(Gamma World) Not a Test #103 - Meet the Neighbors

The De Facto Explorers have decided to forge the wilderness across the Big River to investigate a new region full with the possibility of Treasures of the Ancients... in the Petrified Woods.

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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.  Recently married Thunnelda Haycock.

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 four arms, and 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.  Recently gave birth to a pile of baby worms. 

Luna of the Restorationists:  Recent recruit of the Restorationists, who had uncovered artifacts across the River.  

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Realizing that something was quite prevalent in the petrified wood, Pete moved back on the trail, and advised the others to spread out and slowly search within the woods for the artifacts.  Lathar took the right flank, Luna the left, while Sonny stood at the crossroads with Squiggles.  The worm certainly did not want any part in these shenanigans.  Something was off. 

Lathar saw some sort of odd material strung up across some trees.  He was about to shout over to Pete, but the weasel's poor attempt at whistling filled the woods.  

Pete had caught two large rabbit-humanoids, more than six feet tall apiece, had lumbered over to hide behind on a fallen petrified tree.  One of them had held a obvious rifle, but Pete couldn't ascertain what type it was.  The attentions of the rabbits... obvious Hoopers, was beyond Pete's position.  He was safe for now. 

Lathar heard the heed of the whistle, but moved closer to the items,  There was some odd material of the Ancients, ripped in parts, with splashes of yellow.  Lathar could not make out what the material was, or what it had once been used for. 

"Whistle!"  A female voice emitted out of the woods.  She was out of view of the others, and by the time Pete finally got back to check on the Hoopers... one of them was missing. 

"Whistle!!!"   the repeated again, and for one final time. 

Squiggles dashed to the left flank hoping everything was alright. 

The worm barged in upon a peculiar sight.  

Luna was there, perfectly intact, standing beside much a large humanoid rabbit, holding a sword at Squiggles.  

Squiggles threw his hands in the air, "Whoah!" 

Luna just looks at the worm, "Squiggles!  Look what I found!"

Squiggles:  A big rabbit.  

Luna:  You know, I think they like to be called Hoppers.

Hopper:  You know... you could ask, I'm right here....

Davor the Hooper

Davor of the Hoppers explained his tribe lived in burrows in the petrified wood.  Squiggles, back up by Luna, expressed their desire just to explore.

Squiggles: I thought you were in danger? 

Luna:  No, I found a cache of artifacts, pointing to a circle of artifacts.

Squiggles:  Sonny!!!!

The sunflower moved over to the human, the worm, and the Hopper.  The Hopper was caught off guard by the size of the plant. 

Luna moved to show her find:  A circle of cloth, metal, and the inner workings of living metal, most of the parts crushed and woven amongst the other junk. 

Sonny:  Is this your doing? 

Davor the Hopper: Yes, we wanted  a well-marked spot for our offal pit when we're on patrol around the Stonewoods.

The four compared notes, amazed that they were all speaking the same language,  Davor the Hopper finally called over his partner Muir-Ray... Pete sneakily followed the second Hopper over to the action.   Sonny expressed a need to search for "tech', a term the Hoppers did not comprehend, confusing it for a missing friend.

The two Hoppers confided with each other, popping their heads up, "Would you like to see our burrow?"

Sonny called for Lathar, and they were all led through the woods to a burrow hole, certainly large enough for Hoppers, but forcing Sonny to crouch.  

Muir-Ray:  We're happy you're not hostile.  Many humans are.

Sonny:  Well, for starters, I a plant.  Second, my fellow explorers are more than paranoid enough to let me be curious.

Inside the multiple warrens, there were 40 or so of the hoppers.  Warriors wield crude melee weapons, save a few with rifles, with a plethora of women and children. 

The Warren of the Petrified Wood

Inside the third chamber the Hoppers were quite excited, as they flanked their obvious tribal leader Dahlorz.  

The eldest Hopper, with white fluffy fur akin to Squiggles, sat on the ground, sword in hand.

"What is this???"

Davor:  "We found them, great chief."

Sonny:  "Hi, I'm Sonny!" 

The Hoppers seemed to primitive technology, outside the few guns, unsure by many terms in Sonny's words.  Even the older and wiser Dahlorz found him frustrating, so she was relieved when Sneaky Pete asked questions.

Pete: "Is there any particular concentration of this odd junk that you're collecting from?"

Dahloz's Voice, inside the weasel's head, "Interesting.  The plant must be an advanced lifeform.  Or it has no soul... I will speak with you instead."

The rest of the folks in the warren were confused as the two stared at each other.

The weasel was calm for once, offering his (non-curry) food, and sharing information, moving around the burrow as they spoke telepathically.

Finally, Dahloz, spoke aloud, "Perhaps, we may have finally found allies to help us open..... the door!"

Her left paw swung open to show a nearby passageway. No one could tell what was down the passageway.  

Next:  #104 - The Door 

RPG Campaign Tour: Day 9 - Who's in Charge Here?

Day 9 of the #RPGCampaignTour Challenge brings up a question that is answered haphazardly in my Gamma World campaign "This Is Not a Test", namely "Who's in charge here?"

Riverbend - The PCs hometown?  There's some sort of council of elders who handles things.  Justinian of the Restorationists is on it.  Loman Strait, the incompetent militia leader, is allegedly on it too.  But with all the planning  some of the characters have done, and complaining by others, none of the De Facto Explorers have shown up for a meeting, or have actual power in town.  This might need to be rectified once the group returns from their big quest for the winter.

Loman Strait, Militia Captain

Fair-Town -   There is most certainly a Queen in Fair-Town, but most decision come down to the eight member Town Council, ranging from local farmers, captains of the town guard, community leaders, and even a two-time Queen's Joust champion.  That's right De Facto Explorer member Lathar Bracken, a resident of Riverbend, won the seat on the council by winning the last joust.  He's only showed up for one session, becoming the tie-breaking vote on a number of decision, most notably recognizing the Kirothian people and putting the leader of the Kirothians (and his ex-girlfriend) Elona on the council as well.

Brom Halloway, militia captain

K.I.A. Academy -  KIA is a huge complex, taking up a lot of land, but few truly recognize that above the base level are at least 14 levels... and 8 sublevels beneath.  Even high ranking officials know little about what occurs above level 10, but it's assume a committee with people sharing titles like chancellor, provost, and directors share the responsibility of operations within and beyond the literal white tower and the top of KIA's main building. 

Next: Day 10 - "What's the First Thing We Should Do?"

(Fistful of Gnomes) Long Walks on the Beach

 In our last gnome game, Swiss forces had snuck engineers across enemy lines and successfully blew up a German signal tower, albeit with heavy losses on each side.

This time, the surviving Swiss are fleeing to an uncoordinated rendezvous on the coast, and the recent explosion has attracted a more than a few German regulars.  

Objective:  

Swiss: Blowing up the tower last scenario was a solid victory.  Now, it time to get the last two surviving engineers off the safety.

German/Sikh: Preventing the escape, of course, but causing significant Swiss casualties will make the report writing sting a little less.  

Turns One and Two:  The most significant thing to note was that, out of all of the Swiss who staggered away from the explosion, none were significantly injured, thus holding each other back.  They stumbled through the darkness, as fast as their feet could take them.  

The original escort for the engineers, featuring "The Most Interesting Gnome in the World" Bruce Caremzind, had been reduced to but a single Gnome Ranger.  The remainder of the new escort was made by a relief force that had given the engineers just enough time to blow the tower and achieve their primary objective.  

Turn Three:  The surviving Sikhs took just enough time look for survivors, pray for their dead, and gather weapons and ammo for... revenge.

The Swiss scrambled, individuals peeling off the escape to set up defensive positions to slow the Sikh attack. 

The Sikh line emerged, and despite orders to scavenge ammo from their dead before leaving, two Sikhs forgot to reload their current weapons and ran out of ammo, while the rest of the shots fired high.

The Swiss were more accustomed to their defensive positions behind walls and rocks, and their shot rang true, wounding three as the remaining Sikhs advance, making the Swiss scramble back in retreat. 

Two of the wounded Sikhs would never recover during the game, making that early volley probably the most important on of the game.

Turn Four: The Swiss began running out of ammo in their defense, and to make matters worse, a full unit of German Gnomes emerged from the briars and the brambles to investigate the gunfire! 

While the Sikhs began engaging in hand-to-hand with the few stalwart Swiss who held their ground... or simply ran out of ammo and accepted their role... and their fate, the other broken and shaken Swiss hurried back to find makeshift cover, in an attempt to hold off the pursuit just a few more moments.  

Turn Five:  The Swiss engineers, accompanied by the sergeant of arms and two rifleman, saw the wooden dock in sight.

The EMPTY wooden dock.  

Luckily, the keen eye of the sergeant of arms noted to the coded blinking light of a small watercraft moving towards the land.... just a few more moments.  

If they engineers would make it back to their base, they would no doubt embellish upon the bravery of the gnomes who sacrificed themselves for their own safe return.  

But there would not be much exaggeration needed, for it actually took a few rounds of melee by the mighty Sikhs to finally dispatch the defenders.  

Turns 6+  Meanwhile, the remaining Swiss harassed the marauding Germans, forcing the rifleman to waste shots (and going out of ammo!) as they rushed towards the shore.

Turn 8:  It was one of the retreating defenders, and one of the riflemen escorting the engineers to saved the day.  They stood their ground at the same joint spot and gave the engineers enough time to dive out the boat and sail away, under the covering fire of some light guns just off the coast.... 

This was the third and final scenario of "A Stroll in the Park"  by Tony Harwood.  It can be found at Orcs in the Webbe . It was first published on the 13th December 2017 as part of its 2017 Advent Calendar.

I love the idea of the Advent Calendar, especially since it covers a variety of things for a wide swath of their games.  The drop down header only links to 2020, so I was delighted to see the 2025 version.  

RPG Campaign Tour: Day 8 - Tell Us About the Local People & Cultures

Day 8 of the #RPGCampaignTour is a healthy challenge: "Tell us about the Local People & Cultures." 

The people, plants, and animals of Gamma World can be lumped together a number of ways: their hometowns, shared mutations, secret society membership.

But no group is as recent, as homogenous, or as obvious as the Kirothians. 

Blue skin can be an occurring mutation, as well as blue hair. Pointed ears aren't as rare as you think, and it's suprising how many "normal" humans hide and iridescence so long as their not exposed to moonlight.  

All those traits are natural to all sixty of the Kirothians who appeared in the region last winter.  

The first known group were discovered by Lathar Bracken and the rest of the De Facto Explorers beneath KIA Academy.  The Explorers had been hired mid-winter to scout out the territory downriver of the Academy, and fell upon this group when they emerged en masse from the forest.  Their clothing suggested they were prepared for the cold weather, but lack of supplies said they were not prepared for the long-term.  

The Kirothians are so named by Dr Sonny Helianthus, a mutant sunflower, after conversations revealed that they all came from the village of Kirothia.  

"They were confused that it was perfect weather only a day or two ago, they had dug out their cold weather gear, and now some group of wizards had chased them out of their village  'Bad men, they shot first, and second' ....  Their village appeared to be two days travel up the tributary to the main river.  The Kirothians were also worried they hadn't encountered any of the other expected villagers...  None of them remember seeing the obvious blue lights in the sky the past few nights and none of them were familiar with the "Big River. "

It should be noted, that despite a few forays into the region, some following the Kirothians directions perfectly, no one has found so much as a charred ruin for their village, much less anything else. 

The Explorers had just learned of the dark undercurrent of KIA Academy that either denied or exploited mutants, animals, and refugees in general, so it was decided by famed Riverbend weasel scout "Sneaky Pete" to go around KIA Academy and find these folks a home and a better shot at Fair-Town.  Along the way, the discovered another, smaller enclave of Kirothians, and rescued some of their kidnapped brothers and sisters from a terrifying entity they seemed familiar with called a "demon."

Finally the Explorers and the refugees reached Fair-Town, where the generosity of the town gave them supplies and shelter from the weather in a series of small warehouses that the Kirothians have turned into their own ethnic style neighborhood.  

They made such an impact on the town that, despite some intense debate, the town council has recently voted to grant them the status of full citizens, counted in the census, and even granted them one seat on the council.  

The vote had an extra level of controversy as it was reveled that town council member (and two-time Queen's Joust champion) Lathar Bracken had a previous full-on relationship with new town council (and leader of the Kirothians) Elona.  This (and a few of the Kirothian woman using their bodies for domars) has confirmed the Kirthoians and Humans are biologically compatible, along no relations have resulted in pregnancy... yet. 

Elona

This new, obvious group has it's own listing of rumors and legends, as well as biases.    They can predict floods, wars... they can influence love and romance.   Their day-to-day society skews towards matriarchy, although there's been limited information to see if that changes when the group, nor the any of their people wage war, joined the town's guard, or anything overtly violent.  

GM Notes: Always subject to change, the Kirothians are essentially Pure-Strain Humans with largely physical, non-mutation differences.   Once they give birth on Gamma World, or encounter a glow zone, all bets might be off. 

Kirothians first appeared in the campaign in episode #66 - "Where'd You Get the Hats?"

Day 9 - 

From the Vault: Another Griffon Games Flyer

My buddy Wooly continues to dig through his garage like an archeological dig, undercovering layers of battlemechs, t-shirts, and other gaming paraphernalia.  

He sent me this about a week ago, probably circa 1998, when our friend Mike moved his indoor flea market tables into a legitimate game store.  

Wind Gap was a Mecca of gaming in eastern Pennsylvania:  equidistant from the Poconos and the Lehigh Valley, just off the highway, it was the perfect spot for one day cons (Bogglecons, Gobblecons, and the early Mepacons), we had plenty of folks come from all over to game, and buy stuff.  

It ended up being the last to the triumvirate of game stores I had the pleasure at working at, and the one I could proudly put the title "General Manager" to my name. 

Good god, it was a long time ago.  Mike, the owner, passed away this past year.   The strip mall has already seen another gaming store,  Bushkill Cards and Games, come and go.  Heck, even the teenage minions I sometimes needed help from to mind the store when I was finishing up my classes at East Stroudsburg.... are now middle aged!  

It was a good time, for great D&D, for the finest in Mordheim and Necromunda, and occasionally you'd find a gem of a game or book none of the other game stores would have for miles. 

RPG Campaign Tour: Day 7 - What's the Weather Like Today?

Day 7 of our RPGCampaignTour and it's a question any visitor might have, "What's the weather like today?"

The entire Big River Valley is temperate, with one or two months where the snow stays on the ground in the winter, and a few weeks where it gets unbearably hot and humid in the summer.   Leaves change colors, flowers bloom in the spring, all four seasons can be witnessed at the right time.  

Yes, there are areas in and around the GlowZones that haven't fully recovered, that are dust bowls.  And yes, the more mountainous regions upriver by the Catacombs are rumored to have more snow...  but campaign hasn't witnessed any of that, first-hand.

In our current storyline in the campaign, the leaves are just starting to change colors,  But no one‘s truly home to appreciate them.

Our De Facto Explorers are currently traveling down the banks of the big river, hopefully finding a decent crossing and attempt to find Lathar's long-lost father, Harkonn.   They left in what could be early September, and since then, have been habitually distracted by side-quests, government meetings, murder investigations, and top-secret research.  It's nearing a month on the road and there’s still not quite sure how much further they have to go

Eventually, it’s going to be cold, eventually it is going to snow significantly like it did last year. They have prepped with some cold weather gear, but not a full onset of winter.

I may have to mention the colors of the trees and the earlier evenings a bit more. 

Destination: The Black Reeds of the Wildlands

Next: Day 8 - Tell us about local people/cultures

Your Best Friend Is Your Game Store Shopkeeper

It is Cold Wars weekend.  Amongst the twenty or so vendors there in the Lampeter, I would hope this conversation happens in English.   

The translation of the cartoon is "Your friend Robert Villepreux came yesterday. It is my duty to inform you that he has ordered two infantry regiments and three motorized assault divisions."

What a good guy!

RPG Campaign Tour: Day 6 - Where Shall We Start?

Day 6 of the #RPGCampaignTour Challenge and we finally finish the session zero of questions and work towards the baby steps of the campaign with "Where Shall We Start?"

Of course, we start in Riverbend. 

Fun fact: Four years and 129 sessions later, and I didn't have a picture of anything in town until I ran a couple dozen different attempts in Nightcafe to generate the picture above.  

Riverbend is a large village, a meeting place for the surrounding farmers. In this corner of Gamma World, I picture a lot of Enlightenment era tech, with a smattering of Ancient tech treasures. 

There is a business district. Oddly enough there’s no true River District as shipping commerce up and down is a rare sight on the water. The Big River is not a huge enterprise for some reason.

Riverbend is not without its problems.  There appear to be more inns and taverns than what the town should support.   Up until the last year or so there was very little in defensive measures, most relied on a poorly trained militia.   Now at least  some of the buildings within the business district are now protected by a 7 foot tall wooden palisade

There is also an entire neighborhood on the outskirts of town further away from the big river that is run by ne'er do wells, but it's more likely to find black market or random Ancient tech there than anywhere else.

The most notable secret society, of course are the Restorationists, who keep a very high profile headquarters in Aspiration Hall. This is the largest concentration of Restorationists in the region, yet despite their leader having a spot with the town elders, it's quite that the actions of the town conflict wit the vision of the group.  

(Painting) A Werewolf, a Duck, and a Road Cone: The Musical

After a month of fooling around with role-playing characters, I'm still cleaning things off the painting bench. 

The Werewolf is from the original Reaper Bones line (77009).  It's honestly one of the better Original Bones sculpts, and at $3.99, was quite affordable.  It looks like they've transitioned it to the Bones USA grey plastic and the price has doubled.  

The Duck is a leftover from the ones Millie printed up in class for me.   God help me if more start showing up.

And after a thorough cleaning, I finally recovered the road cone from the Reaper Modern Accessories pack that I dropped off the painting bench and it vanished.  

In fun news, I finally found employment.  It's a step up from entry level, I like my coworkers, and I shouldn't have any issues coming forward with Mepacon or Historicon.  Being a single guy on a limited budget means my evenings are getting focused on RPG sessions, painting sessions, and working through the back catalog of games, particularly Gnome skirmish, Mousling campaign, and prepping for more Egypt games with the girls. 

In the Queue - Teddy Bears (and another "fun with paint colors"), Death Planet Iota characters

Project: 350 -  441 (283/156  from 466 (282 /184) 

RPG Campaign Tour: Day 5 - Can You Tell Us About the Campaign's History?

Day 5 of the #RPGCampaignTourChallenge, and I've been cornered: "Can you tell us about the campaign's history."  

Of course, the overarching history that is Gamma World:  Our future civilization is destroyed in some atomic power apocalypse.  Hundreds(?) of years later, humanity and all of mutant-kind are emerging from the wreckage. 

Or are they?

Because Riverbend is fully established, yet very early American Colonial, with muskets and primitive farming.  

And just a few days walk, KIA Academy is the paragon of technology, if by technology you simply focused on road construction technology for some reason.

And in-between there's Fair-Town, if Dickensian London was hidden in the trappings of a full-time Renaissance Faire, and the tabard-wearing guardsman do a poor job of hiding the laser rifles they've procured somehow. 

Within the confines of our game sessions, one can sense that the Restorationists of Riverbend are looking to expand their knowledge base into the wilderness, especially across the Big River.  Our campaign's heroes, the De Facto Explorers can't be the only group they've hired to investigate Ancient facilities, engage with mutant races, and bring back technology and knowledge... can they? 

As our friends, the Explorers travel, they've engaged with Hissers and Hoppers, befriending many, outright crippling a secret society of mutant supremacists, all the while detonating at least three mini-tac-nukes.  Across the big river, they've encountered agents of the Overlord of Bon-Parr and the Ranks of the Fit, expanding their power quietly and trying to peacefully absorb the settlements.  Things have not always been friendly, groups have not seen eye to eye, but everyone seems to be focused on achieving the same goals through different, but usually peaceful means.

Below KIA Academy, a series of storms are brewing.  Multiple unknown groups, the two largest denoted as "living metal skeletons" and "wizards" have been clashing.   KIA has been in a state of panic for the past year, raising their army, and awakening past sins of their technology-focused culture, bringing the mutant dregs that live in their sub-levels back up to the light to fight as conscripts. 

But the question remains, where exactly did the living metal skeletons and "wizards" come from?  Does it have anything to do with the recent increase in the famed "Southern Lights," fabulous blue glowing light shows that usually appear beyond the foothills, far away from the towns?  It simply can't be a coincidence that rumors of demons appearing.... or an entire community of blue-skinned, pointy eared humanoids known as the Kirothians emerged out of the woods after one of the light shows.  

Of course, as the Gamemaster, and the only one with a solid history of Gamma World, I'm the only one amused by the concept, "What if we aren't in Gamma World"  or perhaps, "What if we're not WHEN Gamma World takes place?"

One of the Kirothians....

After 129 sessions, the story continues to unfold.

The Back-Dated RPG Campaign Tour Challenge for 2026

The dust from January's #CharacterCreationChallenge has barely settled.  The backlog of other posts is finally catching up.

And I entirely blame Ken Newquist's Nuketown for casually pulling me into another RPG Challenge.  

Ken post about the #RPGCampaignTourChallenge drew me in and the concept for the Barking Alien blog is beautifully simple and executable: 

The concept is simple; give your readers/viewers a tour of your current (or favorite or in-development) campaign setting using the prompts provided below by yours truly. Imagine the Challenge as a kind of 'travel guide' to the setting of your game.

I know Ken started on Thursday 2/4 and started knocking out the first two days then.  I'll rely more on social media, but I'll back date the first couple, and hopefully the rest of the prompts will take less than an hour or two every day.  

The Gamma World "Not a Test" Campaign loves its self-promotion, especially since the Actual Play post started this week, after a long holiday and #CCC hiatus. 

Glorious Adventures in the Age of Steam for Fistful of Lead

One thing I've realized about Fistful of Lead... What seemed to start as a $20 set of rules you can cobble together your own version of the fantastic.. or the realistic, is becoming a lifestyle, if one wants to spend the coin.

Straight from TMP to this blog: 

It is truly a wondrous age! It seems a new invention destined to change the world is created every day. Babbage's Analytical Engine has transformed modern mathematics and made complex calculations capable of changing the world. Edison's Aether ships ply the space ways making interplanetary travel a daily occurrence. Tesla has made electric power plentiful, and advances in steam technology have made the impossible possible.

Of course, none of these advances in science would be possible without the discovery of X-Matter in 1869. When this miracle element is combined with other substances it can make metals lighter and stronger, and make fuels burn hotter. Even members of the occult societies claim X-Matter has a mystical effect on reality itself.

All this new technology has quickly found its way to the battlefield. Soldiers march to war resplendent in their colorful uniforms, armed with the newest, deadliest weapons. And the march to war beside monstrous, steam belching machines; airships, armored walkers, submersibles and landships.

Glorious Adventures in the Age of Steam is a stand-alone game. People who already own a Fistful of Lead game will notice the core mechanics are unchanged. In this book, you'll find new equipment, weapons and exotic new locations with lists of inhabitants both friend and foe. Your adventures may take you from the haunted back alleys of London to the majestic canals of Mars. Or are you more in the mood for a dinosaur hunt at the center of the Earth? It's all right here.

To be completely fair, Glorious Adventures is available directly at Wiley Games, but is, of course, stocked to at Brigade Games.  The printed edition is $40 with the Glorious Adventures card deck for $20.

RPG Campaign Tour: Day 4 - Is There a Map?

 Day 4 of the #RPGCampaignTourChallenge brings up the bane of my existence, "Is there a map?"

In a post-apocalyptic game set hundreds of years after the destruction of the society, I do have a player or two who expect each town to have an updated map, like they were a state rest stop handing out folding maps for the glove box.  

But they've gotten one or two for me, begrudgingly.  

Obviously, we mentioned our three main communities yesterday, Riverbend, Fair-Town, and KIA Academy.  

Huush is a community of Hissers under a satellite dish that just might still work. 

Level A Inc is an Ancients' facility that was destroyed by a small atomic blast.  

Koto Dam was the headquarters of the Iron Society of mutant humans.  It too was destroyed by a different small atomic blast.   The nearby town of Janius was taken over by the Brotherhood of Thought, but the poisoned water has created a near-ghost town.  

The Wall is just that a massive wall that keeps things out... or, perhaps for the benefits of everyone outside, it's keeping something INSIDE.

"WILD" is the Wildlands, a place where all creatures are feral and the plants run amok.  That token of Chewbacca?  After 100 episodes, it was revealed that the token was the last known location one Harkonn Bracken... Lathar's long-lost father. 

Sculpting a Scrap Beast at Bill Making Stuff

Dear readers might remember me sending love to my new obession: Bill Making Stuff.  I love the kitbashing, the ideas, his world of the Gutterlands.   I've expanded my collection of bits, pieces, and miscellany thanks to his inspiration, if I'm avoiding creating zines, sculpting, and more massive projects.

His latest episode #105 he sculpts his own scrap beast with a near comedic series of errors, but an awesome final result.  

RPG Campaign Tour: Day 3 - Where the Heck Are We?

 Day 3 of the #RPGCampaignTourChallenge and the question is deceptively simple: Where the Heck Are We?  

The answer can be equally deceptive in a post-apocalyptic game such as Gamma World.  

The simplest answer is somewhere in the lower 48... long after the lower 48 ceased to exist.  

We haven't set up a formal name of the region, beyond that of the Big River Valley.  The Big River itself is true to it's name,  250 meters up Riverbend and expanding to well over 300 by Fair-Town, and growing to a consistent 450+ meters past KIA Academy.  

Those three communities, all on the south bank of the river, mark the centers of civilization in the area:  Riverbend, a large farming community, Fair-Town, a thriving walled town of artisans and culture, and KIA Academy, a vast catacomb and tower of forgotten technology that isn't all weapons.  

Far upriver are the mysterious towns of Blackvale and the eerie named Catacombs.  Further downriver, there are only rumors of vastly superior forces, militarily, mutation-wise, and by sheer size... and thankfully if the rumors are in any way true, they haven't ventured this far up the Big River.  

Across the river is mostly wild lands (not to be confused with THE Wildlands much farther downriver), populated by mutant animal communities, including Hissers and Hoppers, and some mutant human farming villages.  Further away from the river are legendary glow lands, allegedly tied to cities of the Ancients. 

Further downriver are the lands of Parr, a strong militarily-led nation of mutant animals.  

Even further on some maps are vague terms downriver, like "Devil's Gate" , "Legion" and even "Racist F*cks", not to mention other towns that rumors state are controlled by actual wizards....

And currently, in game, we're gingerly working our way down past KIA Academy for the first time in the three of so game years of the campaign...  more to come.

Next: Day 4 - 

(Gamma World) Not a Test #102 - Dead End?

The De Facto Explorers have decided to forge the wilderness across the Big River to investigate a new region full with the possibility of Treasures of the Ancients

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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.  Recently married Thunnelda Haycock.

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 four arms, and 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.  Recently gave birth to a pile of baby worms. 

Luna of the Restorationists:  Recent recruit of the Restorationists, who had uncovered artifacts across the River.  

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There were already some grumblings as Clover Haycock, now Lathar's brother-in-law, needed three trips to ferry the Explorers, No-Name, and the wagon across the river to the other side.  It was Squiggles who expressed his displeasure verbally, "That cart is going to slow us down." We've only ever used it on the civilized side of the river, and until you guys went out to the Pool House, it's always stayed on road."  

The group acknowledged his concerns and promptly ignored them.  Two or three foot footpaths in rocky forest proved the worm's point, as they struggled with the cart overly largely unblazed trails.  

Luna led the way, scavengers, underpowered bands of bandits, and a handful of subsistence.   "The whole lake a few clicks to the left of us is heavily affected by the glow..."

"I don't know how that could happen," Pete said with a sheepish grin.

The forest opened into a plain, with a few ruins, and just a few hardy pure-strain human farmers.  The humans were not trusting of mutant animals and plants, but most worked with mutant humans in the area.

They finally made it to a campsite area for the caravans.  Luna explained that the caravans were nothing more than a collection of scavengers, selling their combined finds, using each other for protection.  

"The real finds were across the trail into the woods..."

The group stared across to the edge of a larger wooded area.... seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

Luna continued, "We investigated the woods, but not until we realized we were injuring ourselves..."

"Because the entire forest is made of stone..." Sonny completed her sentence, the only one to realized the significance. 

The trunks of the trees were a similar shade of brown associated with real trees, but as they moved closer, everyone realized the leaves of the trees were stone as well.

"We never went down the obvious path, we were amazed by the forest, found some artifacts dumped by the trees.  We didn't have a wagon to carry more and got the heck out of here.  The artifacts weren't part of the forest proper so something from somewhere dumped them, probably close.  "

Amazed by the forest, the group decided to set camp across the trail and venture into it during the morning. 

Waking up with a fresh layer of curry on the weasel, the group ventured down the path, Pete taking lead, the others a few feet back.    The tracks were overwhelming, large humanoid animal, very rabbit-like.

While Pete was pre-occupied, Sonny noticed something largely buried on the side of the trail, digging with his fronds, he discovered a graying stone like surface from the original trail.  He let out an "Oh my, guys, look what I found!"

The whole group turned to see the 9 1/2 foot tall sunflower holding an old sign of the Ancients.  

"We can use this as a shield!"

Pete: "Dead.... End?  Is this like a cult thing?"

Pete decided going further down the path wasn't smart.   "Obviously we're going into a larger forest.  Let's investigate the forest first, away from this ominious trail."

GM: For a sunflower with a Sense of 5, Sonny aced a number of perception checks where everyone else failed. 

Next: #103 - Into the (Petrified) Woods

RPG Campaign Tour: Day 2 - About Your Tour Guide

 Day 2 of the #RPGCampaignTour assumes we have a specific tour guide or narrator of our stories.  

The best bet for Gamma World "This is Not a Test" is the De Facto Explorer's chief brain and failing tinkering, Sonny Helianthus.  

Life amongst the the primitive mammals, human and otherwise, can be trying at time for the mutant sunflower.  His superior intelligence made him ally himself with the Restorationists, with their fascination and dedication for searching for, researching, and implementing loss technology of the Ancients.  

One hundred sessions/adventures/etc would change any man, but between exposure to "The Glow" (radiation) and the rules for plants, Sonny has transformed.  Gone is the tall (7' tall) sunflower with a penchant for frock coats and cravats.  The experienced Sonny has grown to over ten feet tall, and now possesses four fully functioning arms!   He's by no means "battle hardened" like his compatriots, but isn't afraid to use the Ancient's slugthrowers or more advanced energy based weapons.... 

And as I'm finishing up episode #129, I'm reminded he isn't afraid to put himself at risk to save his friends.  

Lathar:  "I don't know Pete, we should jump on No-Name and charged back into there... Sonny has bailed us out so many times..."

(Fistful of Gnomes) A Stroll Through the Park

When I get the chance to talk Gnome Wars with folks, the requests usually come in a few varieties.

1. When is a new edition coming out?  
2. Why isn't there X nationality?
3. Why isn't there a scenario book? 

My answers, as just one of the Stout Gnome Minions with an active blog? 

1. I will admit that we talk around a new edition right now, rather than sitting down and knocking it out quite yet.  
2. With the exceptions of Gnomans, Hawaiians, and the like, most nationalities can be modified using existing figures.  Anything more exotic requires a lot of collaboration between the designers, Lon at Brigade Games, and, of course the person actually sculpting figures.  Even with the current product focus of units over individual figures, you reading the blog of the guys who has Californian, Mormon, and Missouri militia units. 
3. There are so many cool scenarios and after action reports in print and online, we would probably end up accidentally putting a gnome stamp of approval on something that already exist.  

Before gnomes, before teddy bears, before frogs and mouslings, there was Flintloque - Fantasy Napoleonic warfare in 25mm by Alternative Armies.  Now, even at skirmish level, Napoleonic wargaming feels different than the Gnome Wars universe, which is roughly fantastical early 20th Century, but there is just a treasure trove of material already available online.  

This is one of those attempts to use gnomes in A Stroll in the Park, a three-part scenario.

 And it's fitting that the same week I read that Dos Equis is bringing back their most famous marketing campaign, I break out Bruce Carmezind, the Most Interesting Gnome in the World.

Bruce is older and a hair slower, but the chicks continue to dig his new scars, so he continues to act like he's a hundred-year old gnome. 

This week, he's leading a motley group of gnome rangers and rifleman to escort a group of engineers to destroy a signal tower, deep behind the German lines. 

Part One: Bruce, his team, and his engineers need to sneak down a dry river bed to get to the tower. 

Time is of the essence, but noise kills.  Each turn, the group draws one card from a deck of playing cards if they're walking, two if they're running.  Any non-face card (Ace through 10) is no effect.  Any face card is a results ranging from animals getting flushed out and giving up their position (and drawing more cards) to enemy troops landing on the board to an actual ambush! 

Expecting the worst, I had two units of Sikh mercenaries at the ready.  They remained their for the entire quick scenario.  

Bruce and his men were true professionals with a healthy dose of luck.  Allowing a 6" double action sneak move, they needed nine draws to get through the winding river bed to the other side. 

Not a single face card.

Bruce and his crew

Part Two:  The Objective:  Get the engineers to the base of the tower.  The engineers must spend an action setting the explosives.  They may move and set the explosive, recovery rolls or melee negate the action for that turn.  Each successful action rolls a d8, once the cumulative number reaches 28, they escape as the tower explodes! 

As much as I love a simple and successful infiltration, I did up the ante, especially when the random element I rolled wasn't German or Sikh, but embedded Swiss resistance to escort them to their coastal rendezvous!

First off, the Germans in the tower knew they were nearby...

Technically Sykes and his mistress were downstairs....

Nothing ever happens at Tower B-17 of the Imperial Telegraph & Semaphore Corps, Third Reserve.  Otto Kleinwachter manned the tower, relayed the messages and stayed quiet.  He was annoyed with Retired Exploratory Officer Siegfried Sykes showed up unannounced, with his "domestic assistant" Hettie,  but having once stolen a few intimate moments with the wife of a Signal officer back in his youth, he climbed the tower to give them privacy.  

He didn't need to interrupt the couple downstairs with yelling or an alarm.  As the Swiss infiltrators climbed the bank of the dry riverbed, a single shot rang out from atop the tower.   Otto could see a single Swiss figure scurry back into the riverbed for cover.  

That gnome, Bruce Carmezind, having narrowly missed an untimely demise with a leathal weapon, tumbled back into cover, exasperated and slightly embarrassed.

"Dafür bini z’alt!    Ich hätte die Tunnel benutzen sollen!"

Most of the Swiss braved the open field towards the tower, but Carmezind was wise enough to send half the engineers, and two riflemen, to tunnel underground as back-up. 

Which seemed like an even smarter idea, especially when Sikhs, drawn by the gunfire, emerged near the trees!   Half had reconnoitered through the woods, while the other half boldly marched forward in a firing line.  

Much to the Sikh officer's chagrin, the Swiss took minor casualties and return far more effective fire, scattering much of the firing line into the woods.  This sacrifice allowed the remainder to flank the flimsy Swiss position, dropping the invaders.   

 Add to that the appearance of Sykes and his disgruntled mistress into the fray, and the Swiss mission was in peril, the engineers scrambling to the rear of the tower to accomplish whatever they could. 

Perhaps it was fact that Swiss are traditionally a defensive minded people, so the Sikh attack but them at ease.

Perhaps they all simply wanted to live.  

Or Perhaps it was Bruce Carmezind, finally recovering from the clarity of safety, had charged forward and rallied his fallen and bloodied gnomes to keep fighting!  

Every wounded gnome not only recovered, but pulled their rifles back to their shoulders, fired, and all hit their enemies, killing one, wounded a second, and sending two other fleeing to the cover of the woods!  

The rally seemed to grow stronger with the appearance of their Swiss brethren, killing the Sikh officer, but getting distracted by Otto, still atop the tower with his rifle.

But as luck would have it, the Sikhs cowering in the woods for many turns, were perhaps inspired by the death of their officer, all recovered at the same time and joined their fellows charging the original Swiss at the tower.

The carnage was glorious. Sykes and Hettie took out the Swiss ranger officer, until Sykes was shot by Carmezind and abandoned his mistress for the safety of the tower. Hettie's life was spared as Otto made a crack shot, taking the most interesting gnome in the world out of action.

The Swiss were brave, but wounded and the Sikhs made short work of them.

The Sikhs seemed to need a moment to regroup, but Hettie took charge, running around the tower and engaging the engineers as they were setting up the charges. She took out one before some of the Swiss relief forces finally dispatched her.

There was a short firefight between the Swiss relief and the regrouped Sikhs.  The second engineer was taken out of action, things looked lost.

And then something broke through from below.

The Swiss engineers that had been tunneling finally made it to the far side of the tower, and frantically set charges!

And after many turns in a desperate firefight, Otto was finally wounded.  Laid out on his back, clutching his chest, staring up at the sky... his last thought before the explosion obliterated the tower.  

"I'm least I'm not hiding like that bastard officer downstairs..." 

RIP: Otto

All in all, the scenario was just enough chaos to satisfy my (twisted) gnome mind.  Of course, I calculated it afterwards, but it's only a 1-in-14 chance (7%) to not draw a face card in that first part.  

Overall, I liked this scenario as part of a larger campaign, one where sabotage and infiltration might be considered more mechanical than tactical.  Per the original scenario, and per my die rolls, it should have been an overwhelming Swiss success, which works better as a table result than a lopsided victory on the table.  

I am happy with the way tunneling worked, I'll tack those onto my ongoing Fistful of Gnomes document I'm compiling. 

I'll need to calculate casualties and get things set up for Part Three: "Long Walks on the Beach", coming soon! 

A Stroll in the Park by Tony Harwood can be found at Orcs in the Webbe . It was first published on the 13th December 2017 as part of its 2017 Advent Calendar.

I love the idea of the Advent Calendar, especially since it covers a variety of things for a wide swath of their games.  The drop down header only links to 2020, so I was delighted to see the 2025 version.  

RPG Campaign Tour: Day 1 - Campaign Introduction and Overview of Gamma World "This is Not a Test"

Don't adjust your monitor or screen, I'm backdating my version of the #RPGCampaignTour, so it starts on the 1st, working double time to catch up.

Day 1 literally sets the tone for the month:  Campaign Introduction and Overview.  

My Monday night online group has been playing in some form for close to a decade.  After three years of 5e, and over three years of Star Wars d6, I decided for a full palette cleanser with a foray into Gamma World 4th Edition.  Initially labelled as "This is Not a Test", we haven't been able to pull away from it's  gravity since, with 103 actual play blog entries already posted, and we'll be tying up some loose ends on episode 129.  

I decided to run Gamma World based on the skewed nostalgia of post-high school.  We played GW back when it came out, playing some of the published modules before we headed out to college. 

Now I've done a "Twenty Questions About the Campaign" a few times, but let's do cover the basics. 

Most of the modules are set along the Great Lakes Midwest region.  I've set mine Midwest adjacent, with the "Big River" not the gigantic river you would expect.   The stretch of the river the PCs are all familiar with is relatively remote and peaceful, although even early on, they knew that peace was slowly getting encroached upon by more violent factions.  

The "Core Four" of the characters who represent the De Facto Explorers of Riverbend (from Session #0...  They've changed a bit 100+ sessions later.)

Sonny Helianthus is a sentient sunflower artifact examiner with Restorationist ties.  An educated plant, Sonny would much prefer to avoid violence, as it does tend to damage artifacts, and damaged artifacts have a tendency to explode.   Sonny's abilities of teleportation and reflection protect him against most mental attackers, but it that fails, his sunflower seeds can be fired with exploding and deadly accuracy.

Sonny

Sonny has a casual symbiotic relationship with Slitheran Wurmtail (aka Squiggles), a mutated earthworm scout.  Squiggles has advanced skills in Telekinesis, as well as a hardened carapace which makes him quite a formidable worm.   (Edit:  They both live on the farmstead of one "Farmer Yulius")

"Squiggles"

Squiggle's scout buddy is Sneaky Pete, a mutated weasel.  Pete's telepathy and night vision are quite impressive for a scout, his dual flintlocks intimidate most common folk, but people tend to run when he drops them and and electricity arcs from his paws.  (Edit: He resides inside and below an ancient tree far enough from the Big River to be safe from flooding)

Pete

Joining this trio is a pure-strain human, Lathar Bracken.   His melee ability is beyond reproach, and his long-standing relationship to the Restorationists and smooth talking manner make him a trusted asset.  (Edit: He does live in town... with his mother.  The location of his father was never established early on.)

Lathar

Next: Day 2: About Our Tour Guide