August Games

Bit busier on the blog this month... mostly because I decided to participate in RPGaDAY again this year... and painted a thing or two...

RPGaDay did get me thinking about Role-playing again and I've organize THREE new games to start this fall!? 

Thursday, 2 August 2022

Kurtis and Tania came over and played Stone Age! 

Wednesday, 10 August 2022

Amanda and I finally got back to playing Warhammer Underworlds. There is a brief game report of the action here:

Warhammer Underworlds: Morgwaeth's Blade-Coven vs Drepur's Wraithcreepers

Monday, 15 August 2022

Our friends Ryan and Andy came over to try out Terraforming Mars. 

Andy took a beginner corporation and totally won the game (they start with 42 megacredits and just get to keep all ten projects cards without having to pay for them! AND we gave him to Prelude cards; Supply Drop and Supplier... that might have been a bit much... ah, well... all had fun!). He took the Gardener and Mayor Milestones and won the Landlord Award and ended the game with 89 points! 

Ryan, despite it being his first game ever and being a little overwhelmed, opted for a real corporation and played Interplanetary Cinematics! He took the Society Support and Mining Operations prelude cards and took 1st place for Thermalist and 2nd for Scientist, ending the game with 62 points! 

Amanda played Helion with Self-Sufficient Settlement and Io Research Outpost. She took Builder Milestone and 1st place for Scientist Award and 2nd place for Thermalist and ended the game with 69 points! Nice!

I played Point Luna with Ecological Experts and Metal Rich Asteroid and kind of floundered all game... I took 2nd place for Landlord and ended the game with 52 points... 

The board at the end of the game. Andy was Yellow, I was Red, Amanda was Blue and Ryan was Green. 

Wednesday, 17 August 2022

It seems like Wednesday is becoming our Warhammer Underworlds night - Warhammer Wednesdays! There is a brief report and a few more pictures here:

Warhammer Underworlds: Morgwaeth's Blade-Coven vs The Wurmspat

Wednesday, 24August 2022

Warhammer Wednesday!  

Having just finished up Hrothgorn's Mantrappers the day before, I thought I'd try them out against Amanda's Blade-Coven... I don't know, maybe the paint was a little too fresh or something... or maybe the MANtrappers were just out of their element against the all female wych-aelves... regardless, it was a SLAUGHTER. You can read all about it on the separate game report:

Warhammer Underworlds: Morgwarth's versus Hrothgorn's

yikes... 

Sunday, 28 August 2022

Wrath & Glory - Session 0.5 - I'm planning on running TWO Wrath & Glory campaigns this fall, but both of them are only going to be ONCE a MONTH! The hope is that, if everyone consults their schedules and calendars, and we agree on ONE NIGHT to play the game, everyone should show up and play the game! One will be online for friends not living in Saskatoon. The other will be an in-person game for locals! Effectively I will be running the same adventures for both groups - to save on prep time! 

Wednesday, 31 August 2022

Warhammer Wednesday! 

We had hoped to play one more game of Warhammer underworlds on the 31st, but I just didn't get that next warband done in time... 

Mollog's Mob! Work-in-progress... 

Hopefully I'll have this finished up by Friday and we'll still get in a game this WEEK! 

What we've played so far this Quarter:

• Warhammer Underworlds: Direchasm x4
• Stone Age x2
• Terraforming Mars x2
• Angola x1
• Five Tribes x1
• Kingdom Builder x1
• Space Base x1
• Wrath & Glory x1

Looking back at the suggested challenges for the rest of the year, and taking into consideration what I've ACTUALLY been playing... I think I might have to change up the remaining challenges for this year... might look something like this:

Q3 5x5 Challenge

1. Warhammer Underworlds: Direchasm - 4 
2. Warhammer Underworlds: HarrowDeep - 0 
3. Stone Age - 2
4. Kill Team - 0
5. Wrath & Glory - 1

Seems rather hopeful to think I might get in FIVE games of Kill Team or Wrath & Glory... I kind of thought with a new Kill Team box coming out might stir up some interest again..? But maybe I'm just dreaming... Things are already getting busy - Finnegan is starting university TOMORROW!? Might just swap one or both out for a quick and easy game... Like, Azul? 

Q4 5x5 Challenge?

1. Warhammer Underworlds: Harrowdeep
2. Carcassonne 
3. Wrath & Glory
4. Kill Team
5. Stone Age

10x10 Challenge

1. Wingspan - 11
2. Terraforming Mars - 10
3. Five Tribes - 8
4. Warhammer Underworlds: Direchasm - 9
5. Azul - 6
6. Carcassonne - 5
7. Stone Age - 2
8. Wrath & Glory - 2
9. Warhammer Underworlds: Harrowdeep - 0
10. Kill Team - 0

in addition to the 5x5 challenge games, we still need to play 2 games of Five Tribes and four games of Azul... 

I've dropped the GMT games and Hammer of the Scots. Desperately clinging to the idea that I WILL STILL get in some games of Kill Team before this year is out... AND that the two planned Wrath & Glory games will get going and stay going! 

Warhammer Underworlds: Morgwarth's versus Hrothgorn's

 Having recently finished Hrothgorn's Mantrappers, it seemed they needed to try and stand in the way of Morgwaeth's Blade-Coven and their quest to escape the Beastgrave! 

Ever deeper into the Direchasm Morgwaeth and her followers plunged. After some time they noted they were being tracked. By the smell they know it to be an Ogor and it's little gnoblar friends. 

Hrothgorn Mantrapper was legendary amongst the Ogor Mawtribes. His stealth and ability to track any quarry was unrivalled. His stealth wasn't so great that the keen senses of the murderous wych-aleves weren't constantly aware of his snuffling and shuffling as he pursued them in his quest for fresh meat. 

At a narrow tunnel Morwaeth laid her own trap... 

THE TRAP IS SPRUNG! Hrothgorn and his followers ambushed by the Daughters of Khaine! 

Amanda won the first roll-off and had me pick a board first. I selected the "Living Rock" board from the Beastgrave box - mostly so I could try out the new Terrain Bits I finished last week. (I thought they worked rather well - especially the Reaper Bones stalagmites! I wish I had a few more of those!!).

Amanda picked the "Hive of Sacrifice" due to it's lack of lethal or blocking hexes and set it up short edge to short edge, as she does... 

She started things off by shooting Bushwakka with Kyrae dealing one damage. As Bushwakka only HAD two, I decided to fling him into action before he was dead and set up a sneaky trap on Objective #1 - kind of the only cool thing he can do... Those traps deal TWO DAMAGE to anyone moving onto them!

I played a power card that allowed Hrothgorn to remove the Objective Marker next to him - there is NOTHING in their decks that give them any points for holding objectives... but there are cards that allow them to flip or remove them! As I know Amanda's deck for Morgwaeth's Blade-Coven is ALL ABOUT holding objectives AND I was holding an Objective Card that gave me one victory token for removing or flipping one... it seemed like the thing to do! +1 VP for me! Yay! Things were looking up! 

Kyrssa jumped onto the furthest Objective Marker and stayed there for the game. As she does. 

I moved Quiv up, so he would be in position to help Hrothgorn shoot stuff and Kyrae finished off Bushwakka with another arrow... 

Oh... and then Amanda played DISTRACTION on Quiv, pushing him onto the objective marker with the trap... which then killed him... 

Yeah... 

No more traps. open Objective Maker. No Quiv (that allows Hrothgorn to re-roll a die when using his ranged "Trap Launcher" attack - which he DESPERATELY NEEDS as it is a two dice flurry attack... two dice with 2-in-six chance of success) 

Well... Hrothgorn moved up and shot anyway... which missed... because Amanda was having another game where she could only roll crits in defence. Morgwaeth moved up to an objective marker and stabbed Hrothgorn - dealing him FOUR damage (as she had something giving her +1 Damage)... for my final activation I moved up Thrafnir... because... what else was I going to do...!? 

Amanda scored some objectives and was already leading, like. five or six to my one. 

On Round Two, Amanda went first and finished off Hrothgorn... and that was pretty much the game. Half of both power and objective decks for Hrothgorn's Mantrappers is only relevant if Hrothgorn is still in the game... 

Amanda deciding how to utterly slaughter the last few of Hrothgorn's Followers WHILE gaining ALL THE POINTS from holding objectives... 

Thrafnir did try chewing on Morgwaeth... but.. that whole unable to not roll defence crits meant not a scratch on her. 

Luggit and Thwak moved up... because... what else was I going to do...? 

I spent a LOT of actions in Round Two and Three discarding and drawing new Objective Cards HOPING to find SOMETHING that could be scored... that DIDN'T require Hrothgorn... or killing the entire enemy warband (kind of requires Hrothgorn)...

Kyrssa and Lehtyr doing their hold the furthest objective and score points with Tome of Glories.

In the Final Round, Lethyr rushed forward to hold Objective #5, which brought her close enough that Luggit and Thwak could get to her... and so they charged.... actually HIT her, dealing one damage, and drover her back, off the objective and into the Lethal Hex which dealt her a SECOND damage and took her out! 

(it was only AFTER doing this that I drew "Surprising Competence" - Scored immediately when a friendly Gnoblar's Attack action takes an enemy fighter out of action - for one victory point).

Thrafnir just got the fuck out of the way, so I could score ONE Objective card... Always Moving (Scored in an end phase if there is at least one surviving friendly fighter and there are no friendly fighters in your territory!)

Amanda counting up all her victory points... 

She ended up with TWENTY (to my five...)

Yeah... 

Hrothgorn's Mantrappers seems like it COULD be a fun warband to play... but you really have to protect Hrothgorn somehow! which is hard, because the warband only inspires if he gets into hand-to-hand and kills an adjacent enemy (so he can't JUST stand back and shoot at stuff - which, despite the trap-launching-giant-crossbow being the most obvious thing about the miniature, it's the weaker of his two attacks - way less likely to his, and deals less damage!?). Without Hrothgorn, the warband is entirely useless... 

I made some mistakes in the initial placement of objective markers... 

Totally forgot that MY guys could be pushed into the trap!? 

Ugh... 

The next warband I'm working on is Mollog's Mob - ANOTHER warband that is really focused around ONE of it's members - Mollog - a Dankhold Troggoth with SEVEN WOUNDS (the highest in the game!) but still, Morgwaeth was dealing FOUR damage part way through Round One, so... 

After that, I'll be working on one of the warbands from Harrowdeep (probably the Stormcast, as they seem quickest and easiest to complete!) and we'll be switching to that setting for the rest of the year! 

Warhammer Underworlds - Hrothgorn's Mantrappers

 I have to admit, this was another warband I bought because the story in the Direchasm book (a collection of short stories focusing on different warbands in Beastgrave) was fun. 

And the miniatures looked fun. 

Giving the cards a brief read-through, just as I was finishing them up, they might be pretty nasty... Of course, I think that about a LOT of warbands... and then Amanda and her Blade-Coven of the Daughters of Khaine just hands them their asses!? So... we shall see... 

Hrothgorn's Mantrappers

Hrothgorn Mantrapper... yeah, apparently the group is called Hrothgorn's Mantrappers... but also Mantrapper is Hrothgorns last name...? 

Thrafnir, Hrothgorn's loyal Frost Sabre. 

Quiv makes Hrorthgorn’s Trap Launcher attack more reliable if he's standing adjacent. 

Luggit and Thwak are like two gnoblars in a trenchcoat pretending to be an Oruk... but without the trenchcoat... or muscles... or fierceness. 

Bushwakka is a trapper, as an action can place a trap in an adjacent hex - making it a one-shot, temporary lethal hex. It'll be fun dropping those on Objective Markers

They shall ambush the Daughters of Khaine tomorrow night! Stay tuned for After Action Report of that encounter. Perhaps the Wyches with enrage Hrothgorn so much, he will track them across the realms to face them again in Harrowdeep... or... maybe Hrothgorn will develop a taste for lady-aelf-meatsm and track them for dinner rather than REVENGE! 

Next warband will probably be Mollog's Mog. I got a basecoat done on the Troggoth... but... SO! MANY! DETAILS!!

Warhammer Underworlds - Terrain!?

 Yes. Terrain. 

There were two sets of terrain made for Warhammer Underworlds. One for Nightvault and one for Beastgrave. The Ones for Nightvault very, definitely match blocked hex elements on the boards from that set. The ones for Beastgrave seem a little more... generic... 

I priced up both sets a while back. I think they were on sale...? Like, on the bargain rack at my FLGS...? Or... maybe it was just boxing day...? I figured I might try them out with Warhammer Underworlds - or, at the very least, they would make interesting scatter terrain. I seem to recall an article in White Dwarf where some of them were used as elements modelled on a Heroes base!? 

It was kind of funny, because when I'd mentioned I had picked them up to Amanda, she had said "WHY!?" The Hexes are MARKED as blocked!? Putting a bit of terrain there seemed totally unnecessary! Then last week (or maybe the week before, when I was playing Drepur's Wraithcreepers...) when I had a board with blocked hexes, she actually mentioned it might be nice if there were things there to remind us that they couldn't go through them (as she had been trying to figure out a route to get to a objective marker, but then realized as she started to move.

First two bits of the Beastgrave Terrain. The pool could probably be used as a Hazardous Hex Counter (if there were only one... otherwise it. might be confusing if ONE hazardous location was marked with a similar item that is marking Blocked Hexes elsewhere...? 

I also finished this little bit up. It's from one of the Reaper Bones kickstarters, but would work really well as a Blocked Hex Marker for Beastgrave! 

More Warhammer Underworlds coming up! My plan is to finish up Hrothgorn's Mantrappers before Wednesday and then PLAY with them on Wednesday... So, there should be a post of the newly painted miniatures and a game report coming up later in the week! 

RPGaDAY 2022 - Days 19-21

 

Day 19 - Why has your favourite game stayed with you?

I don’t know that I HAVE a favourite game that has “stayed with [me]”…? I get tired of systems and move the fuck on…

SETTINGS, on the other hand, have stayed with me and I’ve tried exploring settings that I’ve played before with different systems. I’ve played Cthulhu games (1920s and Modern) with at least three (maybe four or five..?) different game systems! Loving Wrath & Glory - it’s also the third or fourth system I’ve used for role-playing in the 41st Millennium! I damned near bought that new Twilight: 2000 game (totally new games system) because I have fond memories of playing the original back in the 80s.

Plenty of other settings I've thought of revisiting, but never with the original system. Often I discover a new system and, reading though it, I notice something in the mechanics and think, "Oooh! THIS would handle X so much better!" (Where X is some aspect of a setting that I thought was poorly handled with the previous system)

What’s brought me back to those SETTINGS…? Some of it might just be nostalgia... But, I like the idea of Cthulhu setting and Hellboy and "urban Fantasy" as there is the contrast of the Modern and relatable, with something otherworldly, fantastical, or arcane…? I think games like Twilight: 2000 or modern zombie apocalypse games are similar - the familiarity of the ruins of the world we lived in being ever present and all around and it’s kind of all mostly gone, it’s there but it’s not functioning anymore.

Day 20 - How long to your games last?

Like campaigns or individual sessions…?

Individual sessions 3-4 hours. 

Campaigns… never as long as I hoped when I started out! Usually a couple sessions to a few months. 

I love the idea of playing a forever campaign and having characters start off as peasants or acolytes or apprentices and seeing them grow and get mighty and carve out a kingdom by their own sword, or the Modern or Sci-Fi equivalent or whatever... but I just can't stay keep them going. 

As I’ve mentioned, I have some significant challenges with maintaining focus. What has often happened is I get a great new idea for a campaign, new characters are made, campaign is started, we play a few sessions… then someone misses a game… then a few people can’t make it and a game is cancelled at the last minute… then it happens again, and at that point I’ve lost it - whatever it was that kept my focus is gone and I’m on to new ideas and 

Ones I’ve PLAYED in have lasted longer, I guess…  

Day 21 - Setting Sunday - Share an intriguing detail from a game setting you enjoy

Totally drawing a blank here... I don't know. Moving on. 

I Did a Thing... AGAIN...!?

 I told myself after Nethermaze, I just COULDN'T buy ANY MORE Warhammer Underworlds stuff... unless maybe I got ALL THE STUFF I have already painted up AND I actually started playing it regularly... Though I HAVE started painting things again (Drepur's Wraithcreepers and Wurmspat), both of those were just finishing off warbands that had been mostly painted months ago... AND, thought we HAVE started playing again, it's only two games we've played, so far... 

But then they had to release THESE!? 

The Classic Witch Hunter and acolytes - rooting out CHAOS across the Old World.... uh... I mean... MORTAL REALMS!! 

Just seems a quintessential part of Warhammer Fantasy... although... it ISN'T Warhammer Fantasy, is it? It's Age of Sigmar... 

I actually started to wonder if Witch Hunters weren't a thing any more - if there was no place for them in the kinder, gentler Grim Dark Fantasy realms of this new Age of Sigmar!? Then I noticed there was the Order of Azur mentioned in one of the audiobooks I listened to - with a Witch Hunter, tracking down and violently purging chaos corruption! 

I'm a little disappointed it wasn't an archetype in the role-playing game: Soulbound!  

And... I mean... DOGS! 

So... these aren't exactly jumping right to the front of the queue... but they will be budging in somewhere in the middle! 

I didn't feel TOO bad about this... I haven't gone too overboard this year... I passed on the Horus Heresy box and the Ash Wastes box and the most recent Kill Team Box, and I haven't even picked up any of the new codexes or warscrolls for the new editions (Oh, except the Aeldari one - but that one contained stuff for TWO factions that I'd like to play - that used to be two separate books). I've acquired a total of 55 miniatures so far this year. FIFTY-FIVE - and that includes my part of a Reaper Bones Kickstarter from a few years ago!? That's a tiny fraction of the purchases I've made in past years! Mind you, I've only painted 34, so it's not like I'm in the black and chipping away at the lead/plastic mountain of SHAME!? AND I've bought THREE Kill Team boxes and haven't finished a single Kill Team from any of them (sure, four are about half done... but they're not DONE-done...) AND I am still planning on picking up the NEW one that will be out in the next month or so!? GAH!? 

I better keep up the painting and playing of Warhammer Underworlds and get in a few games of Kill Team!  

Warhammer Underworlds: Morgwaeth's Blade-Coven vs The Wurmspat

Thought the Glaivewraiths had bested them in their previous encounter, they seemed unconcerned about preventing the Blade-Coven's advance, having drifted off in search of other quarry. The Daughters of Khaine continued their quest to the deepest, darkest part of the Direchasm and the dark, swirling vortex of water of which they'd been hearing rumours. Their hope was that it might have some connection to a similar feature off the coast of Hagg Nar, their home citadel in the heart of the Realm of Ulgu! 

As they pushed deeper into the Direchasm and into the very bowels of the mountain, they were overcome with an unreasonably vile stench. Such a revolting, foetid stench could only presage the presence of the servants of Nurgle. The Daughters of Khaine were on their guard as they proceeded... 

I finished up The Wurmspat this week, so that's who Morgwaeth's Blade-Coven was facing this week, in their quest to find a way out of the Beastgrave! 

This report is, once again, a bit briefer than I'd intended... The heatwave has returned and Amanda did a bunch of overtime on Wednesday trying to get caught up with stuff after her meeting and ended up getting home quite late, so the game was a bit rushed and I didn't take any notes and only a few pictures - the start of the game and the end of each round. 

I won the first roll off, for once, and had Amanda pick the first board. She selected the Hive of Sacrifice. I picked the Shade-Cursed Lair and I lined them up long edge to long edge so I wouldn't have too far to go! 

All set up and ready to rumble. 

As with the previous week, I just used the Wurmspat deck, straight out of the pack, without really even looking at it much... There are a few cards I'd definitely toss if I were building a deck for them - and I would like to try and build a deck for them, they seem like they might be fun to play, despite all the challenges of of a warband that STARTS with only three! 

I went first and just drew a card... I'd have three activations to do stuff with the Warband... I also kind of needed the Wyches to go first, as none were really in range of my short move. Kyrssa stepped onto a objective Marker at the back, so Sepsimus lumbered forward and seized an Objective in Enemy Territory and stabbed at Kyrae.

There was some more dancing about and stabbing.  By the end of the first round, Ghulgoch had slain Khamyss, and Kyrae had been wounded, but Fecula couldn't quite finish her off. 

Morgwaeth started the round off by finishing off Sepsimus, getting stabbed herself, and then running off and seizing and objective in my territory and brutally slashing Fecula! Fecula vomited on Kyrae, finishing her off at some point... or maybe she just bashed her with her staff...? NO, it was a card... Rancid Visitations! Fecula farted near her and she died... 

I attacked Morgwaeth twice more only needing to do ONE WOUND to finish her off - and that would have gained me bonus victory points from a Kill the Leader-type objective cards... just she just... wouldn't... DIE!!!

So Frustrating... 

Starting off the third round, Fecula tried the Power Vomit attack again and finally finished off Morgwaeth! Then, with two each and everyone spread out... we mostly just discarded and drew objective cards... 

Ghulgoch did charge and take a swing at Kyrssa, but missed. 

AT the end of the game it looked like we'd tied at EIGHT! But then I remembered I'd forgotten to grab the Primacy Token on Round One, when Ghulgoch one-shotted  Khamyss, and again in the Third Round when Fecula took out Morgwaeth! Which would have gained me two more points! So The Wurmspat ended up winning; 10-8!!

I had a lot of fun with this game - I ended up reading all the flavour text on the cards as I played them with a gurgling, hoarse voice - like one might imagine one of Grandfather Nurgles followers might have! 

There are a few garbage Objectives that I think I'd lose if I played them again... add in something a bit easier to achieve. Most of the Power Cards seemed pretty okay... There might be a couple I'd drop and replace with something a little more useful, but I didn't feel like NONE of them worked together - as I've felt like with other warbands decks in the past.

I feel like maybe I'm going to work on Hrothgorn's Mantrappers next... just because they LOOK fun! Myari's Purifiers are probably half done... but it's a lot of whites and light colours and small fiddly details and I'm just not ready to deal with that yet... (which is probably why they've sat in that state for over a year and a half!)

After I knock those off, I'll sit down and do Myari and his followers - mostly because I really want to do Mollog's Mob next... but am feeling a little intimidated by that one too! 

RPGaDAY 2022 - Days 16-18

 

Day 16 - What would be your perfect game? 

Oh wow…

3-4 of my favourite humans being able to play through a complete campaign... Where everyone is actually committed to showing up on a regular basis…?

As many of my favourite humans don’t even live here anymore, I have fantasized about running a short campaign over long weekend When they could travel to Saskatoon. I’d run it over six marathon RPG sessions (Friday night, Saturday Morning, Afternoon and Evening, and Sunday Morning and Afternoon) interspersed with long meal breaks to catch up on non-game life things…

I’ve had some success with weekend miniature skirmish campaigns in the past. This would still have a heavy miniature component, but involve less people than those campaigns and be totally cooperative and involve, y’know, more role-playing…

Actually... I tried this once a few years back... 

Wrath and Glory Gaming Weekend

Things did not go great, for so many reasons... but LESSONS WERE LEARNED!! I know what I'd do differently.

I have SO MANY ideas of things I’d like to run for that… Either as a straight role-playing game - or a "RPG-lite" adapted miniature skirmish game (that would be co-op - i.e. all the players versus me, running all the antagonists), where the role-playing would be just discussions with how to proceed and those decisions would determine the next encounter that would generally be worked out with miniatures on the tabletop. I like the idea of using something like Savage Worlds for this - as it CAN be used as a miniature game AND a role-playing game (so there is a non-combat task resolution system built right in - though any other game I could ADD in some way of determining success for things that are NOT directly combat) 

Day 17 - Past, Present, Future? When is your favourite game set?

Things change...

Currently I am more interested in exploring modern or future settings… Games I’d be most interested in running are Wrath and Glory (future), Hellboy (modern) and maybe some FATE games - which would also be mostly modern/near-future settings…

Historically, looking at all the games I’ve played and run and enjoyed the most, I think it would be Modern +/-100 Years… Almost ALL of the games I’ve truly loved the most over the years would fit in that range (though, now that I think about it that might have to expand to +/-125 years!? Because the Great War is OVER 100 years ago, now!).

Some of those games/settings in that range include: 20s Cthulhu settings, Gangbusters, Weird War One and Weird War Two, Pulp Adventure, straight up, historical World War Two (played a bit of Behind Enemy Lines back in the 80s with a friend!), Revised Recon, Tour of Darkness, Top Secret, James Bond 007, Cthulhu Now, Hellboy, Twilight: 2000, GURPS: Horror/Cabal/Special Ops/Supers, Cyberpunk/Shadowrun, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Road Warriors/After the Bomb, Tales from the Loop, Near future/Hard SF - those games and settings (often using Savage Worlds, or, more recently, FATE) have made up my most memorable and loved games.

(I guess if I expanded that to Modern +/-150 years, I could catch Space: 1889 in there too!)

I have to admit, I am so very, VERY dreadfully bored of standard medieval fantasy role-playing… but it seems like it is the ONLY thing so many people are willing or interested to run or play…. The absolute BONKERS thing is I'm actually talking with two different groups about joining two separate standard medieval fantasy role-playing campaigns (one D&D5E, one Pathfinder)!? Both would be one game a month... but, Ughhhhh... It's either play in fantasy games... or don't play at all...!? What do you do!? 

I might play the D&D5E and not end up joining the Pathfinder game. the 5E game would be run by my son Finnegan who has become a really, REALLY good Game Master. (and I'd kind of like to LEARN D&D5E - because the new Hellboy game is based on it!!) 

Day 18 - Where is your favourite place to play?

My place. It’s where all my stuff is at. I mean, who wouldn't want to play in THE GAME ROOM!? 

Warhammer Underworlds: The Wurmspat

True Story: The Wurmspat got their name because when Grandfather Nurgle decided The Beastgrave... for... whatever reason...? He sent forth Fecula Flyblown and her attendants; Ghurlgoch the Butcher and Sepsimus Plaguesworn, in the bowels of a monstrous wurmaggot and when the wurmaggot got to Beastgrave it just burrowed it's way right into the middle and SPAT them out and fucked off back to the Gardens of Nurgle... or... wherever... 

Seriously... 

These were, like, 90% done some time ago and I just put them in a box and forgot about them for a bit because I needed LESS STUFF on the table and... well... MOST of the stuff on the table was 90% done... so, something had to go... 

The Wurmspat - Servants of Nurgle. 

I've been painting characters names on the back - and will probably start adding names to ones I've previously finished. I know Amanda's appreciated it on the Blade-Coven and it might be helpful for anyone else, if ever I was to introduce someone new to the game.. 

Fecula Flyblown, Sorcerer

Ghurlgoch the Butcher

Sepsimus, Plaguesworn

Hopefully, these rotters will see some action against the Blade-Coven! Seems like Wednesday has become our night for playing Warhammer Underworlds. Warhammer Underworlds Wednesdays! Maybe just Warhammer Wednesdays.

That's it for now... 

What will I do next...? I had been thinking Myari's Purefiers (actually I had thought I'd do them FIRST, but then just wasn't feeling it and these looked way cooler - and way closer to being finished). I had also wanted to do Hrothgorn's Mantrappers and maybe Mollog's Mob, but very little of them are painted... They are assembled, at least, and primed. I think I did the flesh on Hrothgorns gnoblar helpers...

Warhammer Underworlds: Morgwaeth's Blade-Coven vs Drepur's Wraithcreepers

I had originally planned to write up a narrative description of Morgwaeth's Blade-Coven's quest to find their way OUT of the Beastgrave... but it's too hot and I'm too tired and it's almost already a week after we played... so... all you're getting is a short and sweet game report... 

Last Wednesday, 10 August 2022, Amanda and I played some Warhammer Underworlds. I'm running it like a little campaign - Amanda is playing Morgwaeth the Bloodied and her Daughters of Khaine companions and they are desperately trying to find a way OUT of the Beasgrave in which they have been trapped for longer than they can remember. 

They have heard rumours of a dark, swirling vortex of water, which they believe might be related to a similar feature so very close to their home of Hagg Nar in the realm of Ulgu... if it could transport them there, they would be so much closet to home! Little do they know... 

To get to this swirling vortex, they first had to get past a band of Glaivewraith Stalkers... These were Drepur's Wraithcreepers which I was trying out having recently finished them up! I played with their deck, straight out of the box, never even looked at the cards before playing, just read the cards as I drew them and did my best... 

Morgwaeth's Blade Coven... hanging back waiting for the drifting wraiths to come to them and ambush them! 

By the end of Round one, almost all of the Wraith has drifted into the Blade-Coven's territory. They had taken down Khamyss, but lost Grodrig the Lance. 

End of Round Two - Both Leaders had been slain - Morgwaeth and Viceroy Drepur. 

End of Round Three - The remaining two Wraiths had split up. The Patrician had tried to chase down the two Wych Aelves; Kyrssa and Lethyr

...and Sire Haqfel had hunted down the slithering Kyrae and slain her. 

I like that GW is making Warbands with decks that are totally playable out of the box. I totally ended up winning this game 13-8.

The plan was to have another warband finished for this week... I'm not sure that's going to happen... unless I get busy today (or tomorrow and play later in the week). We had initally talked about playing on Sundays, but that doesn't seem to be happening at all. Maybe it will be Wednesdays... WARHAMMER WEDNESDAYS! 

We shall see. I had thought I might try to get Myari's Purifiers finished up... but it might be Wurmspat... or even Hrothgorn's Man-Trappers...!? I've got ALL of those out on the painting table now!? 

RPGaDAY 2022 - Days 13-15

 

Day 13 - How would you change the way you started role-playing?

I ended up thinking a LOT about this… Probably way too much… 

My initial answer for this was “Given the circumstances of who I was and where I lived and the time it was, I’m not sure how it could have BEEN different…?”

Also, even if I could change certain circumstances, I can’t help thinking about the “butterfly effect”. IF those things were changed, where would I be today. Would I have met all the fantastic people that I did meet…? Would I have experienced ALL of the things I did…? I wouldn’t want to miss out on so many of those people and experiences. 

However, IF were are only limited by our imagination AND any of those circumstances COULD have been different AND I could still somehow meet all the same people and play all the same games…?

I guess, under those conditions, the one circumstance.. or SET of  circumstances (which wasn’t really about gaming, but has had a HUGE affect on my gaming from the get-go) I might change would be getting diagnosed with ADHD about 40 years earlier than I was and finding a medication that worked. Or maybe just not having ADHD at all (if we are only limited by imagination). How would things have been different if I’d been able to stay focused enough to actually READ rules and READ through the adventures, explore a set of rules or a setting more thoroughly, and then actually stick with those adventures and campaigns to see them through to reasonably satisfying completion, instead of abandoning things and skipping ahead to the next shiny new idea that popped into my head!?

Of course, without ADHD, would there have been the ENDLESS TORRENT OF NEW IDEAS that ended up as inspiration for so many of the games I’ve run over the years…? Without it would I have been as good at improvising and making shit up on the fly?

Probably best NOT to dwell on it. I have done FAR TOO MUCH of that already. All the could have, would have, should haves…. Onwards and upwards my friends. 

Reflecting on the last two weeks, however, I think this and the whole line of questioning about where and how we started has really just been to reflect on our own experiences and how things went down and how we could collectively make role-playing a better experience for newcomers. And I think that comes down to compassion and patience and understanding that your reality isn’t everyone else’s reality. 

For some of us that reality is having hundreds of new ideas EVERY WEEK and sometimes that meant showing up at my place to discover we were making new characters and embarking on a whole new campaign (however short-lived) without ever wrapping up the one we’d just been playing the week before… I am so grateful for those that humoured me over the years and just buckled in and held on for that wild, wild ride, no matter where it took them! 

I realize that calling for compassion and empathy and inclusion is probably triggering for the gate-keeping, old school, retro cranks, but… fuck em… They are everything that is wrong with role-playing and gaming in general. I am so glad the industry has finally realized they are a small (though vociferous) minority and will NOT be the ones that keep them in business and have decided to largely leave them behind and move towards inclusion and representing diversity and massively growing their market instead of relying on stingy old bastards that will all soon be dead…

Day 14 - Suggestion Sunday: Roll 1d8+1 and tag that many friends and suggest a new RPG to try. 

I’m not sure how to even do this really… my friends are spread out over a variety of different social networks… and I don’t think any of them read this blog anymore… I used to feel like Barney on How I Met Your Mother - people constantly asking questions and me thinking “did’t you read my blog…? I JUST posted about there yesterday!?” 

Day 15 - Who would you like to Gamemaster for you? 

Like within the realm of reality or if I could get ANYONE to run a game for me…?

If I could get ANYONE, I’d love to play in a game run by Wil Wheaton… That would be amazing. 

I guess if Wil wasn’t willing or able, I’d totally love to get in on Joe Manganiello’s game… 

In the realm of reality… I don’t know… I do kind of like running the games myself. 

I am so here for the day when Trevor feels safe about in-person gaming again, however, and I would not turn down an invitation to try anything he wants to run... (fellow I met though a local RPG group, who moved to town DURING the pandemic) 

My son Finnegan is an AMAZING GM - if he weren't already so busy with the TWO WEEKLY D&D games he's running, I'd probably cajole him into running something for me and my friends again!

RPGaDAY 2022 - Days 10-12

 

Day 10 - When did you start Gamemastering? 

Right away! 

My dad and I sat down to try and figure out the rules to this game we’d bought, and right away (despite having virtually no ability to actually, y’know, READ rules…), I knew I wanted to be the one running the game. He made two characters and we started blundering our way through Keep on the Borderlands. 

Day 11 - If you could live in a game setting where would it be?

Ummmm… no. 

Probably, no. 

I can’t think of any that I’ve played in that would be any better than now. Not that now is perfect… but it could be so much worse… and that’s where all the RPGs are set.

Maybe Star Trek. Sure, it’s a TV/Movie setting… but there have been RPGs…? 

The only Star Trek RPG I've played was the one by FASA that came out in the 80s. I had a friend that was a super huge fan of the series and had all the books and insisted on running it. I think I played a security ensign (NO, I DIDN'T DIE EVERY SESSION!)

A couple years ago there was a PILE of the FASA Star Trek RPG books at the SSO Book and Music sale. Like, 15-20 of them. I ended up buying them all... because... nostalgia... and they were ONE DOLLAR EACH!?!

Day 12 - Why did you start RPGing?

It was the miniatures… Totally the miniatures. 

I was at the point where I was feeling like I was probably too old to still be playing with G.I.Joes and Star Wars figures, and the miniatures that seemed to go with the game might be a more “grown up” version of the same. 

Beyond that, it seemed like a really fun thing and was totally unlike any other game I’d ever played or heard of (at that point, I’d played Monopoly and snakes and ladders and uno and a few other shitty 70s board and card games…). 

I like the idea of freely being creative and just making shit up! 

This was also before there were computer games!? Or at least before I had access to computer or video games. 

T'au Rocket Launcher

 I've been painting a few T'au for Finnegan, on and off, and not really getting around to FINISHING anything. 

Well, I did finish ONE thing... this little rocket pod thingie... I have no idea how it works in the game or if it's useable in Kill Team - I think they're attached to Fire Warriors...? 

T'au Rocket Pod thingie. 

Maybe I should focus on things I KNOW will be useable in Kill Team! 

Or stuff for games we might actually PLAY!?