The Gnome Runs Again!

Today was a busy day in the ViscountEric household.  This morning was the 5K race to support the organization my wife volunteers for,  A Positive Promise.   My wife had gotten the crazy idea to raise money to make my large frame run the race, and while they came up just short of the $500 to 'make' me run the race, I put it upon myself to do a little training and make sure I could finish the damn thing.

My wife even got me t-shirt for the event, plus matching ones for the girls...

Would this shot of my belly constitue a "belfie?"

I was slow as molasses, the course signage was lacking, causing everyone to run about 3.4 miles instead of the usual 3.1, and the hill on the couse nearly swallowed up some of the competent runners, but I did finish.  I helped clean up and sprinted  back to the new house, as my friends Nate and Steve (Balls and Archi) were set to make an appearance.

After the kids provided their mandatory tour of the house, we got down to brass tacks and commenced drinking and playing  games!

Our drink of choice.  Not bad, and priced right.

 The first game we played from Steve's bag o' tricks was Agents.  Despite a wildly successful Kickstarter and interesting gameplay mechanics, the artwork and quality of the product left me underwhelmed.

Next, my eldest daughter Maja, took the attention of the boys, and a container of her toys hit the table. Using some very basic TIARA rules, we established a do-or-die fight between all the ponies in the kingdom, the undersea kingdoms, and the snow creatures.

It took some spectacular dice rolls to maintain a tie, but Steve, playing Gaston, offered to broker a peace deal which was accepted, over television viewing hours.  Afterwards everyone had cake (Both pretend and real life!)

King Crab dominates the negotiations, for a turn.

Our final games of the evening were Dungeon Roll.  I couldn't get anything started when it was my turn, but I had fun nonetheless.

Here's hoping for a calmer Sunday.

The List is Shrinking

I swung by my FLGS earlier this week to pick up the last copy of Tales of the Sleepless City that's in the US retail distribution chain. Apparently Alliance was completely out and ACD had one lone copy in a distant warehouse that caused a massive rerouting of their order. Between this miracle work and the fact that they have a sign up finally, I'm a very happy customer.

Unfortunately, that also means that besides a few pre-orders, my ordering will turn to other products not normally through the retail-distribution model.

I have another Kickstarter coming due at the end of the month (Age of  Cthulhu), but after that I'll need to save a few dollars up to get a French Gnome Unit for Gnome Wars (The Blog is called Gaming with the Gnomies afterall).   I anticipate playing some early WW1 with the gnomes, so it's only right that the French make an appearance.  Since the focus of the game is Swiss-German conflicts, they may play the role of supporting Belgian troops.  I'll get these guys directly from Brigade Games

In the same respect, August's budget should be dedicated to Pegasus Hobbies buildings, most notably the stone cottages (large and small) as well as their Russian farm buildings.  My love of things RCW make them very tempting.   The discount is substantial enough that I would be stupid not to order them through Amazon.

September is hopefully some MBA Middle Eastern buildings to fill out the streets when we restart the Tanga game.  The first few battles will use the few buildings I own, but as they move towards town, I need something better than shoeboxes.

October through December, if I do order anything, it might be a daytrip to Fall-In!  to pick up the Eureka and Old Glory figs I have listed.  Perhaps I may snag a few more OG figs to start the "real" version of my Battle of Yellowstone game.

At that point, I'll only have some RPGs left on the list that my friends and family could special order through Emerald Vale Games.  Worst case, they can pick some stuff from my Amazon Wish List.  The preferred  compromise would be to find stuff on Amazon, and if the discount is minimal, still order it through EV.

It's Going to Be a Kickstarter Christmas

While I'm sorting through my gaming stuff at the new house, I came upon a sad realization that it may be Christmas before everything gets sorted out.  My next realization was that was okay, especially since I have enough Kickstarters set up for December delivery.  My wife and kids need only get me my traditional socks and underwear, and I'm set for my Christmas gifts this year.

Just as an update, what have I help funded, and when is it supposed to ship?

• Reaper Minis Bones II - December 2014.  Over a year for two set of mouslings.
• RAFM Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition Miniatures - December 2014 - The New Masks set plus a Shoggoth.
• Tales of the Crescent City - June 2014 - Lots of updates, so I'll be happy with a Christmas in July.
• Tanner Jones and the Quest for the Monkey Stone January 2015- Updates dried up with the summer con season, but at last comment, this was still a possibility for Christmas.
• Age of Cthulhu 8: Starfall Over the Plateau of Leng - October 2014 - This one was already completed, the KS was for the hardcover and any other added features.
• City State of the Invincible Overlord, Marauder Task Force, and Atlantis: Theragraphica were $1 pledges that, if I had pledged for product, would be December 2014 arrivals
• Dark Star 15mm Tanks $1 pledge - July 2014 arrival for product pledges.

Apparently, no one really wants to admit that a project won't arrive until 2015.  If I relied on these for Christmas gifts, I predict that I would be disappointed.

(Kickstarter) ATLANTIS: Theragraphica

Another week, another pile of dollars going to a Kickstarter.  This time it's for the Atlantis: The Second Age Theragraphica (Monster Book). 

I loved the old Bard Games' Atlantean trilogy  (The Arcanum/Lexicon/Bestiary), although I had less of chance to run it that I did Talislanta.  Everything was just rugged (re: brutal) enough compare to the classic high fantasy D&D, plus the Omni/Omega/Oooh Boy system was so simplistic I was afraid I misunderstood it.

I missed the original Kickstarter for the new core book, altough the initial books were just resolicited by Alliance.  Outside of things becoming a bit more "professional" other things haven't changed much, and that's a good thing.

I'm still pondering whether I'm willing to support this at the $35 level, which nets me the book plus pdf, but does NOT include shipping, or wait until it actually comes out and pay retail at my FLGS.  Then again, when will I have time to play this?

Statting Out Disney Characters

We all know that Facebook is the devil's plaything.  There are enough links to sites trying to drive up traffic by posting "outrageous" videos, "hearwarming" stories, and "inane" personality tests (Which murdered cartoon character are you?).

Then these show up:

For all the smiles and laughs these emitted when they came out, as well as a few genius strokes (Rapunzel + Animate Rope explains everything), these guys are all fifth level?  A chick who can build castles of ice could be on the same party as a dude who shares half-eaten carrots with a reindeer? 

I was going to stat these folks out as Hackmaster (4th) characters, but then came the issue of time, and can I believe that Anna, a girl who spent years looking for a yogi to teach her snow construction and nothing more, has more hit points than a wiley thief who's only weakness is cast iron frying pans to the back of his head?

Let's not even get started on the stats....

Perhaps, though, I should start statting out cartoons in some form.  I've had a post placeholder (one of 48) on my blog for The Octonauts and I should cover that before the girls outgrow it....

(Edit:  I initially finished this post right after work yesterday and scheduled it for this morning.  On the walk to the parking garage, I was hit with a gaming epiphany the likes I haven't seen in years.  I'll remain aloof with the details, but I do believe I've found at least one-shot game for the group this summer.)

ViscountEric's Stuff for Sale!

While it was always part of the house-buying plot, a few necessary "upgrades" have pushed me to offer some items for sale:

US Shipping only

All the King's Men  AWI 54mm Metal Figures that I will probably never get to paint and play with.

• British Infantry, full gaiters and fur pack (12+2 Command)
• British Light Dragoon Infanry (8 riders + 8 horses)
• Continental Infantry (12+2 Command)
• Continental Skirmisher (6+2 Command)
• Artillery unit (4 crew + 1 Command + 1 Flag Bearer)
• Three battalion guns (no crew)

  

  Everything here, EXCEPT the Indians, they already sold

Bags have been opened,  some figures badly primed, and a little paint. All figures appear be there.   Currently $200 retail.  Asking $125, shipping included (and it's a wee bit heavy...)


Soldiers of the World 54mm WW1 : WW20/C US Army Marching Set (Montana Hat):  The five figures are perfect, the box did spend a winter in my garage, so it's not mint, with some discoloration on the side of the lid.   Fun fact, I did use them very delicately when I ran my Call of Cthulhu No Man's Land, and they went back on the shelf/box.

Box Discoloration

Looks like they retail for $110.  Asking $75, shipping included.

Please contact viscounteric AT gmail DOT com for offers or more information.   I'll accept PayPal (and will be providing a different email for that transaction).

Time to build a new page for my rotating stock that I'll be putting up.

(Kickstarter) Age of Cthulhu 8: Starfall Over the Plateau of Leng

Just as I'm getting settled into the new house, another Kickstarter comes along and tempts me like Augustus Gloop in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

Goodman Games is proud to launch a Kickstarter campaign for a hardcover version of their offering in their Age of Cthulhu line:  Age of Cthulhu 8: Starfall Over the Plateau of Leng by Jon Hook. 

I must be honest, when the Age of Cthulhu line originally came out, I had unfettered hope for it, but like Canis Mysterium, you get what you pay for.  I haven't even bothered with the last three books due to (a) the issues of the previous books and (b) my lack of interest in the subject matter. 

This time the book will be a 64-page hardcover covering traditional and Dreamlands encounters with just the right flair of pulpiness:

"Starfall Over the Plateau of Leng features weird science, extra-dimensional travel, mysterious Dreamland locales, nightmarish denizens, and a falling star that could destroy two worlds. Depending on what clues the investigators follow, there are multiple ways to access The Dreamlands; and in one playtest three different methods were used! Starfall Over the Plateau of Leng provides multiple avenues of investigation and multiple means for investigators to advance through the scenario. "

Another bonus for me is that it is written by Jon Hook, better known to me as Keeper Jon at the Miskatonic University Podcast.  He's also written Age of Cthulhu 7: Timeless Sands of India, so I may have to check that out.  Should be easy as the $7 pledge for the Starfall PDF and the $25 one for the hardcopy and PDF also comes with a PDF of any of the other Age of Cthulhu titles!  Even better, Goodman is offering pledges PDFs and hardcopies of the other additional books as an add-on for 25% off!

The only drawback I can find on this Kickstarter is that shipping and handling is not included in the initial pledge for EVERYONE, regardless of location.  Between stretch goals increasing the overall heft of the product, and some people ordering a pile of add-ons, Goodman will be invoicing S&H individually.  I'm still pledging $25 to get the book.