedelic effects from simply staring at the objects.  A few of the nails went from raw tools to uncomfortably perfect objects.  Sonny put the mentally affecting nails into colored jars, while the floating nails went into clear jars.  Even worse, Lathar noted one of the nails was not only floating behind Sonny, but it was following him!

Sonny continued his experiments, producing a gold nail that tracked lifeforms, a nails that seemed to emit a physically impossible amount of amber fluid.   Sonny but that one into a bucket he had found on site, and it was slowly filling up.  

Squiggles was getting very uncomfortable with the repeated use of the device, and the disconcerting effects of the these transformed nails.  He had already been wary of the giant gold bird statue that had mysteriously appeared in the testing chamber, so he slunk into a corner near the exit for the outside world.

Sonny continued with adjusting the settings, sometimes by one mark on the dial.  

The nail became shinier, but just stayed at the bottom of the pool.  Sonny tried to used the skimming tool to lift it up, without success.   Squiggles outright refused to help.  Lathar offered to jump in and grab it, but Sonny called it insanely dangerously, but together, even with Pete joining in,  they couldn't even budge the nail.

Squiggles was convinced to use his telekinetic powers to attempt to lift it out.  He was able to grasp it with his telekinetic hand, but he let go the second a voice manifested inside his mind.

"Kill Me"

Squiggles climbed back into the corner of room, emitting a small yelp.  

Pete: "If we can't physically get it out, we can simply change the dials on the machine so we can get it out."

Sonny clicked up on of the dials by 10% and the nail started floating towards the surface, then  leaving the water and floating up to the ceiling again. 

The experiments continues, one returning back to the chalky gold, another turning into a sticky, gooey gold....   Sonny stared moving up one notch on one dial for one, not about the discern any variations of these "gooey" nails, until he was nearing a previous result and the nail stayed at the bottom of the pool, unable to be moved with the skimmer.

Sonny:  "Squiggles, once more, my friend?..."

Squiggles was very reluctant, but stepped forward one more time and raised his hand.

The nail did not budge, but the worm heard another voice in his mind.

WHY WON'T YOU LET ME DIE???

Squiggles: "It's talking to me!!!!"

Sonny:  "What is?"

Squiggles: "The nail!"

Sonny:  "What's it saying?"

Squiggles: "It's saying it want's to die!"

Sonny:  "Can you communicate with it?"

Squiggles: "F--- that!  That's not my department.  I'm getting the hell out of here!"

Squiggles had enough and exited the facility, and sitting on the ground next to No-Name and the wagon.

Pete, covered with his yellow powder, was recruited to speak to the nail, but couldn't talk to it... but the nail was certainly yelling at him.

YOU IDIOTS NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE YOUR DOOM US ALL.  JUST LEAVE ME HERE TO DIE! 

Pete relayed the message to the others...

Sonny:  "Fascinating... can you see if the other nails can talk?"

Pete girded his psychic loins... discovering six more nails that appeared sentient, with the same demands.  The weasel still twitches back from the group of nails demanded to be murdered, his denial that all of this was real the only thing that kept him from losing his mind. 

Sonny went back to the drawing board, adjusting one more setting and trying to remove the sentience from the nail in the tank.  

There was initially no noticeable effect on the nail.  Sonny and Pete neared the tanking, cautiously grabbing the skimmer while the weasel detected the mind of the nail.  

It was quiet.

Sonny noticed the bucket with the nail had tipped over somehow, amber liquid pouring across the floor.  It was Sonny that noticed the jars on the experiment table began moving, skidding across the table, falling to the ground, shattering.  The nails appeared to move towards the pool, the glass shard sliding as well, but not as fast.  

Sonny's medallion around his neck was now horizontal pointing towards the nail..

There was an odd metallic thud hitting the tiled floor.  The guys looked to Lathar, who was holding a ring that had been attached to his belt.  

"Guys?  Something's missing."

A grenade, which had never been identified, was rolling towards the alchemical pool.....

GM Notes: The other title we pulled for this session was "Monkeys Playing With Artillery"

Also "There's always one asshole in the party with a grenade."

Next:  #97 - Boom

(Painting) Random Male Monks of Kawaii

As I mentioned before, I cleaned up the office, which meant reorganizing bins of lead... Some of the lead was rude and not only ended up on the table, but jumped the painting queue!  These monks are part of that results. 

These figures are massive compared to other figures on the bench, yet when I measured them, base-to-eyes?  25mm.  I picked these up at one of the Wally's Basements during the HMGS cons for only a couple dollars, so I have no idea who originally cast them.  They'll probably be part of my color coding process for bad guys in Season 4 of the Egypt game. 

Another Month of New Gaming (November 2025)

Gotta admit some bias in going over this months solicitations from Alliance.   I never list anything under the pretense of the "Imaginary Store List", but about halfway through,  I was so unimpressed with a lot of the board games in the book that I simply didn't list them.   Companies I've never heard of, odd game concepts, poor box art and ridiculous prices didn't help.  

Game Trade Magazine #309 can be found at your Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS) or digitally in PDF form here. 

ViscountEric's Want List

Nothing

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

Grand Games Guild

The Belgian Beers Race Dice .................................... $29.99

The Imaginary Store List (The Pegleg Gnome)

25th Century Games

La Habana ................................................................. $29.99

Operation Barclay ..................................................... $39.99

Accessory Power

Must be the first ever solicitation for Accessory, as there are pages of gaming backpacks, dice , dice accessories, etc.  First strike?  The consumer guide has prices list as PI (Please Inquire).  For the game shop owner, this means they aren't getting their traditional discount on the item, so pricing may vary.    Second strike, the pricing isn't too bad but it's still a big spend to start stock a decent number of items.  One of my FLGS stocked a series of leather satchels and bags for RPGs that were just a above their retail prices.  Sold through in a year, broke even around seven months.  

Alley Cat Games

Lost! in the Woods ...................................................... $19.99

Arcane Wonders

Cat and the Tower ....................................................... $24.99

If Then ....................................... $17.99

Bandai

Dragon Ball Super Card Game Fusion World - Set 9 Boosters/Starters

Big Potato Limited

Don't Fall For It ..................................................... $24.99

Mine Turtle ............................................................ $20.93

Capstone Games

Pondscape .................................. $19.95

Catalyst Game Labs

Battletech Commanders Handbook ...................... $39.99

Guardians of the Four Winds Card Game ............ $29.99

Leviathans: The Great War - Rulebook ................ $39.99

Leviathans is a steampunk-esque game were Age of Dreadnought style early 20th Century vessels now fly around the sky.  Nice to see a Kickstarter that pulled in over $600K has fulfilled and reaced distribution channels, although I like to see some support before investing in another miniatures line.  

Shadowrun RPG: 6th Edition Risks and Rewards ........ $49.99

Shadowrun RPG: Dues Ex Arcana ................................ $49.99

Shadowrun RPG: Mean Streets ..................................... $49.99

Voltron Legendary Defender RPG ................................  $39.99

Chessex Manufacturing

2025 Chessex Holiday Calendar ................................... $59.98    

Hidden Wonders: Polyhedral 7-Die Set ........................ $ 9.98

Blind bag dice sets...  I'd pack these up for conventions after the novelty runs out at the store. 

Compass Games

British Tank Ace ............................................. $95.00

Desert Blitzkrieg ............................................ $69.00

Cubicle 7

The Laundry RPG: Operative's Handbook .....................  $49.99

The Laundry RPG: Supervisor's Guide ..........................  $49.99

The Laundry RPG:  Black Bag Jobs Exposed ................. $39.99

The Laundry RPG: Introduction to Applied Occult Computing ...... $34.99

Warhammer 40K RPG: Day of Ascension Card Game ....... $19.99

A card game based of the role-playing game based off the miniatures wargame.... got it!

Warhammer Fantasy RPG: Sea Wardens of Cothique HC .......... $34.99

Dyce Games

First to Worst: Holiday Edition - Base .......................... $19.99

First to Worst: Holiday Edition - Tuckbox Expansion .. $ 9.99

Horrible listing.  I think the tuckbox is the expansion (that word isn't included in the solicitation).  The tuckbox says it's 100 new cards, but that looks to be the same base set (base set is not included either).  With pricing, there should be a significant difference, but I can imagine a few FLGS order just the tuckbox because it's cheaper and getting some disappointed customers. 

Evil Genius Gaming

Everyday Heroes RPG: Anniversary Rulebook .......... $69.99

Fanroll

Dragon Plush Dice Bag .............................................. $24.95

Available in Blue or Purple.

Ghost Galaxy

The Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation ................ $54.99

The Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation - Card Sleeves ............ $14.99

Indie Board & Cards

Sherlock: The Game is Afoot .................................... $29.99

Kobold Press

Dungeons Deep (Tales of the Valiant and 5e) ........... $39.99

Tales of the Valiant RPG: Book of Blades HC .........  $39.99

Konami Digital Entertainment

Yu-Gi-Oh! Burst Protocol Boosters

Loke

Big Book of Battle Mat:  Bastions and Strongholds .......... $29.99

Messy Table Games 

A Lotta Axolotls 2nd Edition .............................. $19.99

Booty Dice .......................................................... $19.99

French Goats in Trench Coats ............................ $19.99

Pokemon USA

Pokemon TCG: Mega Evolution - Phantasmal Flames Boosters

Random House 

Marvel Multiverse RPG: Avengers Expansion ............... $49.95

Sirius Dice

For $19.99 you can get Stranger Things Polyhedral Adventure Dice, a set for each of at least six characters from the show.  Disappointed there isn't a set for Argyle, for obvious reasons. 

Stranger Things Dice Blind Bags  ................... $14.95 each

D&D Undermountain Dice Blind Bags ........... $19.95 each

The Stranger Things Blind Bag include a d20, a dice bag, and a coin.  The D&D is a dice pouch, collectible coin, and a complete dice set.

Steve Jackson Games

Dahlia's Diversions for Peculiar Parties .............. $29.95

Fighting Fantasy Books 1-5 w/ Slipcase ............. $80.00

Munchkin Warhammer 40K - Grudges and Gore Expansion ......... $23.95

Van Ryder Games

Enemies & Lovers - The Crown of Elfhame ........ $29.99

Wizards of the Coast

D&D: Forgotten Realms - Adventures in Faerun  HC................. $59.99

D&D: Forgotten Realms - Heroes of Faerun HC ........................ $49.99

Magic: The Gathering  - Lorwyn Eclipsed 

Bundles, Collector Boosters, Commander Decks, Draft Night, Play Boosters, and Theme Decks available. 

Wizkids

D&D Adult Amethyst Dragon - Painted  .................................... $99.99

D&D Adult Amethyst Dragon - Unpainted  ..............................  $99.99

D&D Onslaught - Tomb of Horros Maps and Monsters Exp ....  $59.99

D&D Onslaught - Expansion Custom Character Kit ................. $39.99

D&D Replica of the Realms  - Red Dragon Egg ....................... $39.99

Marvel Heroclix - Venom Boosters

Marvel Heroclix - Venom Horse .................... $24.99

Marvel Heroclix - Venom T-Rex .................... $39.99

Marvel Heroclix - Venom Map and Terrain Kit .... $24.99

(Savage4) Tomb of the Serpent - #4.2 The Craft Fair of Chaos

While our normal heroes recover from the Attack on Lake's Wharf, some sleep soundly for the first time in years.... others can't close their eyes at all during the night, staring into the darkness of what they can't see... but they know it's everywhere...

It will be other "heroes" who get the dream, like Alexander Mikoyn.  His hair is turning white.  He saw enough of the horrors of war during the Great War and the Russian Civil War.   He's seen thing men... or comrades were not meant to know, and as a high ranking agent of the SV-8, he's kept the Motherland safe, even as the threat of Stalin's purges keep his head on a swivel.

But he's never dreamt of Egypt before.  Doesn't even remember if he's ever seen more than artist's work of the pyramids, but there, in his dream, he's there, in all its vivid glory.   The old gods of Egypt are there... with a message.

He wakes up, wide-eyed.  The message is distorted and hazy, but the meaning is still clear.  A great evil is returning to the world, and he must assemble his trusted cohort and save humanity.

He must go to this... Indiana....

Alexander (Wild Card), Elani (Wild Card), Viktor, and Myshkin

Greystone, Indiana -  Mr John T Rea has always been a respectable businessman.  Scratch that, he's been a shyster and a con since the day he was born.  But the cons aren't as profitable as they once were.    Event the "Sideshow of the Incredible" hasn't been making money for weeks.  They've been forced to join forces with a popular local community craft fair... with just the flair for pranks and spookiness. 

It's the early morning, and Rea is wandering through town, grabbing a cup of coffee from the folks setting up a kitchenette in the back of a truck, before the craft fair... and his failure of a sideshow opens up.  He worries about how he's going to make payroll this week, especially after spending the last of the money on a number of supposed relics some scoundrel pawned off on him.  Egyptian in look, he's quite certain that law enforcement is going to descend on him.  He just has no idea who's coming for him that morning.  

Greystone, Indiana.  The Objectives are numbered with green dice 

Alexander Mikoyn and his associates don't know exactly what they're looking for... and they don't know the Servants of Apophis are in town for the same mission, but a far more nefarious purpose.  

The Serpent Priest, 4 Militant Cultists (guns), 1 Fierce Cultist (sword)

Turn One:  Alexander walks through the graveyard to the first objective, a broad-shouldered man kneeling in front of a gravestone.    Two-Gun Babbitt is an associate of Rea, his marksmanship and feats of daring-do bring in the nickels to the sideshow.  But he's also the whole reason they're in Greystone, wishing to visit his mother's grave, after his own dreams of Egypt trouble his mind.  

It doesn't help that a crazy old man with a thick Russian accent comes stumbling through the cemetery, barking at him with word he doesn't understand.  And what's up that the pick axe?

(Alexander is a grumpy old Russian man who kills monsters for the Soviet Union.  He gets a -2 to interact with people, plus his limp forced him to run to Mr Babbitt... another -2 modifier, and almost a guaranteed failure.  He should be grateful ol' Two Gun wasn't a perilous objective, or he quite certainly would have been shot in the face. )

Babbitt was  going to be a gentleman and start walking away to avoid a confrontation, if the bullets from the cultists didn't start flying... and missing.  A loud man barking in broken English with a Russian accent seems to attract cultists!  Even the priest tried to throw a serpent curse onto Alexander, but he easily shook it off.  

Alas, poor Mishkyn, he was dim-witted, but had survived some skirmishes with Alexander back in the Soviet Union.  We walked with no impetus towards his objective.  A rifle shot over his head made him turn to his left, and a pistol shot behind him struck his back, dropping him. 

Turn Two: Meanwhile, the only cultist who brought a sword to a gun fight rendezvoused with their contact in town.  The relic they were seeking was somewhere in town, just not with him. 

Another agent for the Servants...

The Serpent Priest was getting dispirited.  He was throwing every type of curse and eldritch blasts his dark gods had granted him at the Russian, and there was no effect, save the old man scaring away some cultists, and the other individual wandering away. 

Victor avenged his friend Miskyn's death, trading shots until the cutist's body his the truck and slumped down onto the cobblestone.   Mr Rea, finally coffee in hand, began to look for an escape from this chaos.  

Elani's mission was the snake charmers tent, trading shots with a cultists before diving into booth... full on snakes.  The snakes managed to do what the cultist couldn't:  wound her. 

Turn Three:  With the gunfire and explosion, Two-Gun put some pep in his step, turning around, only to be met with the business end of the cultist's sword. Two objectives secured for the Servants of Apophis!

(Our fierce cultist drew a Joker, allowing him initiative, a +2 to rolls , a +2 to damage and a Bennie [reroll]. His measly minion dice exploded, seizing the objective [Two-Gun].  It just made sense that he killed the gunslinger on the spot.)

Back at the gravesite, things had gone from bad to worse for Alexander.  His mouth agape from watching the outright murder of Two-Gun, the graveyard exploded with a blast, sending the Russian flying, wounded, bleeding, but otherwise intact. 

Alexander Mikoyn might be in trouble.... 

Elani had managed to get the information she need from the snake charmer, then fired a burst from her SMG at the cultist creeping up to the booth.  

Viktor might just be a spy living in the States, an untested asset for Alexander, but he was proving his worth with each moment.  Viktor reached Mr Rea.  Despite the broken English, the gunfire and other fellows wearing robes within eyesight convinced the sideshow owner than Viktor was one of the good guys.   

Soviets: 2 objectives, Servants: 2 objectives. 

Turn Four:   A shot rang out between Viktor and Mr Rea.  Viktor pushed Mr Rea back behind the truck  with his hand to the face, before rolling to the cover of the water fountain and kills the cultist across the square! 

Elani walked towards the chaos in the cemetery, unleashing her SMG on the sword wielding cultists.  

(She needed a single wound to kill them.  She got five!)

Under threats of torture or sacrifice from the Serpent Priest the one cowardly cultists finally got to nerve to hop of the cemetery wall and go after Alexander, shooting him with a pistol  The Russian was in a bad spot, still on the ground, crawling to the far wall from where he came from...

But he wasn't ready to die quite yet.

Meanwhile, the Serpent Priest finally moved, turning the corner to confront Elani! 

Turn Five:  The cultist standing over Alexander's head was covered, but there obviously a smile of sadistic glee on his face as he simply kept pace with the crawling Russian, putting a few more rounds into him as they neared the wall. Alexander had somehow regained some of his composure to futilely swing his pick axed at the cultist's ankles. 

(Alexander had finally recovered from being shaken, but chose to attack from the ground for cinematic purposes.  The same cinematic purposes that made the point-blank shots look painful, but in reality, the minion kept missing!   Let's chalk that up to the world-renowned Soviet seamstresses that made his uniform!)

Viktor dashed across the town square to the booth with the last objective, reaching it but unable to roll for it. The Serpent priest turned all his attention to Elani, casting dark and ancient Egyptian curses at her.  She laughed and spouted off something back at him, her own curse, not in Russian.  Finnish?  Or something older?  

(She needed a 4 to avoid the curse on a d6, with exploding dice with got a 19).  

The priest threw an eldritch bolt at her... she sidestepped it.  

(He used the last of his Bennies to finally get a hit and a wound on her, she used her last Bennie to soak the wound...)

Turn Six:  Viktor spoke with the gentle behemoth inside the booth.   Two objectives, two dead cultists.  Not bad for a mere minion.  Three objectives for the Soviets. 

Elani just lowered her SMG and said... "Minun vuroroni" 

And Alexander, the human target for this encounter?   He finally managed to get up on one knee and swing his pick-axe properly....

And that's how the Soviets acquired The Wand of Destiny from some sideshow barker in Indiana....

I've been playing "The Egypt Game" with my girls on and off for the last ten years.  My plan for "Season Four"  was a big send-off for our original heroes (Episode 4.1) followed by new groups/gangs/leagues, to use Pulp Alley, and run Tomb of the Serpent.

Beside a near lifetime to finally get the Zulus painted up for Episode 4.1, the girls have moved away and I'll be perfectly honest:  I love Pulp Alley, I love the cards, I love the feel... but we've been playing a version of Savage Showdown since my oldest, Maja, was three... and she drives now!    It works, we adapt.  

A lifetime ago... playing TIARA, which I created, but realized it was kid friendly Savage Worlds/Showdown. 

I was also not going to invest in circus tents and sideshow minis for a one-off game, so I made due with what I had.  My only regret is I do have three different types of cultist minis for each type in the scenario, and the proper "fierce" ones were right behind me the entire time.  

Next:  #4.3 - The Hall of Horrors

I got some of the inspiration for the board from a Pulp Alley game at The Land of Counterpane. 

Happy Halloween 2025!

 

(Painting) The Nā Koa Pohaku of the Pacific Islander Gnomes from Brigade Games

The big Gnome Wars release was what I was told was "Hawaiian" Gnomes.  Since then there is great debate over the masks and dress whether they're Polynesian, Tiki, Hawaiian, and even a healthy dose of Rapa Nui (Easter Island).  

I've decided for my first unit to have some diversity, so here are the Rapa Nui-inspired Hawaiian Nā Koa Pohaku:  The Stone Warriors

Perhaps I don't understand Gnome physiology, but it's unclear is the figures have decorative garb completely around their necks (painted green), or if they just have very odd shoulder blades.   I'm assuming in most cases, you won't see their shoulder blades... although if you're properly terrified the Island Gnomes might see yours running away.

There's also a unsubstantiated rumor that the Gnomes should be completely stone Rapa Nui, from head to toes.  Does that mean the loincloth is stone too? 

(Edit: I did complete the rest of the Island Gnomes, in Tiki-related style.  They can be found here.

In the Queue: More Gnomes, Star Wars, and some Pulp trickling onto the bench.

Project: 350 -  I'm adding just as much as I'm finishing... almost.  481 posts "in production" (287/194) from 479 (285/194) .  

(Kickstarter) Space Dwarves Predators 'Hunter And Hunted

Macrocosm is at it again with another wave of Space Dwarves, paying homage to to a fantastic 80's movie with Space Dwarves Predators 'Hunter And Hunted

For us American folks, early bird pledges for the whole set are $54, and $60 when those are filled.  Of all the British companies I frequent, I've never had a issue with delivery, be it product or physical shipping from the UK, so I can heartily recommend these...

(Fistful of Gnomes) Attack of the Inflatable Mummies

I actually had the girls come down this weekend, and despite assuming my Uber-Dad persona, transporting them to sleepovers and early Halloween parties, we actually got some gaming and painting done!  

But we did get our Halloween game in, finally bringing the oversized Dollar General Mummies onto the table, a sequel to the Attack of the Inflatable Zombie Pirates.

After the Attack of the Inflatable Zombie Pirates, and the snowball fights getting out of hand last winter, Holidaytown is having more than just its seasonal identity crisis.   The permanent vendor structures were built on the village green for all the festivals, painted in a Christmas and MayDay Red.  In response, the Halloween committee blew their budget on inflatable lawn decorations, to overwhelm the vendor buildings... and the gingerbread building all decked out in October. 

A few of the more nefarious committee members wanted revenge on the town, and enchanting the generator and the new inflatable mummies in the middle of the festival was the fastest solution...

Lucky for the rest, there were six brave souls willing to fight back...

Our B-Team (Gnome, Vampire, and Sausage King) getting their picture taken, moments before it came to life.

The B and C Team (Nun, Ninja, Leprechaun)

The Mummies

Objective: Destroy!

d10 Melee

Only one wound

Can only move 6" per turn (the curse requires the generator to operate, but they may move anywhere, even if they pull their plug out.)

Soulless (Shaken results are ignored)

At the end of each round, so long as the generator is operational, roll for reinforcements.

1-2:  One Mummy

3:  Two Mummies

4: One Inflatable Pirate

5: Two Inflatable Pirate

6: Special (further results are Inflatable Pirates).

Our Heroes (Regardless of Costume)

Objective: Save the other townsfolk, stop the attack.  The Heroes must be in base to base contact with the generator and make two basic (4+) task rolls to disconnect the generator and deflate their enemies chance of winning. 

d10 Melee  (d10 Shooting if they have something they can throw)

No penalties for weaponless attacks, No bonuses for blunt force attacks. 

May make a double move. 

May take an action to yell at civilians to make them leave.  No roll necessary.  Civilians move an extra 6" towards a table edge. 

Civilians

Objective: No die and maybe escape.

d8 Melee 

No penalties for weaponless attacks, No bonuses for blunt force attacks. 

Will move 6" like a headless chicken (In a random direction) when the Civilian card is drawn.  They will not run directly at the Inflatables, but will attempt to "just get by them" no closer the 2" from them. 

The Cursed Generator is next to the church (upper left)

Turn One: 

Once the Roman Legionnaire snapped the picture of the three friends, the mummies came to life, two of them first thought it was some cool new decoration, but the Gnome noticed it wasn't plugged in anymore.   The Gnome hopped the fence, and impaled the monster with his pickaxe, deflating it. 

"We're in trouble, but they can be killed!"

The Sausage King rushed over and tells his Centurion friend to get out of Dodge.  The vampire,  seeing another mummy comes to life, runs over it and gets smacked around  and locked in the combat.  

Across the rest of the village green, screams erupted from the civilians as the mummies came to life. 

The mummies did not discriminate against the heroes or the civilians. It didn't matter if they were a ninja, Santa Claus, the Eldar cosplay, the guy running the pizza stand, or even the dude in the Inflatable Godzilla costume, whoever was closest would be targeted. 

Of course, the dude dressed as a Ninja thought they were the best, and charged one of the mummies, getting wounded in the process.  Lucky for them, the Nun was a paramedic and got the Ninja up and running, the Nuns target was the strange glowing generator by the church.  

At the end of the turn, a roar came from the church, a Giant Skeletal Dragon was climbing on top of the church roof...  like a guardian for the cursed generator. 

"I told you these giant skeletons were getting out of hand!"

Turn Two:
The Nun snuck around the statue, under the eyeless gaze of the skeletal dragon, inching closer to the generator.   It still gave the Nun a front row view as the Skeletal Dragon leapt from the roof and devoured the poor civilian dressed as Stargirl (Next time I am adding horror rolls.)

The Ninja dispatched his mummy and froze, trying to find another target.

The mummies advanced, although some villagers showed quite some resilience.  The Eldar cosplayer couldn't pop her mummy, but she did push it back.  She realized the sword was probably more effective without the protective foam around it, and once corrected, the mummy fell to the ground. 

The Gnome tried to run over and help his Vampire buddy, but even with the 2-on-1, that mummy knocked him out with ease.  

At the end of the turn, two inflatable zombie pirates entered the village green, one of them directly behind the Nun

"Not these guys again!!!"

Turn Three:

It looked like it was curtains for the Nun, but the Ninja strengthened by his previous victory dashed over the mailbox and deflated the zombie pirate!  That allowed the Nun to reach the generator and begin turning it off! 

A few more civilians staggered off the board, much thanks to the poor Leprechaun.  His shillelagh was completely ineffective against and evil pillow of air, and throughout the entire battle, he just kept getting battered by his mummy.  Finally getting a glancing hit in, he tossed himself over a fence for a little separation. 

The civilians were a bit more valiant than originally planned.

The Skeleton Dragon turns around and just scarfs  up the nearby Santa Claus that was trying to sneaker under its tail.   The remaining civilians were dropping like flies, a few taking the Sausage King's warnings at first, but completely wandering off the second his back was turned. 

Two more Inflatable Zombie Pirates appeared at the end of the turn.

Turn Four: 
The Nun stared down the Skeletal Dragon as she flipped the second switch, and the generator stops glowing and goes quiet.

The mummies do not deflate... 

It makes weird cinematic sense that the mummy fighting the Vampire, the one furthest away from the generator, was the next to fall.

Unsure of its own fate, the Skeletal Dragon ate the Nun in a sense of ornamental undead revenge.  No more that a few second later, the Ninja leapt upon the creature's back in a slew it with one hit!  

With the generator off, the reinforcements finally stop. 

Turn Five: 
One of the small children had turned  from safety and ran back into the arms of her mother.  The woman could only tell the child to ran as fast as they can... and they obeyed, not looking back to see her trip on a root and get pounced on by a deflating, but still very deadly, mummy.  

The Ninja, who certainly earned the right to wear his badass costume, killed a zombie pirate with a throwing star, and surveyed the damage.  He could only stand atop the ruins of the Skeletal Dragon, unable to stop the unfortunate demise of the Leprechaun and the dude in the Godzilla costume in the final moments before all the remaining deflatables went flat. 

Godzilla was a civilian, so that red wound token should have dropped him.

We weren't really keeping track of points, but the Heroes did stop the attack, with significant losses.

Seven civilians escaped.  

Seven perished.

Three Heroes survived,

Three perished. 

(Gamma World) Not a Test #95 - The Charcuterie Toll

Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers,  have had a triumphant stay in Fair-Town,  Lathar has repeated as jousting champion, Sonny has acquired a "glow suit", and Squiggles has gleefully endured extended sessions of vermiculture.  

They now only wait on the completion of Pete's feather cloak, a dream of his since their early days, for the group to return to Riverbend and perhaps, their secret "Pool Room" 

================= 

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.   Looking for trouble in all the right places. The two-time champion of the Fair-Town Queen's Joust.

Sneaky Pete: A mutated weasel scout.  Pete's telepathy and night vision take a backseat when he whips out his electrical powers.  Apparently addicted to his newly uncovered yellow powder found at "The Pool House"

Sonny Helianthus: a nearly 10' tall sentient sunflower artifact examiner with trusted Restorationist ties. Knowledgeable,  but not a good one with device repairs or upgrades. 

Slitheran Wurmtail (aka Squiggles): a mutated earthworm scout, in impromptu power armor, looking for trouble in all the wrong places,  and finding it often.   He  has been subject to genetic testing and developed super-human strength, a more human body, and a thick coat of shaggy white hair.  He may be pregnant... again!

Thunnelda Haycock:  A peculiar local woman, who has a penchant for wandering the surrounding territories for particular oddities, but has become the fiancé of Lathar.  She just finished second to Lathar in the joust, yet there is an underlying current.  

================================================================

Leaving Fair-Town

The last day in Fair-Town was finally here for the explorers, as Sneaky Pete was finally able to go to Mistral Stitchweaver's shop to pick up his cloak of red piranha feathers. 

They traveled upriver, and encounter a fair share of travel both ways.    

Two-thirds of the way back home, they encountered a new sign to the side of the road, in  paint, "Pay the invisible toll or else!

Sonny flicks an "invisible domar" near the sign, and a pile of small stones hit his roots. 

Sonny couldn't find a source of the thrown rocks, but he and everyone else could hear a disembodied voice snarling, "No freebies!  Pay up or face the wrath of the Air Lords."

Pete powered up his telepathy and could feel at least two entities thinking.

"If they can't see us, do we really exist?"

Sonny and Pete had a lengthy conversation with these so-called "Air Lords"  outside of Pete's telepathy, no one could detect anything. Even Pete and Squiggles using their scout abilities couldn't find tracks in the area.

The conversations grew louder among their invisible group."How much do we collect for the toll?  We should have written it down..."

"We're invisible air lords, how would we be able to read it?  Heck, where are half of us?  Where's Greg???"

Lathar whispered something into Thunnelda's ear, and she quickly  dashed over to the sign.

"Do you have cheese for a toll??  Wait!  Do we like cheese?  Why won't they pay a toll"

Sonny and Pete counted marching down the road, the recipient of many vocal curses from these invisible "Air Lords."

Meanwhile, Lathar and Squiggles conferred away from the sign and decide to make an offering for the toll.  Taking a shovel, they placed some hard tack atop the shovel blade laid it near the sign.  

Lathar:  "If we did have some cheese, this could be a charcutier board"   Like magic, the shovel and food seemed to vanish.  

"You may pass, as well as the one poking around our sign, a boon upon your families!!!!  Now, somebody find Greg"

Returning back to Riverbend                                                                                     

Lathar received a hero's welcome in Riverbend.  For now, Thunnelda returns to her brother's home, as Lathar fights with his mother to let his fiancée  to live in their home.  The discussion advances to Lathar either showing up or shutting up.  The wedding should be planned within the next two months, before the harvests begin.  

The Explorers restock their supplies and trek out to the old Toard Jakey research facility that they've renamed, "The Pool House"                                                                                                                                                                                    

The Pool House 

The Explorers restock their supplies and trek out to the old Toard Jakey research facility that they've renamed, "The Pool House"  

Both Squiggles and Pete trip the ambush senses not once, but twice on their journey to the Pool House. Despite an extensive search, they could find nothing, nor were they eventually ambushed. 

The Pool House appeared to be the same as they left things.  Bedecked in the glowsuit, Lathar uses leverage and brute strength to drag the statue out of the pool room and out of the facility.  

Realizing the best course of action was burying the odd statue, Lathar laughed: 

"I really could have used that shovel right now...."

Squiggles refuses to be anywhere near the bird statue, but agrees to dig a hold deep enough for the statue to drop in.    With the statue buried, Sonny and Pete when back into the control room, cleaning up a number of large black feathers on the floor.  

"What are we going to do with these feathers?"  Pete asked.

"Discard them, or we can give them to Greg at that invisible toll booth next time we go downriver," Sonny responded.

GM: I have provided Lather's player with a quest:  Set up a bridal registry for Lathar and Thunnelda.  I can't wait until it goes live, and I award extra xp.

Next:  #96 - Currying the Favor of Inanimate Objects

"The Ballad of the Mighty Leek"

 "The Ballad of the Mighty Leek"

(A haunting tune sung in dimly lit wasteland taverns, where mutants sip questionable moonshine and remember fallen heroes.)

(Slow, eerie strumming on a cracked-up acoustic guitar, with the occasional melancholic howl from a mutant wind in the background.)

---

[Verse 1]

Gather 'round, you mutants bold,
Hear a tale both dark and cold,
Of a hero tall and green,
A warrior lost to the cookfire’s steam.

[Chorus]

Oh, Mighty Leek, you fought so well,
Struck down by a dinner bell!
Blades and lasers could not fell,
But hunger rang your final knell…

(Low whistle solo, followed by the distant clang of a rusted pot lid.)

[Verse 2]

He led the charge with sharpened leaves,
Carved through foes like autumn sheaves,
Stood his ground in battle’s heat,
Till fate betrayed him to boiling defeat.

[Chorus – Soft, then rising]

Oh, Mighty Leek, you fought so well,
Struck down by a dinner bell!
Blades and lasers could not fell,
But hunger rang your final knell…

(Distant sound of a ladle stirring… the wind howls mournfully.)

[Bridge]

No grave remains, no stone to mark,
Just whispers carried through the dark,
They say his soul still stirs the pot,
A warrior’s spirit, forever hot.

[Final Chorus – Slow, fading]

Oh, Mighty Leek, you fought so well,
Struck down by a dinner bell…
Blades and lasers could not fell…
But hunger rang your final knell…

(Song ends with a single, eerie slurp sound… then silence.)