BADD to the Bone

Hello people,

Last Wednesday we got back to Star Wars: EotE after another mini break. Between this time and last there has been an amount of HEALTHY DEBATE regarding some of the detail within the rules. All has since been amicably resolved but did, once again, higlight the nature of Role vs Roll play.

With a more narrative system, such as EotE, things are always going to be a little looser and in someways everyone has to work that bit harder for a system that has more potential. They key is to unlock that. Amidst all of that I found this BBC article and had to have a liitle chuckle to myself :)

Back at the action the chaps found themself on the short end of a half baked plan botched, primarily by the dice. On a side note we've noticed that it sometimes takes an awful long time to do the simple things with EotE. Just recently our sessions seem to have been victim to a few mediocre / neutral rolls.Without a straight pass / fail we sometiomes get bogged down. Again more an issue of management.

With the chaps somewhat stuck for inspiration, stood in the detention centre with locked cell doors, I made use of somethign we'd just discussed and spent one of thier precious Destiny Points to point out what I felt was the blindingly obvious.
"So the only gaurd you haven't killed is the Jailor who is currently taking snoozing after being shot with a tranq dart meant for a Dewback?"

Continuing with a revised Plan B for Robby the Robot to smash his way into the control room 7-UP-0 eventually brought round Lard-arse Larry who got all a bit cuddly. Throwing a further bone Agenai manged to find Larry's doughnut stash and an old swipe card which eventually started up the old security system. Dozy Larry provided the passwords and finally the cell doors were popped.

Subduing Kanto, remember him?, and grabbing the comatose ganger in the neighbouring cell the lads strolled out to the waiting speeder to work out that there were five of them, two captives, Oskara and only four seats! There were however a number of surveillance drones humming around the area.

Solution: Kardosh and Sindori take the liberatees in the speeder, Perit and Agneci shoot off down drone alley, while 7-UP-0 wanders off to the high street with a random box in his arms.

Yes, that's right, SPLIT THE PARTY IN THREE DIRECTIONS.

Good stuff lads, good stuff ;)

Its a WONDER-Full World

Hello people,

Just had the day down at Tabletop Nation for the latest Star Trek: Attack Wing event. I continued my record of a win and two losses as part of a highly enjoyable day out. I wasn't alone as the place was heaving with geekery as there were WarMa-Hordes, Malifaux and Heroclix events to keep us company. As a bonus I got to catch up with quite a few gaming mates I haven't seen in a while and have a geeky catch-up.

I've never been one to deny my hobby to others but I've also rarely advertised the fact. In recent years it seems to have become more acceptable. Recently myself and the missus have seen both Spiderman and Cap America at the flicks. I've noticed a lot more Geek offerings on the high street with Marvel proving understandably popular. The fact that you can pick up a Cap T-shirt along with your milk and bread feels like something a bit different. My good lady has a few and keeps waving new offerings at me. Not so many years ago these things had to be hunted out and came with a complimentary stigma and a quota of weird looks.

Where you can get your toys has also become more mainstream. I picked up the core of a Dominion Breen / Cardassian fleet today but couldn't get a Koranak. As the recent recipient of an Amazon voucher that's been successfully sourced, along with a Bolt Action rulebook at the heavily discounted price of £16.75.

Interesting times??

What would Jason Statham do........part deux!

ITuesday night down at Enfield Gamers was the latest installment of the Zombiecide narrative campaign.

Following on from last time out PROD was missing one of its main agents provocateur whilst COCS had forgotten to bring the master spreadsheet. As such and with what looked like a relatively grab the objectives mission in front of us we did everything a bit half arsed on both the co-operation and planning fronts.

As such the zeds had the chance to bite back and did so....hard!

Kitting up early doors I went particularly Gun-Fu and most of us were fairly maxed out pretty quick. 

Jon / Jason picked up a chainsaw and went all red mist. Unfortunately it must have running on vapours as his dice were shocking and a bonus zombie turn saw him go down quicker than a Deathrace extra. It must have been a stunt double....obviously!

Charlie / Ned meanwhile went around assembling a pack of four dogs which once he'd found a second, fully fueled, chainsaw turned him into psycho-tramp flinging 11 dice in combat.

Unfortunately our lack of focus soon meant that the zeds were coming thick and fast while we scrambled for the last two objectives. Psycho-tramp carved a path with the rest of us in support but an Abomination had turned up and we hadn't the means to take him down.

Finally sharpening up a gap appeared between mobs and we went for it....only for a bonus zombie move to shut us down and see us swamped.

Unable to Psycho-tramp our way through all but one of us were munched for a total cast wipeout, or at least what should have been. 

I've mentioned before that I'm not sure about the whole Zom-vivor thing. I get that you're basically "on the turn" and see the extra facet to the game but it doesn't quite sit right with me personally. There are two strands to my thinking;

1. It feels like you're being rewarded for failure. Several times now a Zom-vivor has done the necessary damage and pulled victory from the jaws of Zom.

2. Surely the survivors wouldn't be overly trusting of thier newly shambling buddies. That's quite a leap of faith.

For the campaign we decided that a Zom-vivor will spend D3 games "on the turn", including the bitey one, before having to be put out if there misery.

Personal choice but I'd rather pick up a new character rather than let my personal hygiene go so drastically.....even as a wargamer :)

I shall say theese only wonce!

Hello people,

Not been a lot going on here as I've been rather busy with OTHER stuff.

Meanwhile this lot FINALLY turned up from Devil Dog. As seems to be the case with KS I can't quite remember what I pledged for but a Feck-off sized box has been emptied and stacked in a significant proportion of a spare bookcase.

I tend to remember pledging for two basic sets (amongst 4 of us) but I'll have to check. There's so much stuff there I'm not sure we'll do anything with it for a while for lack of knowing WHAT to do with it. I suppose that this is possibly a stealth issue with KS. It's taken so long to turn up that we've moved on to other things, most recently Bolt Action, which kind of dooms Heroes of Normandie to it's shelf for a while.

Pledge goals, i.e. free stuff, is all good but how complete does your pledge "packet" become. With a decently planned campaign you'd hope that it would all be sorted out for you but I get the feeling that it's all to easy to loose sight of that if the face of freebies.

I have recently found myself passing up on a number of tempting campaigns simply by asking myself "what would I actually do with it?". This seems to be far more pertinent than "do I need it?" because we all know the answer to that one? ;)

Anyway, hopefully Heroes won't gather too much dust before it sees some action. We'll see!

Obligatory SALUTE 2014 post

Evening people,

So another Salute has come and gone as another damn good day out. As usual we fulfilled essential shopping lists before a doing a recce circuit, having a touch of luncheon and then perusing for those additional purchases.

As with the D-Day theme it was pretty much all Bolt Action for us this year and plenty of plunder from Warlord. For myself it was another box of Commandos with a FO, 3" Mortar and the character pack I didn't really need to go along with the dice I'd pre-ordered. As the Salute 2014 figure Load Master Commander Maud would go well with any Commando troop.

After that it was a set of KR foam trays, I have a couple of spare cases, and scenery in the form of a Warlord ruined hamlet along with some generic drums and crates. The only deviation was a bonus Boromite Overseer from Warlord along with Commander Hansa, who was pure impulse, as EotE Nemisi.

As for the show itself skirmish, steampunk, sci-fi and laser cut mdf seemed to continue their eventual takeover of the wargaming world. Many of the same traders as last year and plenty of quality throughout, in total contrast with our more recent day out.

Most of all I picked up my annual dose of inspiration and spent the day chatting to some really good hobby mates and former colleagues (Evil Empire) that I only get to see at Salute :)

So, I've got plenty to get on with so roll the I-Phone shots of the day;

Rumble in the Jungle

Last night at Enfield Gamers featured, amongst other things, a number of  500 point Bolt Action skirmishes as we went into intensive training for the upcoming escalation league. Myself and Rich faced off twice taking turns with his Japs and Aussie commandos.

First up the mission was to recover a downed pilot from the centre of the table. For this one I took the Japs who enjoyed superiority in numbers, mainly through two big rifle squads.

Unfortunately the scenario had everybody starting in reserve and one of my big rifle squads became a proper lost patrol continually refusing to find their way onto the table.

Down on numbers against an elite force meant I was soon chasing the game and was forced into a sushi or bust unsupported Banzai assault. Being at close range their was no reaction fire but poor dice and Tough Fighters (2 assault dice per man) was no contest.

Chasing after the depleted Aussies with my Lieutenant and the medic was a grasp at the last desperate straw before it was all over. Pilot saved!

Swapping forces we setup to assault each others bunker, or shrines in our case. The evening running short I went aggressive and charged while Rich went for the outflank.

Once again I must have offended Her Ladyship Dice as my pre-assault artillery when wild and wiped one of my squads from existence. Bundling in with the other Tough Fighters chewed through a rifle and then the command squad with enough spare to crack a tinny.

Meanwhile Rich's flankers almost got bogged down by my sniper and forward observer only to Banzai off his pins onto my shrine at the last to secure the draw.

So all in all a good fun evening. I'm happy that I've got the basics of Bolt Action sorted and can move on to the nuances.

At 500 points elite infantry really kick arse but that's expected. Today's lunch-break saw the 750 point list sorted which means another box of "Geezers" plus an FO and a 3" mortar on the Salute shopping list. 

Not sure how to move upto 1000 yet. Still fancy some recce to keep the force light but a Centaur CS is tempting.

So.....German pioneers then! :)

Lock and Load

Evening all,

A couple of days behind schedule but the brushes have been unpacked, along with everything else, and the painting station had been restocked in that rather OCD way that we all know and love.

Priority 1 is to get the Commandos put together. I've drafted up a 500 point list for the club's escalation league, which just happens to be 25 "geezers" (plus a Royal Navy FO)  in strength, all available from the one box of green berets that I already have. 

As of this evening I still only have three chaps built though I have now started the production line and am the the proud owner of 3 "geezers" and 22 very literally unarmed, headless torsos. That's a 2nd Lt plus batmen leading two squads of nine troopers supported by a light mortar and a sniper team.

Should be getting a couple of 500 point games tomorrow night at Enfield Gamers borrowing Rich's Aussies which will be a move on from the multi-player games we've been running through recently. Last week was an interesting return to the jungle as myself and Paul ran 1000 points of armoured Yanks at a mini horde of Japs run by Rich and Damien.

Somewhat outnumbered and needing to take 1 of 3 objectives for the draw and 2 of 3 for the win we went for the cross country route up the left flank. Mobility proved to be our strength, while the Sherman 76 was something of a drab elephant. Late game aggression bagged us the draw but it was left too late to threaten the win. It was interesting to feel the threat of massed infantry despite our armoured status.

Anyway a few shots of the game;

We Come in Peace.....

.....Shoot to Kill! Shoot to Kill!

Not so much Klingons on the starboard bow (anyone else remember that one?) as the farce attending your locality as EotE returned Wednesday night to continue the vaguely planned assault on Ronsons Heavy Chemicals continued. Four out of five players were present, though this time we were sans Ryan which was interesting as Agenai was fully engaged. A simple phone call meant I could take his instructions, especially in respect of the stun vs kill debate, and all was good to go.

Kardosh the Duros Slicer brought several rather useful elements with him. Firstly a speeder aka a getaway car, secondly a different view on events and a less Route 1 attitude, thirdly an update as to the situation outside of Ronsons.

Probably the most important element was introducing a Route 2, mainly as Route 1 was getting a good kicking from the dice. Moving onto the next room, just one away from Kanto in his cell, the guards were decently prepared and aware that the intruders weren't really taking prisoners. Sindori opened proceedings with a grenade but it all went downhill from there with the guards (me) rolling a disturbing number of Triumphs. At one point I rolled two against Sindori only to put another on him a couple of rounds later, which seemed fitting given his bloodthirsty manner ;)

In short he took a Critical Hit, fell unconscious and had his armour blasted off of him which sent 7-UP-0 into a healing frenzy. His circuits got so overwrought that he even took a shot with his newly acquired blaster.......and took a Triumph Critical Hit to the forehead all of which sent his whinge chip into overload!

Eventually the lads, all FOUR of them, cracked the door on the Detention Block only to spend an inordinate time being held off by Lard-arse Larry and his jam doughnut. Meanwhile the Duty Sergeant had been at work in the control room the lads had preferred to bypass and had regained control of the door locks just as Lard-arse Larry and his jam doughnut was overcome.Battered and bruised they finally took control of the Detention Block.........deep inside Ronsons.

Kardosh meanwhile had to hack his way in through the back door, thanks to the "planned" lockdown, and quickly employed Route 2 which involved starting up the loader that the dozing tech had set to standby and re-modelling any door in sight.

Robby proved a highly effective recruit, at least until Kardosh tried taking him through the reinforced plas-crete wall at the back of the server room. Lots of rubble and dust but not so much big gaping hole.......at which point the klaxons started to sound and the red lights came one.

Time for Route 3?? ;)

When Saturday Comes

Hello people,

So the latest move has happened and it was back to work today with the paints and brushes still in a box, though I've found the box at least. With a bit of luck a return to TOY-time should happen on Saturday :)

As part of the move plan I'd picked up a few nerd publications to provide sporadic relief as and when required.

The first of such publications was the latest two issues of White Dwarf. Yes I know I'm hardly a fanboy these days but I've flicked previously and thought I should finally do the honorable thing in coughing up and taking a proper look.

First thing that strikes is the amount of content, it's pretty high for the page-count and though heavily themed to the week's releases, entirely fair, does cover a number of bases. Even as a casual observer there's actually stuff that I WANT to read. 

Production quality is high as you'd expect but especially so for the page-count. Real time and effort has gone into this reincarnation and it shows, unlike the previous version. Somehow it seems to be cool again and I rather like that. I'm not going for a subscription anytime soon but I may pick up the odd issue for that nostalgia hit!

Next up is the Bolt Action Great Britain book so that I can get an idea of what my options for my Commando force and get a start on the Salute shopping list, which in itself gets me all nostalgic :)

Going to keep the force fast and light and already fancy an armoured car for support as obligatory armour and the chance for a toffee nosed accent or two!

Finally to go with the DMZ graphic novel above are a couple of first issues that I couldn't resist. I draw a lot of inspiration from comics, especially for roleplay storylines as well as background fluff in general.

As a comitted 2000AD fanboy I like my graphics and story with plenty of grit rather than glamour. Something a little bit different that challenges preconceptions, so I'm not sure where my previous Punisher fetish sprang from!

Roll on Saturday :)