"It seems you feel our work is not a benefit to the public."

"Why do I steal fabricants?... because it’s the only well-paying job

in the city. In Hefei, you either serve food on the street, fix fabricants,

or steal fabricants. Besides, it is not really wrong. There are

10 million of them in the city. The companies won’t miss one or two..."

As a fan of the Four-Color Studios Goalsystem, I just raised my pledge to the Ghosts of Hefei kickstarter. Really, it would be worth it for those figs alone. And this is the kind of game for which Kickstarter was created. Consider coughing in a few bucks, or if you already have, finding a couple more to throw at it.

Department case file 217-011

Maurice and I sat down a couple weeks ago to try out The Department, a nifty Goalsystem game of police procedure investigating fabricant crimes (think Blade Runner.) I'm a fan of the Goalsystem ruleset, and like how it simulates the RPG-style 'downtime' for in between adventures, and thusly could be a good replacement for gamers like me who dig minis but don't have the committed weekly roleplaying games in our lives anymore.

Case file: 217-011
Target: "Nick," Anti-Human Terrorist Cell Leader
Starting budget: 100
Primary officers:
Detective Inspector Huang Lo (Fabricant Crimes division) (46 pts.)
Deputy Sgt. Zogby (Enforcement division) (46 pts.)


1. Incident report: "Grass the Neighborhood" (Budget: 5.)

Our officers hit the streets to start collecting rumors from the usual suspects, hoping for a good lead to start things rolling. Spotting Madji, a local rumormonger, with an unnamed accomplish near the market, Lo and Zogby approach and begin to question them. Lo's questions go nowhere, but Zogby hints at some intimidating outcomes if they don't cooperate, and Madji gives up the goods [successful Intimidate roll secures one People evidence.] Neither suspect has anything else to hide, and the DFM officers return to the station to file reports.

[Snoozer. Spent more time setting up the terrain than actually playing the scenario. Good for getting the investigation going, though, which I think is the intent. And we just re-used the terrain setup for the next mission.]


2. Incident report: "Meet the Snitch" (Budget: 5.)

Following up on other information, officers head to the wrong part of town. Reaching the scene, they find a riot in progress, and are set upon by at least four rioters. After attempting to get the situation under control, they reconsider, contact the Urban Control authorities, get back in their car and drive the flip away.

[EGADS. We went in without any backup or requesting additional equipment, and wow. We just called this one a wash, chalked it up to experience, and pretended it never happened.]

3. Incident report: "Bust the Dealer" (Budget: 5, -1 People evidence.)
Requisitioned: 2 light armors, shotgun, blaster pistol (Budget: 6.)

Following up on Madji's tip from earlier, officers head to the site of the riot to corner a local dealer, Omar. Sticking close to the buildings, Lo and Zogby try to stay out of the dealer's line of sight. This proves to be a wise move. On confronting Omar about his connections to Nick's cell, Omar's bodyguard "the Gorilla" opens fire on the DFM officers. A skirmish ensues, with Lo attempting to stun Omar while Zogby charges the bodyguard. After subduing the Gorilla, Zogby also takes down Omar, and both are brought downtown.

At the station, both suspects are found to be fabricants, and fold under questioning. Omar gives up details on money drops for the cell, while the Gorilla spills about where other cell members were hiding out. [Successful interrogation rolls lead to one Financial evidence and one People evidence.]

[OK, now I think we got this down. Initially I thought the budget for the investigation would be too high, but requisitioning and backup look to be crucial in the right circumstances. Like keeping yourself alive.]


Remaining budget for the investigation: 79.
Zogby has accumulated four experience, Lo a mere two.

[Looking ahead, we'll need to bankroll a lot more evidence to confront Nick at his compound. And keep some budget banked for that, because that will be a war zone. The game is pretty cool, once we got used to the ebb and flow of the operation. Missions can be quick or involved, and you have to think ahead as to what you're doing.]

Lords of light!

Demon dogs!

One of the things that attracted me to Blasters and Bulkheads was its versatility. Yes, the game has a very not-Star-Wars vibe to it, but even a cursory read-through and a little creativity shows that there's more you can do with it.

Yes, I made Thundarr a Dark Essence user. Deal with it! Really, he's all about offense, more likely to charge in headfirst each and every encounter, not hold back and play defense. I didn't add points for the mounts, or now that I look at it, fill in the Defense slots on the right, but you get the idea.

A few years back, Old Glory produced some not-Thundarr figs in 15mm (not sure if they're still available, the OG website is... interesting) as part of a Superfigs ten-pack. I have Ookla painted up, will try to get the other two polished off shortly.

And, fair warning, once Art Crime gets out their Hadai, I am totally going to do stats for the Thundercats. Including Snarf. Especially Snarf. (And, if you're not watching the new Thundercats on Cartoon Network, you're missing out. The show is so much better than it has any right to be.)

Blasters & Bulkheads: the easy sell

Classic cinema.

I picked up the new Blasters & Bulkheads from Mr. Pyle recently. Finally got it printed, so I have been reading through it. Looks good! Will definitely be a go-to game for not-Star-Wars gaming, IMHO. That being said, I had one important question: how does it handle doors?


The backstory: when the Star Wars CMG was in its heyday, there was a little commentary that, used properly, proper opening and closing of doors could be a strategic advantage, to the point of people joking it was a game about, you know, doors. And then someone went through the six movies and compiled a list of, well, plot points and scenes where doors were actually pretty important. Think about it! Good stuff.


So I crack open the new game, and, right there on page 13, door rules. Nice. I'm nothing if not an easy sell.