'Anthology' weekend

 So a few friends in our gaming group have decided to have a weekend of 'other' games.  In lieu of our regular Pathfinder or Starfinder games, we have figured on having an 'anthology' weekend, where we each get to preview a new RPG that the group hasn't played.

So far, the others are bringing Delta Green, Cyberpunk, and Call of Cthulhu.  Each should be pretty interesting, and I've never played any of those games of any previous version.  

For me, I'm bringing Torg: Eternity.  The revised edition of the old West End Games multi-reality RPG.  This new one maintains the basic rules of the orignal, while amping the action to eleventy and giving a lot more depth and awesomeness to each Cosm.  

For those who may not know, Torg was designed by the original Star Wars RPG company, West End Games, back in the early 1990s.  The idea was that other realities have invaded our 'Core Earth' to steal our possibility energy, as ours is the richest the Reality Raiders have ever found.  To do this, the invading Cosms overlay their reality onto ours.  So, in parts of North America, the Living Land has overlaid our reality with a primitive one, where technology doesn't work.  The characters take the role of Storm Knights, those fighting the invading High Lords to beat them back from our reality.  

I'm looking forward to running the game.  Back in the 90s, it was one of our go-to games, and it suits a cinematic, action-movie style that is a lot of fun.

Hopefully we'll have some new campaign ideas by the time we're done.

Painting work

 Happy March to all you who still might stop by.

For today, I offer some progress on the miniatures painting front, with a grab bag of interesting models.

First off, a sphinx model from Reaper Miniatures, taken from one of the Bones kickstarters, a great model that I used for the Mummy's Mask adventure path for the Pathfinder RPG.  I was really pleased with the way her face turned out, and the wings came out perfectly.  Matches the cover of Volume 3 of that AP, the character of Tetisurah, guardian of the Tomb of Chisisek.

She turned out really well.  A mix of GW, Reaper and P3 paints throughout.  If anyone is interested in details on the colours used, comment below and I'll list the paints and techniques.

Next up is a barbarian on her sabre-tooth lion, from Hasslefree Miniatures.  This was purely for fun, and I got to play with some skin tones and the fur on the lion.  More of a Frazetta look here, and a truly beautiful miniature to paint.  Again, GW, Reaper and P3 paints.

Still need to work on my photo technique.  I was a bit distant with the lights, but didn't realize until I had downloaded the photos so they're all a bit brightened.  The focus isn't perfect on some either but next time I'll do a better setup.

The next is a quick Bones Basilisk from Reaper.  Done up for that same Mummy's Mask campaign.  Nothing crazy here, but a fun mini to paint and get on the table.

Next up is a Hasslefree mini from the Matt Dixon Kickstarter.  Another example of why skin tones can be hard.  Smoothing the highlights on flesh tones takes some doing, particularly for nudes.

A great mini to paint though.  The sculpts from Hasslefree are fantastic.  Again, all the minis here are a mix of GW, P3 and Reaper paints.

A rogue-type mini next.  Bones so there's some softness in the deep recesses, but otherwise a solid mini.  Not sure what he's stealing, but he's definitely working hard to get away with it.  The cloak turned out beautifully (P3 Bastion Grey as a base) and was a lot of fun.

Finally, a character made from Hero Forge, the custom mini company.  I went in on the Kickstarter when they first started up, as I was working up a character for a Pathfinder campaign (Serpent's Skull adventure path) and there aren't too many halfling clerics of Shelyn out there, armed with glaives.  Turned out rather well, to be honest.  

And that's all for today.  Actually painted up a bit of a storm over the past few months, in and around that pesky day job and whatnot.

Slinging Paint

A few quick hits as I sling some paint on the last day of the Thanksgiving weekend.  Working on a bunch of things, though I realized if we're planning to play Pathfinder next Saturday, and I'm away at sea the whole working week, then I had best paint up the miniatures I plan to use.  Sorta makes sense...

The lighting isn't great, but there's a bunch going on here.  From L to R, there's a dragon's wings, some Daemonettes of Slaanesh for my Hedonites army, a succubus figure (with detached wing) and two mummies for our next Mummy's Mask adventure path session.  Somewhere back there are the two pilots for my Space Marine Land Speeder for my Blackbirds Chapter of Space Marines (also Warhammer 40000).

Some detail on the mummies and succubus.  And a well used paint palette.  I need the mummies for next week's game, and the succubus is there to work on while I wait for ink washes to dry and such.  Seldom do I only have one model (or group of models on the go) at one time.  Usually there's a few things so I'm always filling the time while other stuff is drying.

Over to the 'working desk' I've got the aforementioned Land Speeder, then a sphinx model I'll need for a future instalment of Mummy's Mask.  Then the green dragon (Reaper's Everblight) who is the owner of the wings above, the Fane of Slaanesh (a terrain piece for Warhammer Age of Sigmar) and a unit of Seekers of Slaanesh, the next part of my Hedonites army.

That's the state of the desk right now.  Going to sea for a week I hope to get back to some writing but we're preparing for a big deployment next year, and as a HOD (head of department) that means lots and lots of prep work.  [sigh]  And it will be bouncy this week (4-5m seas)!

See y'all in a few days...

Painting progress

Over the last few weeks I've made some progress on painting.  First up is the finally-finished Eldar Hemlock Wraithfighter.  It's on the far right, and pictured with the 1000 points of Eldar I've been working on for the Warhammer 40k builder's league at our local game shop, Everything Games.

Doing this builder's league, for me at least, was a way to push more painting, and get more models done.  Given that the league is over, but I've managed to paint quite a few things, I'd call it a mixed success.

A closer look at the Hemlock, showing the painted cockpit.  This model fits together great, but those smooth, curvilinear surfaces take a LOT of coats of paint.  Will have to use an airbrush for future models like this one.  Still, it turned out rather nicely for the efforts.

However, there's still more to do to finish the 2000 points of models for the league (or, more appropriately, my own goal).

That whole shelf needs to be done, less some of the unprimed guys at the back.

However, for now I'm working on a bit of a palate cleanser, a mini for my D&D warlock character in the campaign we play weekly after work.

He's coming along nicely, and it's always refreshing to paint a model that is more 'freeform,' in that there's no uniform, no specific colour scheme, just a chance to play with colour choices and painting techniques.

After this guy, it's back to the grind with my team of Imperial Guard for the Kill Team game, as well as the ruined building terrain pieces (one of which is pictured behind them, sprayed grey for a basecoat).

After that, maybe back to a dragon I had started before the builders' leagues took all my painting time.

She'll be a green dragon, though I've always liked the Larry Elmore style contrasting belly scales, so I went with a nice, deep yellow.  The base and wings are in front, separate so as to get all the hidden areas.

Along with all that, there's the Age of Sigmar builder's league, so I've got a bunch of Seraphon to paint up for that one...

Ironclad approved

Over the last few months (and by last few I mean September and onwards), I managed to get a fair bit of painting done.  That, of course, when I wasn't working, doing family things or otherwise engaged.

From the cabinet comes my warjacks from the journeyman league last summer, who contributed to my 'best painted' award at the end.

For starters, the Ironclad.  A heavy warjack with a quake hammer and open fist.  The colours are very traditional Cygnar, which is one of the things I was initially attracted to.

The blue is the Cygnar Blue base shaded first with Exile Blue then Exile and Umbral Umber.  Careful on the blue/brown mix as you want to avoid muddiness.  Then use Cygnar Blue Highlight in several layers (increasing the mix of highlight until you're pure Cygnar Blue Highlight) with a finish layer of Highlight mixed with a touch of Morrow White.

The gold is Rhulic Gold shaded by brown ink/Sanguine Base mix, then some Umbral Umber into that mix for a final wash.  Clean up with Rhulic Gold again and highlight with Shining Gold.

The steel portions are pig iron followed by a mix of Exile Blue and Armour Wash.  Add in some Umbral Umber for a final shade (not too much or it gets 'muddy' looking).  Highlight with Cold Steel and Quicksilver and done!

Normally I paint from the inside out, meaning the areas recessed farthest in get done first.  In this case it was eyes and boiler grille first, using Heartfire and Ember Orange to give it a warm, firey glow.  The arcane bits in blue on the hammer are Arcane Blue with blue ink and Meredius Blue, using Morrow White for the mix.  Dials and gauges on the back are Hammerfall Khaki  with Morrow White.

The Cygnus on the hull was tough as yellow is a pain in the butt sometimes.  However, keeping the paint fluid and gradually building up from Rucksack Ran to Cygnar Yellow and beyond with Menoth White Highlight made it stand out nicely.

The bases on all of them are a wet layer of Umbral Umber (somewhere between a wash and paint) to get into all the recesses.  This is followed by a heavy drybrush of Bootstrap Leather and a final touch of Rucksack Tan.  Two thin lines for front/back facing and a cleanup of the black rim and the base is done.

Here's his buddy the Charger, a lovely 'jack with a dual cannon and a hammer for squashing those who get too close.  Same techniques on this one, and I think he looks rather spiffy.  Ready to lay some smack on the enemies of Cygnar.

Finally, a group shot with Major Beth Maddox.

And two more photos of the warlock mini from the previous post.  A bit better photo quality.

Gamemastering - just do it

Gamemastering, that is, being the game master (or dungeon master, for those D&D players out there) for a roleplaying game is not something done easily.  I've been playing for thirty-one years, and over those years I've been the gamemaster (GM) since day one.  Starting with the red box Basic Set back in 1985, I've helmed countless games.  I like to think I've become rather skilled at it, if my players are to be believed, but I'm not providing this information to brag, only to provide some context in that I know a bit about what I'm talking about.

First rule of gamemastering: just do it.  Get out there, take charge at the head of the table and run a game.

I leave that on its own line, because that's the most important part.  Gamemastering is, by and large, a performance skill.  I don't mean actual performance, though that helps and can be fun, but rather performing the act of running the game makes you better at it.

"Yes, yes.  Thanks tips, glad you're on that for us." you're thinking.  And in some ways you're right. Practice makes perfect and all that.  However, I've seen people be overwhelmed by the task of running the game, with all the story details, character details, monster/opponent details overwhelms them, because they aren't used to channelling that flow yet.  That's the real core of the practice part.  You've done it enough times that some things become mental muscle memory, and you focus on the action going on in a particular scene.  That's what happened over the many years I've been GMing.  Now I make it look easy, because I've been over the hard parts.  That said, I'm always learning and tightening my game.

If you're a new GM, one thing you need to accept is that your game will not run perfect.  Hell, I've been doing this for 31 years or so, and my game sessions aren't always perfect.  If it goes well, you and the players have fun, and you get to tell a group story, then the real goal has been met.

There are two areas that, if you pay attention to them, can help your first (or latest) session go well:

Materiel:

• The adventure itself - whether written notes, a published module or something in between, you need this
• Dice - if I have to explain this...  (mind you, have plenty)
• Pens, pencils, erasers - include extra for 'that guy'
• Paper for making notes, maps, etc.
• A gamemaster screen - yes, I've known GMs who don't use one.  It's creepy and weird.  As a player I don't want to know what's going on there, and as a GM I like to have the privacy to keep things surprising
• Campaign notes - even if it's your first session, have some idea of who the heroes are, where they are, and what is happening around them

Optional materiel (depending on game system):

• Vinyl game mat marked in squares - for those games like Pathfinder which work well with minis for combat or situations where you have to ask "where, exactly, does your character step?"
• Markers for said mat
• Miniatures
• Props - this one varies, but sometimes, the right prop at the right time works wonders

Preparation:

• Read the adventure.  Oh, you wrote it?  Read it again.  Be prepared for what happens in it.  Think ahead to the NPCs and how you want to play them.
• Make sure your notes are organized.  No one wants to wait while you flip for the random factoid written on the 35th post-it note stuck in your spiral-bound notebook, half the pages of which are scattered on the floor around your chair

It sounds like a lot, but really it's not.  Have the tools you need, and be familiar with the adventure you plan to run.  That way, when the players do something oddball, or a foe dies easier than planned, you can adjust because you know what else is there.  You know that if they whip through one encounter, the guard trolls in the next chamber are probably going to come to investigate.  If you misjudged their power, you can add an extra enemy or two to some encounters (or take them away).

And now a note for players:  cut the GM some slack.  I'm not saying put up with a terrible game, or not give some feedback, but when you know your friend sitting behind that screen is taking their shot as a beginner, understand that they're not going to be as smooth as your regular GM.  He or she will say "give me a sec, have to check something..." so be patient.  If they need to do a retcon here and there (yes, just because the baddies forgot to take your weapons doesn't necessarily mean it was planned that way).  Give them a chance, and they'll tighten their game.  Until one day when they forget to take your weapons it will be intentional, and that encounter, my friends, is like an open book exam.  Bring your worst because you'll need it.

More musings on the fine art of roleplaying games to come, but remember - gather your tools, plan your adventure, and get stuck in and do it.  Practice will make you perfect, and you'll have fun doing it.

Firestorm Armada Scenario - Break the Conference

Here's a Firestorm Armada scenario we played a few weeks ago.  Written by me and playtested by myself, my daughter and stepson, we had a blast.  It started as an idea for how to have a three-way game that wasn't two-on-one, but had a real purpose as opposed to everyone just randomly blasting each other to pieces (not that that's necessarily bad).  We played it, and made some tweaks as we went, and the result is:

Break the Conference Scenario (by Rowan Wilson)

 A secret meeting in deep space between two rival powers has been discovered by a third.  Not wanting them to come to any kind of agreement, the third party plans to sabotage the conference and wipe out the attendees.  This should cause enough animosity between the two that any kind of accord will be impossible for years to come.

Number of players: 3

Organization:

·         Two players are the defenders.

·         One player is the attacker.

·         Each chooses a fleet up to the agreed points value (for three players, recommend patrol fleets).

·         The defenders each have a civilian ship (stats given below) that holds their conference attendees, at no additional points cost.  If desired, the player may detach escorts from one of their capital ships to the civilian ship (choose at the start, the escorts stay with their new ‘parent’).

Setup:

·         Each of the defenders chooses a corner of the battlefield.  That is their ‘home corner’ to which they must retreat.  Their ‘edge’ extends 12” from the corner on either side.

·         The attacker uses the middle of the opposite side as their table edge, and may enter over a 24” span.

·         The defenders’ civilian ships must be set up in the center of the board as shown.  The defenders’ fleets are set up in a 12” box, one side centered on the civilian ships but displaced 6” away from the center.  They may only leave up to 25% of their fleets in reserves, if desired.

·         The two civilian ships are in base contact, to facilitate their short range shuttles, however may face any direction.

·         The attacker enters the table as per the reserves rule, however the attacker begins rolling for reserves on Turn 1. 

·         Scale the battlespace proportionally for larger or smaller tables.

Game start:

·         Before anyone rolls for initiative, the attacker makes one attack on each civilian ship from the other one.  (i.e. make a 4 dice attack on each civilian ship), to represent their sabotage taking place.

·         The defenders may not fire at either transport in turn 1 as they do not wish to risk hitting their own ship.

·         Roll for initiative for each player, play for that turn proceeds as normal.  If two players tie for initiative, roll-off for that initiative choice.

·         The civilian ships act as a squadron on their own.

·         No ships may shunt in or out of the battlefield.  The location was chosen to prevent such surprise attacks.  Vessels must either leave the play field (count as destroyed), or depart their player’s table edge (do not count as destroyed).

·         Ships of either side may start the game halted (no minimum move, but will need to start moving to turn).

Victory Conditions:

·         Each player scores victory points as normal for destroying enemy vessels as well as losing their own.  Maintain battle tracks as normal, paying attention to which player destroys which vessel.

·         The following additions to the battle log are to be used:

o   Defender’s civilian transport escapes their own table edge: +5

o   Defender destroys other defender’s transport: +3

o   Attacker destroys any of the defenders’ transports: +4/transport

o   Losing your transport: -3

o   Attacker does not destroy any transports: -4

o   Capturing a transport: +5

·         At the end of the game, the winner is the one with the highest battle log.  The game is played until both transports are destroyed or removed from play.

Civilian Transports:

(Recommend use of Ares class luxury liner model)

We played with Terrans (me) as the attackers, Directorate (daughter) and Sorylians (stepson) as the defenders.  Initial surges by the Directorate and Sorylians led to some serious damage, while the initial Terran advance was obliterated the turn they arrived (just a squadron of frigates).  Later Terran arrivals were able to put paid to the transport ships after doing some serious damage to the other two fleets.  A fun game and having the scenario made it more interesting, as there was a clear goal to seek in the battle.

The only sad part was we didn't get any pictures.  I was more interested in crushing Directorate and Sorylian forces.

I recommend trying it out, if you play Firestorm Armada (and why aren't you?).

Let me know what you think of the scenario in comments.  

Elven Druid

Here's another recent finish, an Elven Druid from Reaper Miniatures.  I started this one before the move, but didn't have time to get her done before everything had to by packed up.

One thing that I feel turned out splendidly was the skin tone.  It's P3 Khardic Flesh, shaded with a mix of Khardic Flesh and Skorne Red, then Khardic Flesh and Battledress Green.  Then a selectively applied shade of Skorne Red and Battledress Green for the deep shades.  Then highlighted up with Khardic Flesh and Midlund Flesh.  Key here: lots and lots of thin layers.  That gave me the smooth transitions.

The loincloth is P3 Gnarls Green highlighted with Iosan green, and the leather parts are Umbral Umber washed with first edition GW brown ink, then highlighted by mixing in Rucksack Tan, but only a bit to keep it dark.

Her hair turned out rather well, and it's Bootstrap Leather with Moldy Ochre mixed in for the highlight, also after a brown ink wash on the basecoat.  The blades are Pig Iron, Cold Steel and Quicksilver with Molten Bronze for the guards.

If the eyes look a bit strange, it's because she is painted as a Pathfinder elf, where the iris of the eye goes all the way to the edge, so there's no visible sclera.  Since Pathfinder is the primary fantasy RPG I play, I do tend to paint my non-wargaming models to fit that world.

The only horrifying part came when it was time to varnish the model.  Somewhere, the varnish I have turned, and it came out making her look like she was covered in frost.  Fortunately, I only applied a small amount, and was able to brush it off with a medium bristle brush without damaging the paint job.  Always check your sprays before applying to the model if they haven't been used in a while.

The miniature, by the way, is "Anjanis, Elf Druid" from Reaper's Dark Heaven Line (#03406).

I think I'll have to lighten up the background a little bit, but the photos turned out reasonably well.

Next up is the Razorthorn class battleship for the Firestorm Armada game.