alien centipede size comparisons

Yet another size comparison for a discussion thread elsewhere. Alien centipede-ish critters!

GW millisaur, GZG civilian, GZG Crustie, Khruasan Kontrol trooper

Monsterpocalypse Chompapillar (Planet Eaters,) Monsterpocalypse Corruptor

I should really come up with a tag for these posts...

sefadu vs. FCC, then vs. Texico

 Maurice's FCC glamour shot

Couple weeks back, finally got in some more Mercs. We used the scenarios available here on the forum, and I admit it improves the game. Looking forward to seeing it I took a few notes, but realize now they're pretty boring, so I will let the pictures do a lot of the work here.

 Table layout. Second game, we just switched deployment zones.

 First game my sefadu rolled Elimination, and FCC rolled Deliver the Package. my corporate agenda was the Lions Run, and really, the other two are... situational at best. sefadu is always about the run and gun game, so why not pick that one?

 Enemy sighted down 'Firing Lane Alley.'

The blue die above represents how long the Ice Grenade kept these two frozen in the middle of the board. So painful. The both survived the game, but were essentially useless after they got stuck in place.

Sabotage!

My first time using the Gunner was a learning experience. The FCC-ified USCR Sniper delivered his package to my deployment zone with time to spare.

This is approximately my Sniper's line of sight, where I delightfully spot the FCC Boomer through the door jamb. 

Meanwhile, the gunner finds out he has company. And they didn't RSVP first.

But the Grenadier shows up to even the score.

Oh, right, that USCR dude, still creeping around.

Both Maurice and I complete our objectives, and points were even. Meaning it's decided by blood, and I just barely eke out the win on that regard. Love the close games.

And despite me not having a lot of experience with Mercs, we still have time to sneak in a second one.

Game two: Texico shows up. We both roll Recon, and decide we're both after the big empty building in the middle. Bounty is named on my Berserker (who replaces the Gunner from last game. It's kind of a coin toss between the two.)

sefadu, roll out!

Six turns fly right by. Seriously. Spears are flying left and right. My Sniper isn't getting anything done. I get the Medic to recon the building in turn three, but there's really an uphill struggle to get him safely back towards the deployment zone.

Oh, and the Recon building. a.k.a. the hallway of death. I do manage to get the room recon'ned, and surprisigly enough prevent Texico from dong the same due to some delicately-applied violence. We do actually end up with the Berserker in close combat with the Jaguar, but the latter proves too much for our sefadu hero (he does survive until the last turn, though.)

We achieve an embarrassingly low number of points. I get one, yes, one Recon point, since the Medic is alive, if only barely on my side of the board. That plus a second take of Lions Run gives me the W again.

So yes. Totes ready to pick up my ISS at some point in the near future, and maybe after that, KemVar? Heh.

In which I don't play Mercs, but name-drop Team Rocket

The plan was to meet up with the guys, learn a new game, and then sneak in a game of Mercs. One of the joys of using public transportation is that, well, sometimes plans just don't happen. A non-showing bus made me late to the store and put me in a bit of a mood. Tried to make the best of it, though. (Maurice covers the Mercs gaming here.)

Apparently this book is pretty rare...

I did get to see Relic Knights in action, though. As noted elsewhere, the guys ran some demos of this at Gencon, and had already been discussing the hot hot Kickstarter campaign. I was initially resistant. I mean, I have a lot of other games I don't have time for, and the models are, well, a little cheesecakey. Thematic for anime, sure. But still.

The game itself is fun and fast-paced. I was pleased with the diceless measure (and the cards aren't just for replacing the dice.) You can download the beta rules here if you'd like to learn more.The setting is heavily into the anime, and they aren't subtle about hiding their influences. (Like, it makes Anima Tactics look subtle.) And even on a cursory read there's some interesting ideas in the backstory, so, that's enough to get my attention. Not taking itself seriously makes the pinup models a little easier to accept, too. Add in a giant four-armed space pirate chef cat, and you got yourself a deal.

I'm leaning towards Doctrine (frikkin' Sailor Moon!) and Speed Circuit (seriously entertaining. And I am considering Team Rocket uniforms.) And probably Pirates, because again, giant four-armed space pirate chef cat.

So if you like the look, the Kickstarter is a great deal, and looks to be really moving into high gear. But brother, let me tell you. It's going to be hard waiting on all these great Kickstarter deals is going to be painful. Delves will be soon-ish, but next spring for the Reaper mega-deal and Relic Knights. Patience is a virtue. Luckily I have, you know, all my other games to keep me distracted.

One bad mother.

So Mercs isn't forgotten. Hopefully will get the details done on the rest of my figs over the weekend so we can get that game in soon.


Unrelated, but speaking of Delves - check out this tutorial on cavern terrain. So pretty.

11+1: Natasha Otravya

Natasha Otravya defending the Mysterious Man

"Even in a world of aliens, monsters, and superhumans, sometimes nothing is more dangerous than a woman with the will to thrive."

A well-known figure in the criminal underworld, Natasha Otravya has worked for most of the criminal organizations in the city. Rumors and insinuations point to a past in the Russian espionage networks, but she never discusses such matters. Specializing in undercover works and stealth operations, she is fiercely loyal to whoever is paying her (at that time) and puts her all into her work with a wicked drive and a cruel sense of humor.

The fig is the 'Astrid Berger' figure, from the Reaper Chronoscope line. I admit the color palate isn't exactly complex, but I think it works with the character. She's not the star, she's the right-hand woman at the side of the big bad. The next fig for the Challenge won't be olive-drab, I swear.

The guys are talking Mercs again (and they'll be playing at Gencon shortly) so that will be a topic again before too long. Was also checking out Snap to Cover. So I should polish off my sefadu soon. I've also been assembling my Crossover minis for 7tv, so, something of a 28mm revival over here? Heh.

Historicon 2012 - day three

The last day at the con was Saturday. After seeing the glory of the Wally's Basement sales at Cold Wars, we knew a table was to be ours at Historicon. Saturday morning, up bright and early with boxes of minis we no longer needed to unload.

Reaper was a big hit, as was anything Games Workshop. Our 'everything must go' prices combined with a well-organized table kept up majorly busy for a large portion of our session. I'm proud to say I made a pretty penny selling off many an unopened blister, and less proud to admit that pretty much all the profits went right back to the dealers hall to buy myself some new toys. Heh.

Lunch was Wegman's, and man, I wish we had thought of that earlier in the con.

After dumping a fair amount of money at Rebel and Old Glory, we sat down for a demo of Pride of Lions. As my conversion to 15mm continues, we'd been looking into a fantasy ruleset. Mr. McBride was hosting demos of the game, and we sat down to parse it out. At a glance, the game isn't my usual thing: many chits, strange dice, simultaneous movement, and rank-and-file bases (yes, normally my bane, I'm trying to expand my horizons here.) But it has some very compelling features as well. The wacky dice actually have a use. The chits and movement leads to a sort of guessing game about what your opponent will be doing, and what you can do to counter that and press the advantage. Maintaining morale is a key feature of holding your lines. There are also some neat features involving how charismatic your general is, and how they can encourage/compel/cajole their units to fight better. So yes. The demo definitely piqued our interest (and Mr. McBride did a great job explaining things) so this is the second New Big Project picked up at the con. I bought many Dark Elves with some of that money earned earlier in the day, and we were already discussing basing on our way out of the hall.

The other New Big Project from the con was Flames of War. I enjoyed BattleTech, but I'm not sold on going all-in outside of the occasional game at a con. Frankly, I think it's too much bookkeeping to hold my attention. The big Old Glory order was a lot of 15mm scifi and pulp, because I do dream big, really.

Zombies! Cubicles! FIRE!

 

No matter how many things you make time for, you always end up passing some table saying, man, I wish I had more time to check that out.

One more simple but elegant Flames of War table.

Car packed and everything ready to go. Our final event was the WWPD podcast taping. Now mind you, I've played all of two or three games of Flames of War, and lurked through the forums, gathering ideas. So much of this was going to go over my head. But immersion has always been a good teacher, and hey, I heard there was a prize giveaway too. The guys behind WWPD were a lot of fun to listen to, and I totally see why their show is a hit. I'm not a pod-casting fan, in general, but it was hearing all the ins and outs from the insiders. I also lucked out and won a prize drawing! Panzers, yay! Oh, and a calendar for World of Tanks, a video game I don't play. The calendar is, I am not joking, Maxim girls posing in skimpy WW2 uniform-inspired swimsuits on actual tanks. It's both terrible and wonderful. Other guys who won them were joking about having to hide them from their girlfriends and wives. I can say proudly that once I got home, I gave the calendar to my wife as a souvenir. (Yes, I am a lucky man.)

So that's about all I have to say on Historicon. It was fun! I think we can do it in two days instead of three next time. And I hope they improve the bathroom situation as well (not enough of them, and not well-maintained either.) But we all had fun, and I'm looking forward to the next one. And I have plenty of new toys to keep me busy until then...

Halo Micro Ops size comparison

Hit the Target today, and lo and behold, the toy aisle contained the new Halo Micro Ops toys. I was looking forward to using some of the pieces for terrain or what have you, so I picked up the Wolf Spider vs. Ghost pack, and took a couple pics. (I also picked up that plastic ruler for the sole purpose of taking these comparison pics.)

Wolf Spider turret, Khurasan Kontrol soldier, HALO dude. (I never played the games.)

Ghost vehicle, Kontrol soldier, alien dude who won't stand up.

HALO dude, GZG civilian, poor lighting, Ghost with alien carjacker, Kontrol soldier, Wolf Spider turret, extra plastic bit?

So, yeah. Some of the vehicles and terrain might work, but the figs themselves are clearly closer to 20-25mm than 15. 

Historicon 2012 - day two

Bow before the Conqueror!

When signing up for conventions, I am always a little iffy about how many games I want to register for beforehand. My internal batteries can get depleted, and I know there will be a lot of distractions (vendors, demos, pickup games, food.) during a busy day of walking around. But I'm a gamer! It's what I do!

Friday was noticeably more crowded at the show. One of the games I specifically wanted to try out GASLIGHT, and my first game of the day had the very eye-catching name "The Conqueror Worm of Mars, 1889." Ten players, including Mr. Whitehouse. I ended up playing the Conqueror Worm death cult, revolutionaries against the decaying Martian aristocracy; we had unearthed an ancient and arcane machine, the eponymous Conqueror Worm. Teamed up with other Martian rebels and some Earthling allies, we were breaching the city (and secretly trying to reach a mystical artifact statue near the American camp.) Truly, though, my goal was to raze the city. Only from the ashes of our enemies could we rebuild a new, better Mars. The death cult and its high priestesses were aided by the rebel Earthling 'Konnorai,' unknownst to all an Irish anarchist whose red diaper was filled with various explosives. The first turn of the game, Konnarai took position hidden in some vegetation on a hill, the better to throw his bombs. (This detail will be important later.)

As happens throughout history, though, it turns out our revolution was a rebellion. Mighty airships crashed from the skies! Mr. Tesla and his terrifying lightning machines pushed back on our allies' advances. My High Martian forces, who to the Earthmen resembled 'flying monkeys,' had great fun dropping their 'biological bombs' from up above the expatriate British troops. Nonetheless, things were looking bad for us. I mean, as a death cult, we were very successful at the 'dying' part. It's the other half that we hadn't worked out yet.

Well, that looks bad.

In the last turn of the game, we managed to get one of the Martian shamen up to the mysterious statue. The necessary ritual performed, and a fierce black tripod emerged from its slumber deep under the Martian sands. Turns out these ancient cephalopods were psychically manipulating the cult to free them and their machines to reclaim Mars for their own! Oops, sorry everyone! The tripod crushed friend and foe alike, until it was destroyed by a lone Earthman with a brave heart and a speech impediment.

Oh, and I mentioned Konnorai above? Yeah, after deploying him in a great position to start tossing bombs... I completely forgot he was there. That's how effective his camouflage was! I doubt he could have turned the tide, but I do regret the chance to do a terrible Sean Connery accent.

GASLIGHT is a fun system. Scales well and plays quickly. I don't think it's something I could sell the local gaming group on, but the setting is a treat, and I could definitely find myself picking up the rulebook at some point. 

 

The gamemaster for the above, Jeff Wasileski, has his own report on the con, and the battle above on his blog: Oh My Ruritania! His photos even capture yours truly, striking a pose.

Lunch was salad. Such salad. Even one day of mostly fast food fare was a tasty but unwelcome change of pace. Speaking of food, also, I note this is the first convention I have been to where you can buy a turkey leg and a glass of wine. I didn't. (This time.)

One of my gaming dreams is still to own a nice dungeon like this setup I passed in the big hall.

The mechanised infantry suits pictured center above were rather popular.

The gents went off to their evening BattleTech Arena event, and I tracked down my next game: a playtest of the upcoming Battle Science: Secret Science rules by veteran game designed Bob Charrette. Titled "Code Red, Doctor Moreau," I took the part of one of the mad scientists, part of some secret council, sent as part of the 'punitive expedition' to punish Dr. Moreau for 'mixing the secret sciences' in his experiments. My force was steam powered automatons. I got the impression each of the 'secret sciences' would have their own style of forces, depending on their chosen fields. We also had some Minions on our side. Yay minions!

The steamtech elephant, a converted Zoid toy, was also a hit.

I won't go into too much detail on the rules, as I know they are a work in progress. There are definitely some interesting features, and I look forward to the finished result. The turn flow was a little different, breaking up movement into two parts which affected the rest of the actions. I did like how certain head scientists were Dominators, which meant they could try to sway enemy models to their side, and threaten enemies, and give grandiose speeches. Very evocative of the genre. And if the models are up to the Parroom Station's usual quality, and the ones on the table certainly were, they will also be tempting fare.

One last note from the game: the pics above and below were from just one unused corner of the table, and man, if that terrain isn't better than the stuff I game with regularly. Sigh. So much lovely terrain at the con.

Up next time: the Saturday finale. I win free stuff!