Another Month of Gaming (December '20)

The latest issue of Game Trade Magazine, Issue #250, is available at your FLGS, and in PDF form here.  Below are some of the choice items in this month's solicitations.

ViscountEric's Want List
Nothing


ViscountEric's Money-Is-No-Object Want List
Chaosium 
Call of Cthulhu: The Chilren of Fear - a 1920's Campaign Across Asia .............. $52.99

Legion Supplies

Not in the normal CCG card sleeve demographic, and even more leery when the MSRP aren't in the pre-solicitation, but "Police Box" and "Never Tell Me the Odds" sleeves would catch my eye at the FLGS.

Wizkids

DC Heroclix - Battlegrounds - Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary ................. $39.99

Heroclix came up on the radar again, and this looks like a fun way to reintroduce things to the girls.

The Imaginary Store List (The Pegleg Gnome)

Ankama

Dragon Parks ............................................................... $24.99

Arcane Wonders 

Land, Air, & Sea:  Revised Edition ............................. $14.99

The Army Painter

Warpaints: Metallic Colours Paint Set .......................  $27.99

Bandai

Dragon Ball Super: Unison Warriors Battle -Battle Evolution Boosters

Catalyst Game Lab

Shadowrun RPG: Assassin's Night ............................ $39.99

Shadowrun RPG: Street Wyrd ................................... $44.99

Shadowrun RPG: World Tarot Arcanist Edition  .....  $39.99

Creative Goods Companies

Playmat - Ganymede 14" x 24" ............................... $17.00

Playmat - Sol 14" x 24" ........................................... $17.00

And a host of Catan hats, t-shirt, glasses, and other accessories.

Cubicle 7

Warhammer Age of Sigmar Soulbound RPG - Starter Set .............. $29.99

Warhammer Fantasy RPG Enemy Within Collectors Edition - Vol 3: Power Behind the Throne ...................... $149.99

Dan Verseen Games

By Stealth and Sea ..................................................... $59.99

By Stealth and Sea Companion Book ........................ $19.99

Evil Hat Productions

Fate Core RPG:  Fate Condensed ................................ $8.00

Exploding Kittens

A Game of Cat and Mouth ............................................ PI

Poetry for Neanderthals ................................................ PI

Greater Than Games

Sentinel Comics RPG Rulebook ................................. $59.95

Sentinel Comics RPG GM Kit .................................... $39.95

There better be a buttload of continuous on-going value for a $40 GM Screen.

Horrible Guild

Unicorn Fever .............................................................. $39.95

Unicorn Fever: Royal Hooves ..................................... $19.95

Konami Digital Entertainment

Yu-Gi-Oh! Blazing Vortex Boosters

Yu-Gi-Oh! Freezing Chains Structure Decks

Looney Labs

Fantasy Fluxx .................................... $16.00

Mantic Entertainment

Game Token and Arc Template .................................... $39.99

Goblin Regiment ........................................................... $29.99

Kings of War - War in the Holds - 2 Player Starter ...... $99.99

Modiphius

Fallout figures are $27 for two???  I hope they're huge value play-wise.

Osprey Publishing

Jackals RPG ................................................................... $35.00

Bronze-Age Fantasy Role-playing?  If there weren't already options within a relative price point, I'd say Hell-as!

Paizo Publishing

Pathfinder RPG: AP Abomination Vaults 2 - Hands of the Devil ........................ $24.99

Pathfinder RPG: Flip Mat Classics - Red Light District ....................................... $14.99

Pathfinder RPG: Hero Point Deck  ........................................................................ $14.99

Pathfinder RPG: Lost Omens - Ancestry Guide HC ............................................. $34.99

Starfinder RPG: AP Fly Free or Die 4 - The White Glove Affair ......................... $22.99

Starfinder RPG: Flip Tiles - Alien Planet Starter Set ............................................ $34.99

Starfinder RPG: Pawns - The Devastation Ark Pawn Collection .......................... $19.99

Pegasus Spiele

Doodle Dungeon ............................................... $29.99

Q-Workshop

Dice Macabre Set .................................................... $19.00

Call of Cthulhu Abyssal/White Set ......................... $19.00

Call of Cthulhu Black/Magenta Set ........................ $19.00

Reaper Miniatures

Ves Deep Cup Airbrush .......................................... $199.99

Vex Basic Cup Airbrush ......................................... $199.99

Pirate Colors - Seas of Adventure .......................... $21.99

Pirate Colors - Seas of Horror ................................ $21.99

And a huge host of metal and Bones figures to boot!

Rio Grande Games

Blue Skies ......................................... $39.95

Trans-Siberian Railroad .................... $39.95

Steve Jackson Games

Hack & Slash ..................................... $19.95

Teeturtle

Unstable Unicorns: Adventures Expansion ..........PI

Ultra Pro International

Ultra-Pro is notorious for not providing pricing (usually = significantly lower margin for the retailer) but between the D&D Cover art used for play mats and the d20 Plush Dice Bags, there's enough options that an investment in this month's stuff might quickly come up roses.

Warlord Games

The Aztecs and Tribal Nations look aweseome, but.... the dread PI (Please Inqure) is there. 

WizKids

D&D Nolzur's Marvelous Unpainted Miniatures Wave 14

D&D Fantasy Minis - Icons of the Realms: Goblin Warband .......................... $24.99

D&D Fantasy Minis - Ten Towns Papercraft Set ............................................. $29.99

D&D Fantasy Minis - The Lodge Papercraft Set ............................................. $15.99

DC Heroclix -  Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary Booster Brick

DC Heroclix -  Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary Dice and Token Pack ....... $ 9.99

DC Heroclix -  Wonder Woman 80th Anniversary Play at Home Kit ............. $ 9.99

The usual pre-release figure is now available individually, for proper social distancing. 

Marvel Heroclix: Deep Cuts Unpainted Miniatures

Dr. Doom, Mr Fantastic, Silver Surfer, Johnny Storm, Invisible Woman, and The Thing.  $4.99 each.

Marvel Heroclix - Fantastic Four Future Foundation Boosters

Marvel Heroclix - Fantastic Four Future Foundation Dice and Token Set ............ $9.99

Marvel Heroclix - Fantastic Four Future Foundation Fast Forces ......................... $19.99

Marvel Heroclix - Fantastic Four Future Foundation Play at Home Kit ................ $ 9.99

Marvel Heroclix - X-Men House of X Play at Home Kit ....................................... $ 9.99

Magic the Gather Unpainted Miniature Wave 14

No Description of the figures in the wave at this time   $4.99-$14.99 each

Pathfinder Battles: Darklands Rising Booster 

Pathfinder Battles: Darklands Risisng Premium Set - Mengkare, Great Wyrm ......... $89.99

Pathfinder Deep Cuts Unpainted Minis Wave 14

Between $4.99-$29.99 each

Wizkids Deep Cuts Unpainted Minis, Wave 14

Dolphins, Hyenas, and Saber-Toothed Tiger.  $4.99 each

WWE Heroclix: Superstar Shake-up WWE Ring 2-Player Starter Set ..................... $39.99

Worthington Games

1944 Battle of the Bulge ....................................... $70.00

Cowboys II ............................................................ $85.00

(HX) Avengers of Justice #3 Mouser Mayhem!

Avengers of Justice Wasp and Mockingbird had just discovered the lair of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and were working towards befriending them when strange metallic noises could be heard skittering down from the tunnels. 

Both women were caught off guard by the calm voice behind them, "Danger awaits all of us, we must be prepared to fight." 

Giant Ninja Turtles weren't enough to surprise them, but a talking rat in a robe confused them for a bit.

As the mechanical creatures known as mousers began streaming into the Turtles HQ, everyone fell back towards the living room.    The girls felt out of place as three turtles swarmed near their ... master(?) and Donatello stood guard over the bottleneck at the one bridge.



 

The mousers were stopped by Donnie, but the ones coming out of the side tunnels were getting dangerously close to the living room.  Wasp and Mockingbird kept their side clear with ranged attacks, and Leonardo held of the Mousers running around the one couch.

 

A different noise could be heard as the Rat King and his real-live giant rat minions stormed towards Donnie.  Between Donnie and Michelangelo  holding the bridge, and Wasp's blast softening up the onslaught, everything appeared to be in hand.  In fact, they formed a celebratory conga line to celebrate their victory!

The Conga.... of JUSTICE!

Little did they know, the Rat King and a few mousers had snuck down the side of the chamber and attacked Splinter!   Splinter took out the Rat King and two mousers before he was overwhelmed by more of the sneaky robots and spirited away. 

The Turtles were crestfallen.  What just happened? 

Lucky for them they received Good news/bad news from the captured Rat King.

Good News:  He told them that Splinter was being held by Baxter Stockman.
Bad News:  Baxter also held April O'Neil as his prisoner!

Maja's got the math and movement down pretty good, now we work on the special abilities on the cards.  We kept it simple:  All turtles get toughness (damage reduced by 1) and two have charge (figures makes half move and can attack as a free action).    Between the two extra characters and the half the side tunnels to generate mousers, they easily made the 8-turn basic goal.  But on turn 9, the bad guys seized Splinter.  Maja's love of Conga lines may get someone hurt... again. 

(HX) Avengers of Justice #2 Turtle Training... Interrupted

Back at the Hangout of Justice, Mockingbird was getting a thorough ripping by the higher-ups. 

"If we told you once, we told you a million times, Mockingbird, we are the Avengers of Justice.  Do not refer to us as 'The Death Squad' anymore!"

A less-enthused Mockingbird skulked back to the Den of Justice, where her team partner Wasp was not winning over the other heroes with the details of foiling the Big Kahuna Burger Hesit.

"Really?  A giant talking turtle?  With a Bo Staff?  Perhaps the Big Kahuna's special recipe has hallucinogens in it!!  Bwa-ha-ha-ha!"

Wasp took her teammate aside and it was certain:  They needed to go down into the sewers and find proof that this turtle existed.

*Several yuck-filled hours later*

The sewer tunnel opened up into a cavernous but well-lit room.  The tunnel was one of many pouring its contents into it, but the vast majority of it was covered by a steel grating.    In the center of the grating were four mannequins  dressed like ninjas, that were set up to form a large square.  Off in the distance... was the a couch covered in pizza boxes.

The pair slinked back into the darkness of their tunnel when someTHINGS broke the surface of the exposed water.  There wasn't one giant turtle, there were FOUR of them!!!  And they were ready for a fight. 

It was obvious that the mannequins were for training purposes, as a turtle wielding two ninjato sliced into one.  The familiar one with the bo staff played at the training dummy from a distance, as the other two, one with nun chucks and another with a pair of sais tussled with each other.  The hits landed hard, but neither turtle did as much as wince. 

The turtle with the Bo staff, Donatello paused from his training and peered down the tunnel.  Defensively, he took a few steps forwarded and recognized the heroes. 

"Heh-hey ladies," Donatello stuttered.  "Um... welcome to Turtle HQ.  Hey, Leonardo, we've got company."

The other turtle lowered his ninjatos and looked amusingly at the heroes, "I guess you need to upgrade the security system, Donny, if these woman can waltz right in."

Girls???    Not named April???

Pleasantries were exchanged and possibly a food order or three discussed before Michelangelo and Raphael finished their skirmish! 

"Master Splinter would be most interested in talking to these two.  I wonder where he is? "

After the echoes of the two turtle's fight finally subsided, it appeared to be replaced by the sounds of moving metal and... rats.

"What's that sound?"  Mockingbird asked.

Leonardo could only reply, "Trouble."

With the addition of heroes from our last "issue," the Turtle vs. Turtle scenario devolved into something known as... role-playing?  Maja could care less about training dummies and the Turtles wrestling with each other.  As soon as the girls were within sight, she wanted Donatello to run over and say hello, and the entire Raphael/Michelangelo brawl was my doing.    The Turtles will have extra allies for next issue "Save Splinter."

(HX) Avengers of Justice #1 The Big Kahuna Heist

Following my kids' request for a superhero game and a successful test run of Heroclix, it was time for an adventure "Ripped from the headlines..."

Location:  The Big Kahuna Burger in Londontown (the fictional setting for our adventures).

The Big Kahuna Burger truck driver arrived early Saturday morning with another delivery of tasty burgers.  Too early for the manager to be there to unload the truck, so the driver unhitched the trailer and found a place to sleep.

With no one else around, some nefarious folks descended upon the trailer, looking to score some Hawaiian goodness.

This ain't no Royale with Cheese

Once the person calling described the would be burglars, 911 forwarded the call to the League of Girls Who Kick Butt (true name TBD).  At such a late hour, only two heroes were still up: Mockingbird and Wasp.

None of the theives noticed them get into location atop the trailer, where Wasp's ranged attack took out the supposed leader.   They caused a commotion in a building across the parking lot, and the others sent the Troll Bodyguard to check it out.  

*ZZZOOOOOTTTT!*

Mockingbird jumped down to fight the bad guys 3-on-1, while Wasp checked some actual commotion coming from the building the Troll was investigating.  Soon, the unconscious body of the Troll came flying through a wall, and a strange green man emerged.

"Do they have Hawaiian Pizza?"

Wasp flew over to introduce herself to Donatello the turtle, all the while, Mockingbird was slowly getting overwhelmed by the bad guys.  

The pair dashed back over to the truck, and in a manner of a few seconds, justice was served, and new friends were made. 

As our heroes recovered from the fight, a strange figure in purple could be seen spying from atop the trailer.  When they realized they had been spotted, they dashed off into the night.  

Something was a "Foot"!

For our first storytelling superhero game, everything went off with only one hitch:  Millie didn't want to play.  So while Millie did some arts and crafts, Maja and I ran through foiling the burger heist.  

With the arrival of TMNT Heroclix, and my pre-ordered Fast Forces set not arriving at the FLGS, I snagged up four of the singles.  Once the fight started, Wasp, Mockingbird, and the first bad guy each rolled a d6 before they did anything.  On a six, I grabbed a pack out of my work bag and let Maja open it.  Donatello and the Foot Soldier got opened before the fight was over.