I Have Returned... from Historicon 2011

It's 1:30 in the morning, and after a horrendous drive up the Northeast Extension of the PA Turnpike, I'll keep it short.

My one day foray into Historicon was an absolute blast.

If I somehow forget to mention them in my con recap posts, I'd like to thank:

1. Miniatures Building Authority for letting me use their awesome Middle East board for my game.


2. Jim Stanton for hooking me up with MBA, and a pile of ideas we bounce off each other. The gnome fanatics (gnomiacs?) are DOOMED for Fall In! Mwhahahaha!


3. Mike Lung and his son, Scott, for allowing me to photograph all his awesome custom GW stuff, plus posting it on the blog. It might take awhile, but trust me, it's worth it!


4. The guy from the Brigade Games booth, whose name escapes me. He magically showed up with bottles of Yuengling Black and Tan between sessions when the secret beer stash dried up. That alone got me through the first 90 minutes of the "village" side of the scenario.


5. A very patient and loving wife.

Over the next week, I'll post the same convention write-up format that I did for last year's con.

Viscount Eric needs sleep badly.

Historicon is "almost" here!

While scores of gamers have already descended onto the Valley Forge Convention Center, flying WW2 fighters, re-fighting the English Civil War, and turning the bathrooms into a Superfund site, I have one more LOOOONG day to go before I can make the pilgrimage. Somehow, a miracle has happened here in northeast PA.

The car is packed and ready to go.

I just need to gas up on the way home tomorrow and pack a few rations to avoid the on site food prices, but I'm completely ready to go. With the exception of one oversized item, my entire "A Very Gnomish Civil War" game fits in one tote.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the "big announcement" that was on the down-low this past weekend.

"A Very Gnomish Civil War" will not be played at whatever table it's listed in the book. It will be played on one of Miniatures Building Authority's display tables. Many thanks to the man, the myth, the Gnome Guy, Jim Stanton for pulling some influence to get me a quality table, and maintain what little sanity I have left.

Only one problem though. My garden-gnome-inspired game will now take place in Fallujah. I have the MBA's Middle East table. Luckily I have pictures of last year's table and managed to tweak some of the unit objectives. This has allowed me to leisurely paint up the Swiss Rangers, put the kibosh on the Engineers (won't need them), and feel slightly guilty that my refinery is pretty juvenile. Thank God I only need them for one corner of the table.

It feels strange to be ready so soon. I'm used to the last day crazed activity to get a basic RPG ready. Here's hoping MBA is suitably impressed by my professionalism and I could be invited back to fill in empty timeslots with fun games and a nice promotion of their product.

Ahhh... sleep. I've missed you.

(Gnome Wars) Swiss Park Rangers Finished!

The first full pictures of the Swiss Park Rangers (SPR), complete with Bicycle Tank!

The Swiss Rangers of the Sacred Shrine of Chucaquatre

The SPR were imagined during the first game of our Wishing Well Campaign. It seemed to make more sense to have actual park rangers fight the German invasion, than engineers or a training company on work detail. Of course, this means the SPR would need to pack some serious firepower.

SPR are under the command of the Ministry of the Interior, charged with the care, maintenance, and protection of the numerous holy shrines. With thousands of gnomish pilgrims arriving every year, a simple ranger hat and four wheel drive would not cut it.

A typical SPR unit is prepared for three tasks: daily upkeep, crowd control, and first aid to injured visitors. Pickaxes/miners spend their days tending to campsites, building fences, and countering the wear and tear on inconsiderate pilgrims. Cheese Grenadiers are dispatched when campsite rentals are up, clearing them with Limburger goodness, if needed. Only during a significant brawl with the SPR arm themselves with rifles to dispatch the brouhaha.

In the event of massive crowds, the SPR Commander will authorize the use of a bicycle tank. The tank is still armed with a light machine gun, but budgetary constraints, and a desire to prevent civilians from using heavy weaponry limit its use. Each time the machine gun is used, a d6 is rolled. On a 1 the tank runs out of machine gun ammo for the remainder of the game.

Unlike the military models, the SPR Bicycle Tank is also equipped with a 360-degree turret with interchangeable weapons. The turret can fire either gas, buckshot, or solid shotgun ammo.

Gas Cannister: 13-24” 5+ to hit / 25-36" 6+ to hit /6+d6” deviation on a miss, ignores traditional cover modifiers.

When the canister explodes, it envelopes the area within a 6” radius. On turn two, it expands to 12” and one turn three 15”. Most gas dissipates at the end of six turns.

Shotgun (buckshot) 1-6” 4+ to hit / 7-12” 6+ to hit /
Those figure within are subject to an attack. Cover does effect this roll. Figures are subject to a blast area square six inches wide and twelve inches long.

Shotgun (solid) 1-12” 5+ to hit Targets one figue.

These weapons are not subject to the -1 movement penalty like the machine gun is.

Before the start of the game, the player must determine one type of round to fire from that gun. No other shots can be fired, unless precautions are made in the scenario to rearm at a safe location.

The Rangers depart to chase out those who missed the 10am checkout

Frozen Gamer AK

For someone who complains about a potential move of a con a couple of hours, I sometimes forget some peoples' journeys do qualify for pilgrimage status.

Therefore I present: Frozen Gamer AK . I don't envy this guy. He's flying from Anchorage, Alaska to Houston to Philly just to go to Historicon. At least he's passed all of his trials thus far.

I do envy him that he's able to be at the con the full Thursday-Sunday schedule. One doesn't go to Mecca to snap a picture and turn around, might as well be there awhile.

(Gnome Wars) Holy Gnomie Releases at Historicon

A whole bunch of things are occuring on the Gnome Wars front.

#1 - First off, Brigade Games has a blog! It's located on the top row of tabs on the main page.

#2 -To my surprise, Lon posted the preview pics of the Holy Gnoman Empire army to be available at Historicon next weekend!

Looks like the healer (more of an oracle), the NCO, and Officer

A Standard Bearer (ooh new troop type!) and musician...

Standard Infantry with multiple arms!

Ballista
Complete Ballista Crew

While I am stoked about their release, I definitely have questions that better be answered quickly. First off, why is a Greek Oracle the healer? Perhaps I'm missing the obvious with that one.

Second, what are the rules for standard bearers? Are they going to become a stock troop type? Are the existing races going to get appropriate figures, and if so, when and are they mandatory.

Finally, are the multiple arms for standard infantry purchased like that or is Lon just showing the different arm types available for standard troops (sword/shield, spear/shield, two swords, unarmed, etc)?

I will pick up as many figures as possible, to give an honest review and paint job of them, but a full army is not on my short term list. It definitely explains how Travelocity can "negotiate" cheaper rates on hotels and airfare (The Roman Gnome, get it?)

#3 - Brigade also announced that Holy Gnoman Cav is currently in the planning stages, which is good, considering I see absolutely zero missle weapons in this army. They're going to need all the help they can get against gun-happy Germans. Of course, perhaps the Holy Gnomans are ALLIES of the Germans, basically what the Irish are to the Allies.

#4 -The next big piece of news is the actual, honest-to-God release of Gnome Wars 2nd Edition at the con. It's been a long time coming, and I just hope all the old typos are updated, all the nationalities detailed (including some-yet-to be released ones), and the rumored gladiator and joust rules are included.

#5 - The American Civil War Gnomes are in the pipeline for release next. No set timetable, but this got my buddy Brian Nichols and I thinking. If the troop types stay pretty "stock", with more emphasis on paint color than sculpt, we could have many more nationality options a la Deadlands or Aces and Eights. Union, Confederate, the Republics of Texas and California, a Mormon Gnome Army. Heck, they may even work as troops for banana republics. I'm definitely getting more details from Lon next weekend.

#6- Not a Brigade Games announcement, but one dealing with my A Very Gnomish Civil War game. I can't provide details yet, but something big could occur to radically change my game. Despite my vision for the scenario, I could not turn down this opportunity. I'll keep everyone informed as things are finalized. I'll just say that Jim Stanton has become a deity on my gaming legends chart, and he's just being a nice guy.

Stay tuned, but finally a link to the Brigade Games blog... (yes that's the way Lon typed it):

Bigade Games Historicon Releases Part II

(Poll) And the game I'm running for Christmas is...

Over a month ago, I posted a poll on this site, as well as my Facebook page, asking you, the fanatic gamer, just what should I run for the annual Christmas game. It's late, and I've worked my fingers to the bone painting tonight so I won't hunt down the original post.

My thanks to the thirty or so people who voted. It's not much of a suprise:

With almost half the total votes cast, A Simpson/Cthulhu Christmas using TOON will be my project, post-Historicon. The great news is the characters are essentially done, and I can rob from pop culture and tradition at will to make the plot for the two or three episodes. I was going to go with four episdoes, but my buddy "Mighty River" (aka Phil) wants to run a TOON Kwanzaa Spectacular as well. Should be good times.

Second place wasn't much of a surpise, as Star Wars: The Land of Misfit Droids II made the only strong competition to Simpsons/Cthulhu. This I will eventually run, but I will make I save it so I can run it later in the future as well. I lost all notes and characters for Misfit Droid I, so I guess I can just add to the premise and go from there.

Thanks again to all who participated. I'll have a new poll up just after Historicon!

(Gnome Wars) Swiss Park Rangers

The hurried panic of the week before Historicon has calmed down a bit. I have some details and drybrushing to go, but the Swiss Rangers are finally painted:


I patterned them after park rangers. The Evergreen shade from the Americana line came up a bit too dark for effective blacklining. I was forced to use a lighter shade (Raw Sienna) for the belt than I had wanted.

Hopefully, between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Rangers will be finished and packed up, and I can set my sights on repainting the Engineers and finishing up the refinery for the game.