tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88679993039825309562024-02-19T10:46:00.243+00:00Hooting Into The AbyssHoots, Musings and Mumblings around Tabletop GamingSimianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01636898789066693752noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-68648217228306689932019-12-27T11:20:00.002+00:002019-12-27T11:21:58.476+00:00Gaming resolutions for 2020<br />
<br />
Ok so I notice that this blog hasn't had any new posts for over three years. Personally I've had some life changing events happen to me, and real life has definitely taken precedent. As for the other contributors. Well. I believe they all died during an acrimonious game of Battlestar Galactica.<br />
<br />
Nonetheless I fully intend to start to fill out this thing a bit more. Even if it's just me posting.<br />
<br />
It being the new year imminently, it's a good time to take stock and make some resolutions I fully intend to keep, even though its inevitable I will fail utterly.<br />
<br />
Firstly where am I hobby wise?<br />
<br />
Well I managed to get the kickstarter monkey off my back of late. I backed 7 projects last year (believe me that is good compared to previous years) consisting of 2 board games, a small card game, an rpg book, and 3 small minis kickstarters. In particular I think I am finally over the big overblown minis heavy stuff.<br />
<br />
Board game wise I am pretty set. I will occasionally buy a new game if it appeals but I am lucky that between my regular board game group and Cabincon, the annual get together where 20 odd of us get together in a big house for a week, I am able to play a lot of games which really scratch that itch for me. Big news this year was that I managed to have a board games night with some of my old school friends, none of whom are gamers really, and it went down well. So much so that I've had some of them ask when the next one is. This will also let me play some of my more neglected games.<br />
<br />
Minis are my issue. I have always been prone to the lure of the ooh shiny. Starter sets are a particular issue. I've managed to avoid buying into new systems that caught my eye (Cruel Seas/Black Seas, Dredd, Mortal Gods and 7TV have tested me in the last year or so) but I still have far too many projects on the go. I've started to reverse this by selling my untouched Necromunda stuff to a friend. I fully intend to concentrate on my unfinished projects in 2020 and try and actually get some done.<br />
<br />
So in order to do this I am allowing myself ZERO HOBBY BUDGET. Yes that's right. Although...<br />
<br />
Well... That's not completely practical. So I am going to allow myself to buy essentials, but that will be subject to a cooling off period. No more impulse buys (I bought an entire Laeteri Elf Runewars army because it was 'a bargain') everything has to be accounted for.<br />
<br />
Also 2020 sees the release of Oathmark and Muskets and Tomahawks 2. I have minis for both games so you know. Its just books...<br />
<br />
We will see how I go. I intend to start using this blog again and will start putting some project logs up throughout the year.<br />
<br />
Until then. Happy new year Y'all. Happy gaming.<br />
<br />Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02527170789098337930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-3495936035460180542016-12-07T12:01:00.001+00:002016-12-07T12:02:23.404+00:00You remind me of the Babe...Jim Henson's Labyrinth (2016) board game review<b>
Jim Henson's Labyrinth (2016) -River Horse Games</b><br />
<br />
Jim Henson's Labyrinth was a big film for me as a child One I'd always watch if it was on TV and a film I've owned on both VHS, DVD and BluRay. Its a film that I bonded with my fiancee over when we first started seeing each other. It has endured from childhood to adulthood as one of my favourite films. I also love board games so when I heard that there was to be a Labyrinth board game, with official Jim Henson Creature shop miniatures I was always going to buy it. Well I have it now, I have played it and I have also read a few unfavourable reviews on sites like Boardgamegeek. Are these fair?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWKFVKZfYwqY_44Uw3199dmONz2IzHpQWikljFgeIeRWkIbvkitUaYSuRbclhib85bMLVoh4y-91DRM_adV3Utl19fBuxhDYU_7UgA-qo3mfos1rg9srJKI4ZSpxEIT0ce9Y6Zfw5-B_P/s1600/DSC_0245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWKFVKZfYwqY_44Uw3199dmONz2IzHpQWikljFgeIeRWkIbvkitUaYSuRbclhib85bMLVoh4y-91DRM_adV3Utl19fBuxhDYU_7UgA-qo3mfos1rg9srJKI4ZSpxEIT0ce9Y6Zfw5-B_P/s320/DSC_0245.JPG" width="180" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
The game itself has lavish production values. The insert is lined with velvet. The miniatures are spectacular (I also got Conan at the same time and they are every bit as good as the miniatures in that beautiful game) the board art is WONDERFUL. The cards are less fancy that they could be but are perfectly acceptable with nice movie stills and nice clear instructions.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKkXiRhNFLTbIzUEofCYxVtnOiTN9YdNl3od0xpL2K3zKQGjiiFv26z5DBqui87izd-AyCObjWdEb_nx8gZYkgeKCc-KH9qaBcgP4l6iOJ4z0-RWlsEqVMCHsZeeH1Vk6uDHAWVrIVEjSD/s1600/DSC_0246.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKkXiRhNFLTbIzUEofCYxVtnOiTN9YdNl3od0xpL2K3zKQGjiiFv26z5DBqui87izd-AyCObjWdEb_nx8gZYkgeKCc-KH9qaBcgP4l6iOJ4z0-RWlsEqVMCHsZeeH1Vk6uDHAWVrIVEjSD/s320/DSC_0246.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the board, but a poster showing the board art...isn't it lovely?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In the game the players play as one of four characters from the film, Sarah, Ludo, Sir Didymus and, of course, Hoggle. The game begins after Sarah has fallen into the Oubliette and you have 13 hours (rounds) to defeat Jareth in the Goblin City before baby Toby is forever turned into a goblin.
The game itself plays out a little like classic Talisman. The characters randomly move around the Labyrinth (roll to move! shock horror) and have the option to team up as they meet which allows them to pool resources to overcome the various trials they meet using their various Speed, Brawn and Wit attributes (each represented by a different type of polyhedral die). At some point they will discover the door to the Goblin city at which point the party will battle various Goblin adversaries until Sarah alone tackles Jareth's maze and delivers the final spell to rescue her brother.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoj4PK9PtcZJXvYidcmF0_f2ENNHTjM77cSGxuNjAv9Sh6AINTQjowtnR39_IFm3VxtKOjy12te4Hl-a6KnLvkFJQVGwxtj5XkCoKyrqq2VBIG1O4kQKA9kCwOQolgXtYq7T7jz1sAqekc/s1600/DSC_0247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoj4PK9PtcZJXvYidcmF0_f2ENNHTjM77cSGxuNjAv9Sh6AINTQjowtnR39_IFm3VxtKOjy12te4Hl-a6KnLvkFJQVGwxtj5XkCoKyrqq2VBIG1O4kQKA9kCwOQolgXtYq7T7jz1sAqekc/s320/DSC_0247.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The game is clearly designed with families and megafans in mind. Its a simple game and is designed to be so. It is not overly long and it is engaging enough to hold your attention throughout. The trials are a little samey but sprinkled amongst them are some nice strategic choices that need to be made by the party, choices that mirror those from the film. I feel some people went into the game with the wrong attitude and are now complaining that is isn't something it was never going to be. The Talisman Lite (and what is wrong with that?) moniker has stuck in certain sections of the community.
It wont be a game that hits the table regularly but for me it fulfills the brief perfectly. It faithfully recreates the film in a fun family board game. I had a great time playing with my fiancee and im already eagerly awaiting my daughter being old enough to enjoy it as well.<br />
<br />
River Horse are currently working on an expansion which will add some more lovely new miniatures (Goblins this time) but hopefully a few more choices into the game which will of course improves its longevity.
If you are not a fan of the film then firstly, what is wrong with you? but if you aren't then the game is unlikely to be your cup of tea. If you do enjoy the film, however, then this game will certainly give you a smile and is well worth checking out. If nothing else it forces you to sing the refrain from David Bowies classic 'Dance Magic Dance'. Altogether now...You remind me of the Babe..What Babe?
<br />
<br />
Four Fireys out of FiveJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02527170789098337930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-73451527860168560932016-11-30T12:04:00.000+00:002016-12-07T12:02:54.613+00:00What is best in life? Conan- Monolith games (2016)<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Conan- Monolith Games (2016)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Back in January 2015, a time of high adventure, a game hit kickstarter that promised beautiful minis and an authentic representation of the world of Robert E Howards Conan the Cimmerian, backed up with a game that had some of the biggest names in boardgaming attached. That game was Conan by Monolith games. It went on to be one of the largest grossing tabletop game kickstarters and delivered last month some monumental boxes full to the brim with stuff, and things. But are these good things and fine stuff? The game is not without its controversies, more of which later, but more importantly, did it deliver on its promises?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk0Pdz-pALdCNMQ3iiAWUXMQdiffWGJJnBSuXAzZw4aBJLjAjbbpeX82b9urGXS7Wjq_-IUBxPN5Ot-7_PzcQpgF11T18aqRzXLVvSD9KWGaFiaPTA5qVtZi9SLWwy_IY_5sV5mJ4uGpG8/s1600/DSC_0141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk0Pdz-pALdCNMQ3iiAWUXMQdiffWGJJnBSuXAzZw4aBJLjAjbbpeX82b9urGXS7Wjq_-IUBxPN5Ot-7_PzcQpgF11T18aqRzXLVvSD9KWGaFiaPTA5qVtZi9SLWwy_IY_5sV5mJ4uGpG8/s320/DSC_0141.JPG" width="180" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>A big box of stuff</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i></i></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first thing you notice is that the game is undeniably fancy. The miniatures are for the most part wonderful sculpts, easily the equal of wargames miniatures (remember this is ostensibly a board game) and although some concern was raised over the different materials used for the heroes (which looked at first like bendy Reaper Bones style plastic) and the Overlords minions I can confirm that both types of miniatures paint up very well. The game boards are beautifully illustrated, trumping that seen in other such miniature games. The cards are nice and clear, good art backed up with a nice functional graphic design. Good dice, all in all a class act. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All that would be for naught if the game was poor. And here is where I think Conan will triumph. You can almost hear the lamentation of its competitors women as you browse the (admittedly confusingly written) rulebook(s). Yes this game has spread its rules over a Players and Overlords rulebook, RPG style. This has been another gripe for certain people and it does mean that there is a fair bit of cross referencing required, but for me its a minor complaint. It really isn't that big a deal. The rules themselves evoke the kinetic and high octane world of Conan's particular brand of Sword and Sorcery action, underpinned by an ingenious resource management system that give an almost Euro style vibe to proceedings. This mechanic gives real weight to the game and ensures that every action needs to be considered whilst allowing a cinematic play style befitting the source material. The game also does away with strict turn order amongst players, allowing for true co-operation and team work. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One versus many games can often suffer from it being not as much fun to play the one (unless you are a particularly evil so and so) but Conan makes it possibly MORE fun to play as the Overlord by giving you a funky mechanism all of your own. Not only are you balancing resource gems like the heroes but you are juggling your various minions on a player board 'river' where units can be activated more than once but each time they are more expensive to do so, adding real tactical depth to the game. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPgmj7VNkGRNauSKAY_E_W7-CLWwlq1wwCZNr6d603pNXWqMmP8YVfTdXY6bOLtxgjSdz7MyL3k_L4ACdo9Eiw3NJ5awgWdh8oTM90mgUYUhS-HyEdlx2VyDM_kR8Yvb7h2mjBE57YC_QH/s1600/DSC_0143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPgmj7VNkGRNauSKAY_E_W7-CLWwlq1wwCZNr6d603pNXWqMmP8YVfTdXY6bOLtxgjSdz7MyL3k_L4ACdo9Eiw3NJ5awgWdh8oTM90mgUYUhS-HyEdlx2VyDM_kR8Yvb7h2mjBE57YC_QH/s320/DSC_0143.JPG" width="180" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i> The Man himself, and friend</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is no wonder that the game mechanics are so tight and considered when you see the names attached to the game. Bruno Cathala (Mr Jack, Cyclades, Shadows over Camelot, Five Tribes) , Ludovic Maublanc (Cash and Guns, Cyclades, Terror in Meeple City), Croc (Claustrophobia, Hell Dorado) and Frederic Henry (The Adventurers) amongst others. Three planned expansions will add new scenarios and adversaries to meet along with new game boards to fight over. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now to the controversies. Robert E Howard was writing these stories in the 1930s. Like his contemporary and fellow 'Wierd fiction' writer HR Lovecraft his views to do with issues of Race and Gender were not progressive for the time and reflect some of the worst aspects of the era, which lets not forget was the high water mark period of Colonialism but was a period that was also seeing the opening up of the world and the death throes of the old regimes politically and socially. Women's liberation movements were gaining traction and the old order (western, white, male) were still fighting back against the new world. By the end of the decade the world would be awash with blood as these old concepts came tumbling down through war and revolution. By trying to stay true to Howard's original writing some of these old attitudes shine through. Foremost amongst this is the portrayal of women in the game, and in particular how they are portrayed on the board. Belit is basically nude, and the few other female characters available to use are in various states of undress. Given that Monolith have side stepped some of the issues of race (making the Picts more troglodyte in appearance than the Native American allusion in the text, ignoring the anti-Semitic Shem etc) it seems strange they didn't maybe even up the huge disparity in male to female representation, or at least dress the female characters in slightly more practical attire. BUT I think its up to the individual how much of an issue this is for them. For me, personally I can live with it. Belit and Valeria are strong independent women, leaders of men and equally as kick ass as any of their male equivalents. Id have preferred them to wear more appropriate clothes to fight in (Valeria is nearly there but seems to have accidentally slashed her trousers high up the thigh and tied her shirt around her belly button) but I can deal with them without my personal views on women being influenced, just as I can deal with the bodices and exposed flesh that is common in most fantasy games. One day these representations will be less prevalent in the genre and I will play those games happily as well. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Yt7cjt2AdyOgRmtN1rDastvj1xHODAKW6tbm6M-omXcKC1l_odgnvRceEbPyNqZGFyBX60GQ4cFQWq7VrYvOeIbSx17Oor8GoraT5riFzwd41dOsDVhNjESXygiMe7p0rW0J9FJBgn5J/s1600/DSC_0144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Yt7cjt2AdyOgRmtN1rDastvj1xHODAKW6tbm6M-omXcKC1l_odgnvRceEbPyNqZGFyBX60GQ4cFQWq7VrYvOeIbSx17Oor8GoraT5riFzwd41dOsDVhNjESXygiMe7p0rW0J9FJBgn5J/s320/DSC_0144.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>More of his mates and a Princess...who will catch her death</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Its easy to write off miniature-heavy kickstarters and there are many examples that disappear off the radar once the shine of the New has dimmed but I do feel Conan has staying power, mostly on the back of the very strong game system. Planned expansions will give greater longevity as well. If you are a Conan fan this game is a must buy. If you enjoy dungeon crawl type games this game is a must buy. If you are a miniatures gamer who wants to dip your toe into board games this game is a must buy. A lot to recommend it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Five Croms out of five. </b></span>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02527170789098337930noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-730727001789297632016-09-29T23:33:00.001+01:002016-09-29T23:33:42.735+01:00Game Review - Koi-koi Hanafuda<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In news that will not
surprise anyone I am once again reviewing a relatively obscure game
from Japan. However, it is not based on anime, does not have an
obtuse and impenetrable theme and so is probably quite good and
recommendable to people who aren't weird cartoon people. The game is
<i>Hanafuda, </i>a traditional card
game from the 1800s designed to be intentionally obscure and unusual
to get around restrictions on gambling. If you are interested in
learning how this game works, there is a cheap and readily-available
computer version on Steam (<a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/364930/">http://store.steampowered.com/app/364930/</a>)
which costs a mere £6.99 at the time of this article's publication.
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>Hanafuda
</i>has an unusual history, and it
was partially this that made me want to learn more about it. It was
the first Nintendo game ever made, for one - invented in 1889 as the
first product of the Nintendo company (and Nintendo-branded card
games are still available in Japan). So, a history lesson.
Western-style playing cards were banned in Japan in 1633, and
remained illegal for quite some time. Enterprising board gamers of
the 17<sup>th</sup>
and 18<sup>th</sup>
century invented their own games in response – the 75-card <i>Unsen
Karuta </i>deck was devised first,
replaced in the mid-18<sup>th</sup>
century with <i>Mekuri Karuta, </i>and
that in turn was banned in 1791. Various games were invented and
banned in the aftermath of this until <i>Hanafuda </i>was
invented – an intentionally obtuse and bizarre game with no numbers
and complex mechanics that clearly could not be used for gambling
(but was as a result a good way of circumventing the anti-gaming
regulations). Enter Nintendo in 1889, who popularised <i>Hanafuda
</i>as it is known now, and enter
the Mafia, who popularised gambling on games of <i>Hanafuda. </i>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The
game itself, in its popular <i>Koi-koi </i>variant,
is played with a 48-card deck divided into twelve four-card suits,
which may contain between 1 and 3 special scoring cards. The aim of
the game is to capture certain combinations in the vein of mah-jong
or rummy, but instead of using numbers (sets and runs) the emphasis
is on combinations of the special scoring categories – Bright
(seasons), Animals and Ribbons. Play is quite unlike most card games
– each player has a hand of eight cards, and there is a tableau of
eight cards in the centre. In order to capture a card a player must
play a card that matches its suit – so to capture, for example, the
Plum Blossom Ribbon card one must play another Plum Blossom-suit card
(one of the two ordinary cards or the Bush Warbler, the Plum Blossom
Animal card). After the player takes their turn, either capturing a
card by making a match or simply discarding to the tableau, they look
at the top card of the deck and if they can make a match, do so. Thus
it is possible to capture zero, two or four cards a turn.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Once
a player has captured sufficient cards to meet one of the scoring
combinations, they must make a choice – either call the hand over
and score, or keep playing (<i>Koi-koi</i>).
If play continues, then the final score for the hand increases but
there is the risk of losing everything. If a player's opponent can
complete a scoring combination, they may choose to call (meaning the
first player to <i>koi-koi </i>loses
everything) or continue themself. The hand continues either until one
player runs out of cards in hand, or calls. Should the hand end with
someone running out of cards without making a new combination, it is
a draw and nothing is scored.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>Example:
Player 1 completes a set, and continues. Player 2 is next to complete
a set, and may thus choose to either call the hand (scoring points
for their set, and Player 1 scoring nothing) or continue. If they
continue, and neither player completes a new set before one player's
hand is exhauster, the round is a draw.</i></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i> </i>It
sounds complicated but is very easy in practice, and there is a lot
of strategy to it. Both players know all the scoring combinations and
a significant number of cards available (sixteen out of forty-eight
cards are known to each player), and so <i>Hanafuda </i>becomes
a game of card-counting and bluffing – if you hold a card that your
opponent needs to complete their set, you can control their play to
an extent. Play continues over a number of rounds, and the highest
score at the end wins (if one is not playing for money). Further
strategy is added by special winning hands and numerous regional
variants.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So
that is <i>Hanafuda, </i>a
game with an unusual history that is nevertheless intensely fun to
play even without the actual gambling element. It is obviously
abstract, a purely strategic and deductive card game based on taking
calculated risks and mitigating bad luck over the course of several
rounds of play. I would highly recommend before setting out to buy a
deck (which can be bought at JP Books in Piccadilly among other
places) trying either the Steam version or one of the many free
online versions to learn the cards, because it is intentionally
complicated in terms of scoring.</div>
Ray Websterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02171852534254987113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-72832518108774317962016-09-29T12:51:00.002+01:002016-09-30T10:37:43.418+01:00The Witches - Board Game Review<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br />
<br />
The Witches, a game by <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/6/martin-wallace">Martin Wallace</a>, was published in 2013 so I may be a little late to the party with this review, but I feel like this game is somewhat underrated. As something that I will almost always suggest to play whenever we have a gaming session with 3 or 4 people I wanted to put my thoughts about it down in writing.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigyRjRM3tGr7t4Irwpj-1YrOBfL4-9O5xgFZqZN9y_C1vIYyeA2_dNu-Dyiyqd3tNaAu6LD4hPzJSpHqWlgNwQGNvyzKFOcs5jseM_pRqNcFNyzMEcpfiXIuV-LUUY1_BfQndHefGPWq0/s1600/IMAG0916.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigyRjRM3tGr7t4Irwpj-1YrOBfL4-9O5xgFZqZN9y_C1vIYyeA2_dNu-Dyiyqd3tNaAu6LD4hPzJSpHqWlgNwQGNvyzKFOcs5jseM_pRqNcFNyzMEcpfiXIuV-LUUY1_BfQndHefGPWq0/s400/IMAG0916.jpg" /></a> <br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<br />
So what type of game is The Witches? Well, it plays very similar to a lot of co-op games, ones by <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/378/matt-leacock">Matt Leacock, </a>and Pandemic especially. A player’s turn will involve moving about the world taking some actions, and using cards from their hand, to try and calm down the state of the board. In the case of The Witches you are solving the people of Lancre’s problems, be it a sick animal, a pregnancy*, or a more sinister problem like an invasion for some tricksy elves.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYj0qwin0LB-ODtBurcsZ1knR_ScfE1VAMoAdU9qxz_RYZJeRFwlzjqvCu7koVP3aGLKxnvt61DSYU8jDYIH2PQnyu7PqOs2zgVYVba1m_ZP_spJlfxH0IFFNRfBEM4lAQRMR1XAoSsQ/s1600/witchy2.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYj0qwin0LB-ODtBurcsZ1knR_ScfE1VAMoAdU9qxz_RYZJeRFwlzjqvCu7koVP3aGLKxnvt61DSYU8jDYIH2PQnyu7PqOs2zgVYVba1m_ZP_spJlfxH0IFFNRfBEM4lAQRMR1XAoSsQ/s400/witchy2.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
After each player’s turn a new problem will arise, and like its counterparts there are a few conditions that will cause everyone to lose the game together. I know you are thinking: “Yes Glen we know how co-op games work” right? Well here’s the thing, I never said it was a co-op game.<br />
<br />
Indeed, The Witches is actually a competitive game where each player is trying to be the best witch by solving the most, or hardest problems. This is very thematic as it captures the attitudes of the witches of the Discword, but it’s also very interesting as a game.<br />
<br />
I enjoy the mechanics of co-op games, the ever increasing disastrous state of the world, and the fact the whole thing could explode if you don’t work to mitigate the fail conditions whilst trying to achieve the victory, but they can be prone to alpha gaming (by me), or feeling like there’s only one path to take.<br />
<br />
When sometimes the path to a group victory involves one player being a zombie slaying God and another staying home and emptying the bins, it’s a fun change of pace to have every player wanting to be the one that banishes the king of the elves. While they are all fighting to do this, however, the one sick pig they all ignored has escalated, there’s now a whole pen of sick pigs, four pregnant women in desperate need of your expert midwifery skills and possibly a vampire that's getting a few too many ideas above it’s station.<br />
<br />
So everyone wants to be the best but they all need to make sure the world isn’t overrun by elves and that they don’t run out of crisis tokens, because it’s game over for everyone. Oh! and of course don’t forget to have tea with each other once in a while because all that magic slowly makes you go a bit funny and going too far towards becoming a cackling witch will permanently damage your reputation with negative victory points.<br />
<br />
.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeU8N7g7LxHM38gAeC5uMtv3u_f38F6xWP-hfWxOf4G2FhuNSdWCkcxurQ5pVcGyO-JQJtLsg8HBgoxN3Nl85KJxTmBHVlpoX97kn9e3nBcxNRYMIbUA1BbU4ocZNpOf5rWvCwzAkZJdk/s1600/withy+3.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeU8N7g7LxHM38gAeC5uMtv3u_f38F6xWP-hfWxOf4G2FhuNSdWCkcxurQ5pVcGyO-JQJtLsg8HBgoxN3Nl85KJxTmBHVlpoX97kn9e3nBcxNRYMIbUA1BbU4ocZNpOf5rWvCwzAkZJdk/s400/withy+3.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
One of the things I really like about this game is the card deck has multiple uses, each card will have some ability that can be used, a location name, and a symbol (Broomstick, Headology or Magic)<br />
<br />
The location name is used when determining where to add the next problem, and if the location already has a problem it will gain a crisis token that makes the problem harder to solve. Since a problem MUST be placed every turn you keep doing this until you get an empty location, this can mean that if you don’t keep emptying spaces crisis can chain together quite fast and of course you all lose if there’s no crisis tokens to place.<br />
<br />
The broomstick symbols are used to fly anywhere on the board instead of the normal walk between connected locations, and the Headology and Magic symbols are used when solving problems, each problem will have a difficulty you are trying to reach by rolling dice and using cards, discarding a card with Headology adds 1 to your result while Magic adds 2, but also gives you a cackle counter.<br />
<br />
“Wait what! You have to roll dice?” …. Yes, but, it’s fine. The early problems have difficulties of 6-10 or so and you are rolling four six sided dice to try and get that total, and as you solve easy problems you increase your hand size to allow you to tackle hard problems with more cards to add to your score. Solving hard problems gives you a passive increase to you problem solving ability so you can try and work up to taking on the hardest of the hard problems.<br />
<br />
So there is character progression in this game, as you solve problems you get better at solving problems so the early game often sees players chasing the easiest, lowest scoring problems to prepare themselves for what’s to come. However you could hoard a few good cards and then plough into a hard problem early on, yielding more victory points, but of course you are more likely to fail, so there’s also a risk / reward element to the problem solving.<br />
<br />
I wouldn’t claim there’s anything groundbreaking in The Witches, it’s a faux-op game that i’d recommend to people that like Pandemic and especially if you are a Discworld fan. I do wonder if the theme is more of a hindrance than not for the game. Is anyone that’s not a Discworld fan really going to buy this? And if they do, the Tiffany Aching set of novels that the game is based around are aimed at a younger audience than the rest of the series, so even among fans these characters might not be familiar.<br />
<br />
Perhaps if it was re-skinned to be set in an office where each player needs the company to stay afloat, but they also need to be the most respected employee it would have a bigger following?<br />
<br />
<br />
* Read what you will into the “solving” of a pregnancy.</div>
Glentopherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14006484719976160812noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-50229722187911956392014-12-28T13:12:00.000+00:002014-12-28T13:12:31.216+00:00Dead of WinterBy Charles Etheridge-Nunn<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfdYpharR60Hn9fv05cxlyNtFFFULZs_9axiyw8KLEYUaFDhp65D7rFvrgbKs2_MTA9lrAkwF828i14ZtcJBY0lpLrh57VLy_GBQmTXU4UvvifdjFBwRDjxtste_NEiPVIBgws7dgzmU/s1600/DoW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpfdYpharR60Hn9fv05cxlyNtFFFULZs_9axiyw8KLEYUaFDhp65D7rFvrgbKs2_MTA9lrAkwF828i14ZtcJBY0lpLrh57VLy_GBQmTXU4UvvifdjFBwRDjxtste_NEiPVIBgws7dgzmU/s1600/DoW.jpg" height="319" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<i>It’s the middle of winter and you’re alone in an abandoned school, scavenging for supplies. It’s bitterly cold but you made it out this far. Your eyes catch on something metallic, barely visible in the heavy snow. It’s a truck. You draw closer and realise it’s still intact. Sod the school, you could take drive it back to camp and harvest the fuel… at least you could if not for the zombies. They’re everywhere, the looming reminder of your own mortality. You’re faced with a simple choice; do you drive the truck home and draw all the local zombies to your camp… or do you sigh that such dreams are beyond you and safely rummage through the school without drawing any more attention to you or the camp?</i><br />
Or how about this.<br />
<i>In all the desolation you see a horse. A real horse! It’s like something out of a dream after so long with your faithful dog Sparky as the only animal in the community. You’re faced with a choice. Do you ride the horse… or do you come back from your hunt with a lot of meat to feed your camp?</i><br />
<br />
Dead of Winter is a zombie game. I know, I know, “Yawn, zombie games are so 2010, Zombies!!! is a rubbish game and Last Night on Earth is wildly and sporadically unbalanced” but this isn’t that kind of zombie game.<br />
<br />
I’ve always felt that the best zombie films are ones where the zombies are an elemental force rather than a gore-splattered killing machines. The zombies are what drive people to desperate decisions, what brings a community together and turns them against each other, all because if you let your guard down for a single second then you’re dead. They heighten the drama and they show people what kind of human beings they really are, for better or worse.<br />
<br />
Dead of Winter is that kind of zombie game.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JPRH_5iPzkjC0FqdOjC4Hl1EiCwLM3WiS4NTqCsiNdtFQq4D6fkfaEAuWnp11tGBf4QSnfZOaD5WR6oIWwuBKcDUiA_c6Kn7t005x-cdW1KzuTXWn4jjNrxm5q2_BnsOXq18-akLu04/s1600/DoW+Board.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JPRH_5iPzkjC0FqdOjC4Hl1EiCwLM3WiS4NTqCsiNdtFQq4D6fkfaEAuWnp11tGBf4QSnfZOaD5WR6oIWwuBKcDUiA_c6Kn7t005x-cdW1KzuTXWn4jjNrxm5q2_BnsOXq18-akLu04/s1600/DoW+Board.jpg" height="258" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Dead of Winter is a semi-cooperative game about a community of people trying to survive the winter in a little community filled with helpful (and helpless) souls. Together everyone has one main goal which might be looking for a cure to the zombie virus or simply living through eight weeks of winter. The main goals all have different play lengths and ‘hardcore’ modes just in case the board wasn’t kicking your arse enough.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
To shake up the players’ goals however is a secret objective each of them is given at the start of the game. So while the community needs to clear the streets of zombies and board everything up, you might be busily trying to hoard medicine or fuel, you might be building a zombie-killing robot or trying to keep your people free from germs by having them not take any wounds. Each player only wins if they complete the main objective AND the secret objective, so no matter how selfless you want to be there’s always that nagging voice in your head which says you need to hoard and do terrible things for the sake of your own slice of the community. I’ve had points in multiple games where I’ve had to decide whether I should give up on my own success to help everyone else have a chance at winning. The first time I did and it was the right move; I lost but the others had a chance at victory. The second time, victory landed in my lap seconds before I would have given up on my slim chances of success. I played a game where three people had objectives which involved medicine, meaning if any of them went too selfishly they would cost the others their win… in the end they all helped the community and all lost their own goals. Other players may not be so generous as my players. Boardgamegeek have had threads about people’s purposeful sabotage of the other players once they realise they can’t succeed at their own goal, something I’m pleased to say most of my group couldn’t understand the thinking behind.<br />
<br />
So that’s the fun of the co-operative side, I’m drooling and already wanting to dive into the game and I’ve not even told you how it works, so let’s get to that.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvr_8WIso-RZWv4CPTraTpliy5kzKQYmRfVpnujDnCl5r8rocZPbRxf6ILYTzpR9RvqB4ve4wdYSm3Vzi1ue1J-6KlzDEoPLkUHtoWf_hPrZFYCqK6W5sNMOzHjwJG_soAa7yOs4FmODs/s1600/DoW+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvr_8WIso-RZWv4CPTraTpliy5kzKQYmRfVpnujDnCl5r8rocZPbRxf6ILYTzpR9RvqB4ve4wdYSm3Vzi1ue1J-6KlzDEoPLkUHtoWf_hPrZFYCqK6W5sNMOzHjwJG_soAa7yOs4FmODs/s1600/DoW+2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Each player controls a couple of characters, a number which might grow or dwindle depending on your actions. Each turn you get an amount of action dice equal to the number of characters you control plus one. These dice are used for searching, attacking, putting up barricades and removing the filth which threatens to drown your home if you play too many cards. There are other actions like trading resources, playing cards or moving which don’t take dice so even with one active character you’ve got a lot you can do.<br />
<br />
Aside from sending your people out of the community to help your goal and the community’s goal, you also need to prevent a crisis which will pop up every turn. EVERY TURN. One time, the zombies are knocking the walls of your home down and you all need to put junk into the crisis. Another turn, maybe food has spoilt so you need to have even more than the amount of food you have to spend every turn to keep your people from starving. Oh yeah, your people will starve. They will also bring zombies to the gates every turn. People are jerks like that and bring mess to your camp every damn turn.<br />
<br />
If you’re moving people out of your camp or fight zombies who are knocking at your door you’ll have to roll the exposure die. This is King Bastard of all the dice:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAONLiQjqbmpprdepTftnZs3iF8pK-2Iem_8XSeNo8P7xRAxsHzwauybmRSvCc3rBGaSXif92TTMVEh3o8048zSUguiszwq0BymJiRnzGyRNgAoLywt2yb9LRrG7ClbjFIgyTqfbeKtV8/s1600/King+Bastard+of+All+Dice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAONLiQjqbmpprdepTftnZs3iF8pK-2Iem_8XSeNo8P7xRAxsHzwauybmRSvCc3rBGaSXif92TTMVEh3o8048zSUguiszwq0BymJiRnzGyRNgAoLywt2yb9LRrG7ClbjFIgyTqfbeKtV8/s1600/King+Bastard+of+All+Dice.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
It’s a d12 and I’ve already made my <a href="http://hootingintotheabyss.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/dice.html">opinion on those clear</a>. If you move then you complete the movement and roll the exposure die. If you attack a zombie you spend an action die with a result of your character’s attack skill, trash the zombie and roll for exposure.<br />
<br />
On a blank side, you’re safe. On a pointy skull you’ve taken a wound, three of those bad boys and you’re dead. A snowflake skull is a frostbite wound which will only get worse every turn without treatment. Again, three of any type of wound will murder you. Then there’s the tooth symbol which only appears on one side and yet keeps turning up way more often than it damn well should.<br />
It means your survivor has been bitten and here’s an example of that.<br />
<br />
<i>It’s turn one and the camp is crowded, ten players’ survivors and five helpless survivors. There are zombies on every space of our gates so if one zombie gets added (and seven will appear at the end of the turn) then we lose a person per zombie which couldn’t be placed. That would be the seven lowest influence people out of ten, starting with one of my characters, Sparky the stunt dog, who had the lowest influence in the game. 10. Worse even than Forest Plum, the creepy mall Santa.</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_98-Yqjhyd7GRqaFHnTwpPYI28ESjGjrOe_W_8Hnn80-1IRsHEsGwZQQHR2NonbQsP0htZfYQEM76YcA8kJbZyYIrzxJrldMejdPQBAOS7bPEVXd48UlW_0WyMtdb7fzo-4Lh-6Bq1b0/s1600/forest_CHARACTER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_98-Yqjhyd7GRqaFHnTwpPYI28ESjGjrOe_W_8Hnn80-1IRsHEsGwZQQHR2NonbQsP0htZfYQEM76YcA8kJbZyYIrzxJrldMejdPQBAOS7bPEVXd48UlW_0WyMtdb7fzo-4Lh-6Bq1b0/s1600/forest_CHARACTER.jpg" height="320" width="251" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<i>We need to kill a lot of zombies to lessen the casualties by seven, ideally. Another player has Olivia, the Doctor. He decides to use her to attack one of the zombies at the gates, removes an action die, takes the zombie off the board and rolls for exposure. It’s a tooth. Olivia is instantly dead. Gone. Then we pick the lowest influence person, Sparky, who then has to either die instantly or risk dying and passing the infection on. If he does that then the next one dies or rolls and so on. </i><br />
<i>(As a little addendum, Sparky can’t get bit as he’s a dog, something we know now but at the time we lost a fifth of our forces and sent as many of our people outside of the colony so fewer zombies would be added at the end of the turn, we would have lost the mall Santa instead of the dog.)</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6amS5Xn51DVEAZfgTTxkuwyd2LgvYRDC1zbY5y236g-6rh54IG3ROuBF_Pc1H6Ctt5dLh-1st00K0QCnHj74MBgbcW4nInAWe1LR9c1uqDaMLAJ-sc3PrbTMVKrflUWpVEihcJb6gPII/s1600/Dow+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6amS5Xn51DVEAZfgTTxkuwyd2LgvYRDC1zbY5y236g-6rh54IG3ROuBF_Pc1H6Ctt5dLh-1st00K0QCnHj74MBgbcW4nInAWe1LR9c1uqDaMLAJ-sc3PrbTMVKrflUWpVEihcJb6gPII/s1600/Dow+3.jpg" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The board is the colony and six locations with decks tuned towards where they are; the police station has guns, the gas station fuel, and so on. There are other items which can be found, all visible on their individual boards by little logos. You might have to dash from one location to another and risk the dreaded exposure die just to get a better chance at certain items.<br />
<br />
So that’s the basic setup but we’re missing something… Oh yeah, this is apparently a “Crossroads” game. There are Crossroad cards which are how those terrible decisions at the start of this review happened. Each one might give you a choice between the best of two bad options, a vote for the people in the colony to make, or ways of recruiting more survivors to your following.<br />
<br />
The player to your right draws a Crossroad card at the start of your turn and checks the italicised text on it against your current status and potentially other players. We’ve done our best not to spoil any Crossroad cards that don’t activate but the deck is huge enough that it’ll be a little while before you see them all repeating [glares and shakes fist at Eldritch Horror's tiny, tiny decks].<br />
<br />
There are several different requirements and effects. Some of the cards require a name check against current survivors and need them to be in or out of play. You might encounter the pilot in a crashed helicopter and be forced to decide whether you want a new character (and mouth to feed) who will be wounded or whether you want to loot the helicopter while she curses your name and inevitably dies from the cold. You might be able to get the fireman on your side but have to bring his whole damn family of helpless survivors with him.<br />
<br />
My fourth game had an amazing Crossroad card go off. Thomas Hart, the soldier, is really good in the colony so people tend to keep him there. The card activated because a gunfight in the gas station. Back at the camp Thomas heard the shots ring out and his PTSD kicked in. He started firing wildly in the camp, shooting two survivors and failing to shoot himself when he realised what he’d done. It was horrible, but for Thomas’ player, it was exactly what he needed to win his secret goal of, “The Masochist”. He needed one character to have two wounds and the Crossroad card got him to the right place. From there he chose not to heal Thomas and actually tried to help others with their victories, trying to get hints about what he could assist with.<br />
<br />
Then there’s the army, who are about as evil and horrible as any army in a zombie apocalypse. Christopher Eccleston in 28 Days Later level of bad.<br />
<br />
Each Crossroad and each decision can have character and story read into it. Bev’s “adoption” of helpless children which we all let happen just because she’s better when she believes the children she’s abducted are her own. Most of Thomas’ PTSD episode above was imagined into the encounter by us. I was the betrayer in the most recent game; a rarely-appearing secret goal which requires the players to fail the main objective. I needed the community to have lost morale, to have a single survivor left with a gun and resources to flee from this ruined colony. I had Olivia under my control so I armed her with a sniper rifle, hoarded the right items and decided that being banned from tinkering with the dead was her tipping point. My only problem was that I needed the community’s morale to drop to zero and I needed to kill my three spare characters… all of whom would lose us morale and end the game. I needed them all dead in one go. I lured them out to the gas station, attracted zombies to them and awaited the inevitable. At the last minute, another player exiled me from the colony, ruining my chance to win and theirs. It was wonderful and horrible, right down to the line.<br />
<br />
The production of the game is very rich, the box hides just how much stuff there is in Dead of Winter, yet it feels like it’s something which could easily be expanded. The characters and zombies are all represented in little cardboard standees which looked like they could be replaced by miniatures but given the high mortality rate of characters and the masses of zombies, they actually look pretty cool as they are. My only gripe is that there are some typos on the cards but this is a copy from the first print run so hopefully their editors will have gone through and polished the text up a bit.<br />
<br />
You may not have picked up on this from what I’ve said so far, but Dead of Winter is a must-buy for anyone who likes semi-cooperative games, (potential) betrayer mechanics, difficult games and a high sense of story. Personally I can’t wait to see what Plaid Hat Games do with the Crossroad system next and am already fired up for my next Dead of Winter game…Charlie E/Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819269599056012384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-90422914755478352062014-09-13T18:38:00.000+01:002014-09-16T08:07:48.667+01:00Dead of Night<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
</div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">A horror movie role-playing game.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">The sun’s setting and you’re on your way to the camp site. You had tents, booze and a flimsy excuse about school work up on that old Indian burial site. No one cared about the work, or the warnings from the old man at the gas station, instead you pitched the tents, started playing loud music and drinking.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">Now it’s the dead of night and a noise broke you out of slumber. Was it a scream? It’s not worth waking your girlfriend or getting a weapon. It’s probably just a coyote. That’s your thought until you undo the zip and see the slathering jaws of the creature, larger than any wolf you’ve ever seen. You scream…</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjox1hFeIAHOjAeyil8JZfQRCXgqzB7dyfa0kCBsUhDqfJipRM7v3STEzJ-m6HeRcIzckbH6mjC-2Zw_NddkLcimlkK5tPo318D84_nrJe9xzr99K2gyuczg_NBJMQuzMBHWXYOO49c2FE/s1600/DeadofNight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjox1hFeIAHOjAeyil8JZfQRCXgqzB7dyfa0kCBsUhDqfJipRM7v3STEzJ-m6HeRcIzckbH6mjC-2Zw_NddkLcimlkK5tPo318D84_nrJe9xzr99K2gyuczg_NBJMQuzMBHWXYOO49c2FE/s1600/DeadofNight.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">Dead of Night is a game which touts itself as a ‘campfire roleplaying game’. It is played with minimal rules and only two dice, passed around like a talking stick. The first edition was small enough to fit in a pocket and charmingly ugly. The second has more finesse, a little less about the portability, but far better than the original.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">Dead of Night is meant for single role-playing sessions. There’s nothing saying it can’t be a series, but Dead of Night is the kind of game which highlights the the moment a player’s character is at risk of death or bring turned into a monster. The system replicates the drama of a horror movie, and that’s its intent. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">The priest asks, “Does anyone here object to the union of…”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">He is cut off as shadow beasts charge through the groom’s side of the church, ripping them to pieces. The bride faints. The groom runs away, only to be torn apart by one of the beasts who are now entering from behind the altar.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">What do you do?</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">The book contains several plot hooks in the style of any horror movie you’ve seen in the past or present. It could be a Friday the 13th style slasher flick, a strange body horror movie, a zombie invasion or a modern Saw-type movie. The book lists examples and gives example stories for each genre, sometimes with convincing movie posters for them. In the core book are four full adventures but Steampower Publishing site has made a few more including hooks on the back of fake movie poster postcards and the tools for building your own game are immense.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">Once the storyteller has picked or created their own game, the players make characters. This is a quick process, so that you can make characters on the night and replace any dead characters pretty easily.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">Each character has eight stats, each paired off (Identify/Obscure, Persuade/Dissuade, Escape/Pursue, Assault/Protect) and each pair totalling ten points. That means if you’re good at attacking you’re bad at defending. There are ways to mitigate this, including sacrificing points from both to gain an even higher-rated speciality. For instance you could have Identify 6 & Obscure 4, but if you wanted some flavour to your character an an identifiable skill you could change that to: Identify 5, Obscure 3, Expert Tracker 7.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">Whatever stats you have, you roll 2d10 and aim high. Normally a 15 will get you the result, but the storyteller might make things easier or harder for you depending on the roll. And don’t roll a 13. Whatever you do, don’t roll a 13.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">There’s only one pair of dice to use, and once you’ve rolled them, you’re not allowed to roll again until someone else has. This way people can’t dominate the scenes and everyone gets a turn. This helps keep the pace and makes scenes really frantic when players are alone and can’t act again until someone else has narrated something and rolled a dice. The ‘campfire game’ mentality really speaks to this, creating a kind of ‘talking stick’ of the dice.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">Since the zombies had eaten everyone else in Parliament, James had kept calling himself Prime Minister. His driver, Doug, bore the brunt of most of his bad behaviour. James wanted to keep the journalists on his side, after all.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">Once the bunker doors opened, they had seen the wreckage London had been left in.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“We need to get out of here,” James said. “Go somewhere safe. With food. Bring the car round, Dougie, old boy.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">Doug sighed and started the walk down to the car park. The limo was still there, in the distance. The only car untouched, probably because it was such a bad choice of escape vehicle. He still didn’t believe this whole ‘zombie’ thing. It was probably just immigrants, like the tabloids always said. Or loony left-wingers. Or hoodies.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">The car park’s lights flickered. Broken, like everything else in this country, he thought. As he got closer, he saw a shadow, then another. There were people down here. Other survivors, possibly?</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“Hello?” he called out. Then louder, “Hello? Can you hear me?”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">The shadows stopped, and he heard the noises of footsteps shuffling towards him.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">I’ve mentioned previously about my love of elegant mechanics in games, how I like it when they reflect the behaviours of the medium they’re representing. In Dead of Night the main currency is Survival Points. You start with five, and they go down the more you’re attacked. If you see something man was not meant to see, if you’re slashed by a werewolf claw, then you lose a survival point. If you’re out of them, then you’re out of the game.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">You can earn Survival Points back, though. If you act out a horror trope, you earn a Survival Point. Call out to the zombies, alerting them. Drop the weapon and run after you successfully hit a monster. Say the words, “It’s just the cat” or “I’ll be right back.” Each of these could earn you some Survival Points. The game is essentially a balancing act between acting like all those awful horror movie character tropes and surviving being in an awful horror movie.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">Survival Points aren’t just health either. They can add dice to your roll, they can even allow you to switch your paired stats for a moment. That way the nerd who’s good at defending himself but not attacking might rage out and start laying into the axe murderer long enough for the cheerleaders to escape. You can also use Survival Points to find an essential item in the nick of time. It’s costly, as that’s potentially your character’s life you’re gambling, but it might be worth it. In a game against werewolves, one player was a former dance superstar who had become a drama teacher. He was on one Survival Point as the werewolf closed in on him and decided to use his final piece of health to have his treasured pair of silver tap shoes in his bag. He plunged one into the face of the werewolf, sacrificing himself for the greater good.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">They had secured the press room. The snow was thicker than they had ever seen before, and somewhere out there were the creatures. They were scientists once, but no more. Each one killed by the cold and raised into those things.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“We need to get out there, get the fuel for the coach. Then we can escape.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">The survivors nodded, all but the last of the scientists. He kept to the back of the group, clutching his hand. He felt cold, too cold. His fingers were breaking apart at the tips, with nothing but ice and bone underneath. The illness had to be hidden from the others, or if any of them found out, he would have to kill them…</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">Dead of Night is a really simple system, and the Survival Point currency is elegant in its portrayal of the behaviour of horror movie characters. Choices are difficult and players are often forced into strange and genius decisions. The book has several modifications to the system according to the kind of game you’re playing.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">One modification which I really like is conversion. In Ice Station Zero, players can be infected by the ice zombies. I used red poker chips for Survival Points, but when an ice zombie hit a player, there was a chance they would be infected. An infected player would replace a red poker chip with a blue one. The blue chips were Survival Points the players couldn’t use. Once a player had more of the blue chips than the red ones, they were zombies. As the chips grew, my players started acting oddly, slower, more used to the cold. Oddly entranced by it. When the characters went full zombie, I let the players remain in control of them. The same with the werewolf game. The cheerleader and the nerd survived the werewolves, while one player failed to fight off his infection and gave in to his wolfy impulses. No one survived Ice Station Zero. It’s one of the few times a total party kill (TPK) is acceptable. As the final human player blew up the coach which had been surrounded by ice zombies, it felt like an acceptable ending to the ‘horror movie’ we’d been playing. The camera pulled away from the shot of the burning coach and the ruined ice station. They’d saved the world but it had cost them their lives.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;">Dead of Night is a great convention game as it doesn’t last long and encourages hasty, awful decision-making. In a really deadly game like this one, there’s a risk of killing people in an unsatisfactory manner. The Survival Point currency can often get around this problem and there aren’t often instant kills without people knowing them. If you want a fun horror game which replicates the most serious and silly tropes of the genre, this is definitely one of the best light games to reflect all of that.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Calibri'; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dead of Night can be found at <a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/81572/Dead-of-Night">Drive Thru RPG</a> or ordered through your friendly local game store.</span></div>
Charlie E/Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819269599056012384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-37948685132707386452014-09-01T00:20:00.003+01:002014-09-01T00:20:52.521+01:00Dead of Winter<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Charles Etheridge-Nunn</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dead of Winter is a zombie game, kind of. There's thankfully a lot more to it, enough to distinguish it from Zombies!!!, Last Night on Earth, Zombie Fluxx, Zombie Dice, Zombie Munchkin, Zombicide and so on. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The biggest problem with Dead of Winter is that it was open to preorder months and months ago, it was due to be released shortly after. After hearing Shut Up & Sit Down talk about the game I felt it captured exactly what I wanted to see in a piece of zombie fiction and in the horrors of a semi-cooperative game.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's the great thing about Dead of Winter, it's cooperative until it isn't. You're all good people working for the good of the community, but you all have your own motivations which you have to pursue for your own survival. In the game you'll be having to weigh up whether you should survive at the cost of everyone else, or if you can help others to live just to get anyone through to the end of winter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So the good news is that after considerable delays, it's finally here!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBK_3vbaqeW9c0i_qsnDX-BS9LAtdiStIu-9rTS_9c7FqERSS7Nb13zVECHYK6Sfo_TqA3wHPTvN2AAS2ZDPdt_aa8rtDnJGnTxKQ4_23bm-zFniqYQkb4BRKVLuV4q3dhPXjcNDcIHLU/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBK_3vbaqeW9c0i_qsnDX-BS9LAtdiStIu-9rTS_9c7FqERSS7Nb13zVECHYK6Sfo_TqA3wHPTvN2AAS2ZDPdt_aa8rtDnJGnTxKQ4_23bm-zFniqYQkb4BRKVLuV4q3dhPXjcNDcIHLU/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="400" width="298" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So let's have a look inside the box and see what this game is all about.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The box is considerably heavier than it looks like it should be, a good sign for the amount of content jam-packed into it. The preorder even came with a promotional extra character of Kodiak Colby, based on the producer of the game, Colby Dauch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8VtP9Qa-3bJR9CrcPoSfWq7LAVhFkJd3RQfkneXyB0u7LAAtbgjkD0wret83bVFC395fnWa0YwyPfc5CMRvQ3fGnL3RRIBLaCnyA3Zj8TE_pbk6dyNxkB7f_FKVjHR1zZC_xxCVB_wQ/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8VtP9Qa-3bJR9CrcPoSfWq7LAVhFkJd3RQfkneXyB0u7LAAtbgjkD0wret83bVFC395fnWa0YwyPfc5CMRvQ3fGnL3RRIBLaCnyA3Zj8TE_pbk6dyNxkB7f_FKVjHR1zZC_xxCVB_wQ/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="400" width="298" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the box sans shrink wrap. You can't really see it well in the photo, but the cover actually has a slight variation in texture. There have been a lot of production values put into it. Definitely not something to sniff at.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dead of Winter wasn't handled like a Kickstarter game but the preorder system did feel a little like it and as much as I've enjoyed some of my Kickstarter-backed games, they're not always of the best quality.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So let's look inside the box...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEUwrLiDIC-_pdd_VxKw-DRC6JEx_8tUREvMzoeiGGQPhuwY2nLHh13mwXh6qc79x5UdCV7DK1O37pvu8N6WKmodC7FC9eV62H_apPpMe5mMaRK9ubFkUpPsunTgPzTj7a0VVe0TV0_s/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEUwrLiDIC-_pdd_VxKw-DRC6JEx_8tUREvMzoeiGGQPhuwY2nLHh13mwXh6qc79x5UdCV7DK1O37pvu8N6WKmodC7FC9eV62H_apPpMe5mMaRK9ubFkUpPsunTgPzTj7a0VVe0TV0_s/s1600/photo+3.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Um.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty disappointed with this.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think something's gone wrong with this delivery. I wondered why the postman kept insisting that instead of signing for the box I pick a black or white stone. Maybe I should have picked the white one. I don't know. The Kodiak Colby promo now looks like me but isn't showing up on cameras. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can hear rain coming from my flatmate's room, heavy rain. And some kind of mechanical whooping. I think I'm going to have to email Plaid Hat Games and see if I can get this whole thing cleared up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't worry, I WILL review Dead of Winter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will review Lost.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I WILL review Lost.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I didn't even type that. I know this is a new computer I'm typing on, but there's not predictive text or anything, why is it saying these things?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I need to find out what's wrong. I need to go back to the island. I need to what? No. No, I need to</span>Charlie E/Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819269599056012384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-33650191994341382602014-04-30T12:29:00.000+01:002014-04-30T12:29:23.927+01:00Quick Game Look - Cardfight Vanguard<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2S0gjAtkRoo2gmv8WBO3JGtRIlNo54LqsZgKNyviKmpybcQEPgnyZay3fnJNDzZltuwG-4bFMsreH31DpT3ZGbT-luDEf1dq9wB3qmQDc-g1CCs1QvxBSYmi5qej9YbB0kXKqvbcVxfY/s640/blogger-image--1786105634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2S0gjAtkRoo2gmv8WBO3JGtRIlNo54LqsZgKNyviKmpybcQEPgnyZay3fnJNDzZltuwG-4bFMsreH31DpT3ZGbT-luDEf1dq9wB3qmQDc-g1CCs1QvxBSYmi5qej9YbB0kXKqvbcVxfY/s640/blogger-image--1786105634.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
As the people of Hooting into the Abyss know, I like robot based games as much as some people like Skaven, the richness of Malifaux or sleeving cards. It was thus probably inevitable I would try this one at some point. What caught my eye was the card in the picture above - it's illustrated by the fairly renowned animator and designer Masami Obari, who I'm quite a fan of. Buying a game based on one illustrator being involved seems a really bad idea, but buoyed by terrible influence from some other friends I nevertheless did so.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
To begin with an overview. Vanguard is a collectible card game in the vein of Magic, rather than a Living Card Game like Game of Thrones or Netrunner. Trying to build a deck via booster packs is supremely inadvisable because unlike Magic's blocks and sets (groups of cards that are themed together but are interchangeable - you can use Ravnica cards in a deck with Innistrad ones and all the game worries about is usually the colour), Vanguard divides cards that form parts of combos and refer to each other haphazardly between sets. Indeed, Magic tries to somewhat avoid having set theme intrude on design after sets like Kamigawa proved less easily integrated into decks made using a wider card pool.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
As a result the best way to play is buy two premade decks and use them. That way everyone is on an even footing and you save a lot of money and time, because Vanguard is a very theme and combo driven game. Two-colour decks aren't a thing, really - taking out of faction cards can actively penalise you.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
On to the rules. I mentioned above this is a game based around combos, and this is made clearest in how creatures work. Each player begins the game with one Vanguard, a bit like an Identity in Netrunner or your Commander in a game of Magic EDH. Your Vanguard determines what cards you can play - all cards have a level, and you can never play a higher level card than your Vanguard. It is effectively a resource curve without the need for specific resource cards taking deck space - a player's turn begins with a step where they may level up if able, and some decks can "ramp" by using card abilities to get a second such step. While rushing to top level seems the obvious strategy, playing more slowly is a possibility - each card used to level up enters a stock called the "soul" which is its own resource pool. Paid abilities either mill cards from deck to soul or soul to discard pile - again using cards as a generic resource to avoid resource distribution problems.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Once the level up step is done, a player may play creatures. These have no costs save the level restriction, but you may only have five in play at once and only two of those can actually attack. Creatures are either in the front or back row, RPG style, and back row creatures may not attack. Instead, they have abilities to assist - either adding their value to an attack by "resting" (tapping by any other name) or being sacrificed from play or hand to block. That cards always sacrifice to block adds a resource management aspect which is interesting in practice - if the cost of stopping damage is the loss of a usually good creature from hand, there are no real "chaff" cards like 0/1 tokens or 1/1 creatures. Attacks are either directed at the opposing Vanguard or opposing creatures - the former is the way to win while the latter disrupts the opponent.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
The victory condition is to deal six hits to the opposing Vanguard by dealing enough damage to beat its toughness and all blocking creatures.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<i>Example: I have a strength 5000 creature attacking a strength 7000 creature. I use a back row card to add another 5000, and my opponent discards a creature to add 5000 to his own defence. The attack fails (10k vs 12k)</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
If an attack on a vanguard is successful, the defender discards one card from his deck to his damage stack. If it has a relevant ability it triggers.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
If a vanguard attacks, there is a slight twist - the attacker draws a card to see if it has a triggered ability on it, and if it does, then they gain bonuses such as "standing" (untapping) a creature or causing bonus damage.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
These core mechanics - limited creatures, supporting cards and levelling up - are the majority of the game. The real interest comes in how card abilities use this design space thematically. For example, a dragon-themed card might discard "soul" cards to attack multiple enemy creatures, or the robot deck I use is focused on combining abilities of low levelled creatures to level up more quickly.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Here the third resource enters play - damage. Some paid abilities require the player to have sustained an amount of damage and require the tapping of cards in the damage stack to pay costs. It is not quite like Magic's graveyard strategies like Dredge or Threshold, but those aren't a bad analogy.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
All in all, Vanguard is a much more interesting game than it might seem - while it is hard to review any creature fighting card game without the spectre of Magic overshadowing it, Vanguard's resourceless system and mill/draw/damage as currency is innovative and appealing. On the other hand it has issues - the card design, with huge art and tiny text, can be very obtrusive. Furthermore actually trying to construct decks using its haphazard rarity and set distribution is a frustrating exercise (although the premade decks are very well designed and worth using). All in all I feel its deck building aspect of factions and levels would have suited the LCG model well, and it is weakened by the random purchase format.</div>
</div>
Ray Websterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02171852534254987113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-74227882571927607182014-04-24T10:13:00.000+01:002014-04-24T10:13:13.105+01:00CabinCon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>CabinCon</b><br />
<br />
We are now only a couple of weeks away from the Hooting event of the year, CabinCon, the origins of the name are shrouded in mystery but it is a name that evokes joy in the heart of all the hooters.<br />
<br />
The concept is simple, one cabin, 17 hooters and a plethora of games, any games, all of the games! We will be spanning board games, tabletop games, card games and RPG’s all in the space of 6 glorious days. <br />
<br />
So whats going on I hear you ask? Come on, surely someone asked that? Well, here are the main games and some of the participants anyway. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<b>In Her Majesty’s Name </b><br />
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://theminiaturespage.com/news/pics/2013/feb/597956284b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://theminiaturespage.com/news/pics/2013/feb/597956284b.jpg" height="163" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
In Her Majesty’s Name is a set of skirmish wargames rules set in the late Victorian period, but not the one our current history remembers.<br />
<br />
This is the 1895 envisaged by Jules Verne, H.G Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, H Rider-Haggard and Rudyard Kipling.<br />
<br />
It is a world of heroism, sacrifice and betrayal. Where the Great Powers, building upon the advances wrought by the success of Charles Babbage’s calculating engines, have advanced faster than one might have thought. Where ownership of the latest technological marvel might just be the thing to build fortunes, destroy empires and win fair ladies, where a few men’s pluck and cunning can change the course of history.<br />
<br />
Written by Charles Murton and Craig Cartmell, these rules were released by Osprey Publishing in May 2013, with a supporting figure range from Northstar Miniatures.<br />
<br />
The current known participants are:<br />
<br />
Professor Berengei’s Travelling circus, The Ashdown Family, The Arcadia Marines, Scotland Yard, Black Tong, Sons of Ra, GOAT (Grand Order of Anarchists and Troublemakers), Lord Currs Company and a mysterious and at this time unnamed company of ladies.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Dredd </b><br />
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/media/catalog/category/JUDGE-DREDD-LOGO-MINIATURES.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/media/catalog/category/JUDGE-DREDD-LOGO-MINIATURES.gif" height="137" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>Welcome to Mega-City One, a city of over four hundred million people and every one of them a potential criminal. Stretching the length of the 22nd Century North American eastern seaboard, Mega-City One is the most dangerous city on Earth – a serious crime takes place every second of every day. This is a city so dangerous that it demands a special breed of law enforcer. Here, there are no police, no trials and no juries – there are only the judges. It takes fifteen years to train a judge for life on the streets of Mega-City One.<br />
<br />
"Judge Dredd" is a 28mm miniatures skirmish game designed to be quick, easy to learn, and capable of handling the madness that is Mega-City One, from the powerful judges to the lowliest punk or mutant.<br />
<br />
Players take turns moving figures and taking actions. Figures can be customized to use a multitude of weapons, equipment and powers - running, jumping, driving, and fighting in a crazy sci-fi themed world. You create the scenarios and take it from there.<br />
<br />
May your Lawgiver always fire true!<br />
<br />
Known Forces - Renegade Robots, Street judges, Apes<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Malifaux</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRYi5O9GodOxF7pgtaRdWeWcIrvbnUvKM8XVMxfYenPjCbfaZVe" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="82" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRYi5O9GodOxF7pgtaRdWeWcIrvbnUvKM8XVMxfYenPjCbfaZVe" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
Malifaux is a character-driven 32mm tabletop miniatures game. Players collect, build, and paint models representing the denizens of Malifaux, pitting these models against one another in groups called Crews for control of the precious resource known as Soulstones.<br />
<br />
A Crew can contain several different types of models depending on how a player constructs it. Masters can manipulate the course of events in the world around them, changing their own Fates through their control or theft of Soulstones. A variety of fantastic and frightening beings, collectively known as Minions, serve the Master as fodder in his or her machinations. In addition, Henchmen can lead specialized Crews in their Master's absence, or serve their Master directly as a member of a Crew. Masters and Henchmen are also supported by Totems, extensions of their magical abilities which increase their spellcasting range and provide additional aid in an Encounter. Lastly, each Master can transform itself into a powerful Avatar, representing a specific aspect of their personality.<br />
<br />
How well a Crew carries out its leader's Strategy and Schemes determines whether or not it will emerge victorious in an Encounter with an enemy Crew. Strategies represent the Crew's main path to victory, while Schemes are simpler alternate routes to achieve the leader's goals.<br />
<br />
Malifaux players use decks of cards called Fate Decks to resolve game events such as attacking and spell-casting. Players can manipulate the cards they play to alter the Duel's outcome. It takes a shrewd leader to effectively utilize a Crew's resources, ensuring he or she always has ready the cards needed to Cheat Fate.<br />
<br />
<br />
At this inaugural Cabincon there will also be a Malifaux Tournament on the Monday, CabinFaux is the name and the known factions represented are as follows:<br />
<br />
Mei Feng & Shenlong from the 10 Thunders<br />
<br />
The Guild are well represented through Perdita and Sonnia<br />
<br />
Rasputina from the Arcanists<br />
<br />
Hamelin from the outcasts<br />
<br />
Lynch from the Neverborn<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Deadzone</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://quirkworthy.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/deadzone-logo-white.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://quirkworthy.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/deadzone-logo-white.jpg" height="26" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Deadzone is a dynamic tabletop miniatures skirmish game set in the distant sci-fi universe of Warpath in which two players take command of a crack team of upgradable elite troopers from one of four factions including powerful heroes, troopers, heavy weapons and specialists. You can even upgrade your troopers by collecting equipment and new weapons from the Battlefield, such as Machineguns, medipacks, grenades and more. But beware – you could be triggering a booby trap!<br />
<br />
Featuring beautiful models from some of the most talented sculptors in the world, Deadzone marries the frantic action and fun of a tabletop game with the simplicity and elegance of a board game to create a truly innovative experience. With the Deadzone box, players take control of either the stalwart Enforcers or the horrific Plague, battling it out over scarce resources by combining deadly actions and an innovate Battle Card deck to lethal effect. Shoot to kill or claw your way through flesh as it doesn't matter how many should die in this urban landscape so long as players achieve their objectives.<br />
<br />
All of this is set against a sci-fi backdrop brought to life using a grid-based gaming mat depicting the urban warzone that can be built up using Barricades and Buildings from the new modular Mantic Scenery Range, adding a vertical dimension to your games. No two games need ever be the same!<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Warhammer Fantasy Battle</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.nextgenvideogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/warhammer-logo-300x57.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.nextgenvideogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/warhammer-logo-300x57.gif" /></a></div>
<br />
Warhammer is a tabletop wargame of fantasy battles, played by two or more people. You can play small-scale skirmish games involving 20 or 30 models a side, up to massed battles that pit armies of hundreds of models against each other. Rules that govern how the models move and fight are contained in the Warhammer rulebook. Players choose and collect armies of models that are described in separate Warhammer army books. A huge range of models is also available from Citadel Miniatures, in metal and in plastic.<br />
<br />
Warhammer is now in its 8th Edition. 8th edition includes some major rule changes/simplifications in order to rebalance the game. This version focuses even more on large infantry units with several additional rules supporting horde armies.<br />
<br />
Featured forces - Ogres, High Elves, Lizardmen, Chaos warriors and Skaven<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>X-Wing</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://rookscomicsandgames.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Star-Wars-X-Wing-game-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://rookscomicsandgames.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Star-Wars-X-Wing-game-logo.jpg" height="161" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game is a tactical ship-to-ship combat game in which players take control of powerful Rebel X-wings and nimble Imperial TIE fighters, facing them against each other in fast-paced space combat. Featuring stunningly detailed and painted miniatures, the X-Wing Miniatures Game recreates exciting Star Wars space combat throughout its several included scenarios. Select your crew, plan your manoeuvres, and complete your mission!<br />
<br />
Whatever your chosen vessel, the rules of X-Wing facilitates fast and visceral gameplay that puts you in the middle of Star Wars fiercest firefights. Each ship type has its own unique piloting dial, which is used to secretly select a speed and manoeuvre each turn. After planning manoeuvres, each ship's dial is revealed and executed (starting with the lowest skilled pilot). So whether you rush headlong toward your enemy showering his forward deflectors in laser fire, or dance away from him as you attempt to acquire a targeting lock, you'll be in total control throughout all the tense dogfighting action.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Board games</b>, the list here is too long for me to go into each game but here it is:<br />
<br />
Firefly, Spartacus, GoT LCG, Cthulu Gloom, City of Horror, Twilight Imperium, BSG, Dixit, Love Letter, Mascarade, Avalon, 2R1B, Our Last Best Hope, Quiet Year, Sentinels of the Multiverse, 6 Nimmt, Dreadball, Dystopian Wars, Netrunner, Tanhauser, GOT LCG, Android, Descent 2nd Ed, MTG, Space Crusade, Lords of Waterdeep, Curiosities/Euros/gap fillers: E.g. Castle of the Devil, Fangfrisch, Power Grid, Caribbean<br />
<br />
<br />
I expect to get some photos and reports from the various games over the weekend so expect more...</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Simianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01636898789066693752noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-78432038330882250142014-04-15T22:43:00.002+01:002014-04-15T22:43:46.697+01:00Avengers Vs X-Men Battle Report, Month Three<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFYbqM0UtTdLy-TnF_2nzy7kN6LqTrZnXr7KKZnOuZu1by65VK7rCj2Xu9Lk9EBcICEs4dkrYh-IB7zP6UQHMbecgbeL32qIA-gK67W9xDGs47WixW3LX6qGWrRBbiGx2MbROA1BI2VE/s1600/AvengersVSXMen_8_CoverVariantKubert1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqFYbqM0UtTdLy-TnF_2nzy7kN6LqTrZnXr7KKZnOuZu1by65VK7rCj2Xu9Lk9EBcICEs4dkrYh-IB7zP6UQHMbecgbeL32qIA-gK67W9xDGs47WixW3LX6qGWrRBbiGx2MbROA1BI2VE/s1600/AvengersVSXMen_8_CoverVariantKubert1.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">After a little delay, it's time for the third Avengers vs X-Men event. The X-Men have travelled the world looking for Hope Summers and the Phoenix Force has finally arrived on Earth.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Iron Man's "Phoenix-Buster" armour didn't stop the Phoenix, instead it just broke the creature into smaller forces which imbued five X-Men with world-changing powers. This month we re-enact that battle with a selection of X-Men and Avengers.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The tournament changed up for this month, as we all get to use the Phoenix Force resource dial which was given to us in month one and the Phoenix shards which we've acquired in each tournament so far. We have six hundred points of Avengers or X-Men to pick teams from; the Avengers gain some bonuses but the X-Men imbue their team with new powers from the shards. It's... confusing. The dial was strange to get used to at first but between the <a href="http://youtu.be/_-U7QkQK8RE">YouTube tutorial</a> and talking it over with the other competitors it seemed like something which just might work. The Phoenix Force has a dial with powers and modifiers on, which everyone assigned a Phoenix shard gets. They all also have a power based on a character who was originally one of the "Phoenix Five". If you knock someone out then the powers on the dial change up. If one of your Phoenixes is KO'd then the rest get more powerful to make up for it. So yeah, not too bad, just a little weird at first.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">TEAM BUILDING</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I was torn with a couple of ideas for teams, having recently acquired a few new X-Men pieces and wanting to try them out. As the one fan of Cyclops (yes, I know) I still wanted to have a Summers family day out. Instead though, I decided to go with the X-Men Time Team:</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffdW3EyVS34nCTLcbp9H5aTemZmJzYRzr0xrpHW6fq-KhuiSduUPRiBW8O1H4WKaryT6jrfoVOJNhBYusEnZj6nwU1I6KQZhXP8EbKz640cMyEUKg0Hkz8ElGEJ3Fh8st8Hki9aBmh7Q/s1600/IMG_0375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffdW3EyVS34nCTLcbp9H5aTemZmJzYRzr0xrpHW6fq-KhuiSduUPRiBW8O1H4WKaryT6jrfoVOJNhBYusEnZj6nwU1I6KQZhXP8EbKz640cMyEUKg0Hkz8ElGEJ3Fh8st8Hki9aBmh7Q/s1600/IMG_0375.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Bishop, time cop and lunatic who can soak up power and spit it back out, with the Colossus shard to toughen him up when he's out in the field.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Cable, Cyclops' alternate future son, he ran around time trying to hide his daughter from Bishop. I put the Namor shard on Cable so he had the X-Men team ability which he was originally missing.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Hope Summers, Cable's adopted daughter who he hid with in the future. I put the Emma Frost shard on her so that she would get telekinetic powers.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jean Grey, an original X-Man brought to the present by Beast. She didn't have a Phoenix shard. I've seen what happens when Jean gets all Phoenixy and it's probably best not to repeat that.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Phoenix, the alternate future daughter of Cyclops and Jean Grey, because my god there's a lot of weird family drama with those guys. I put the Cyclops shard on her which would give Phoenix better ranged powers.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">ROUND ONE</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In my first game I fought Paul R who had a piece the X-Men players had been dreading in our regular team emails, an Iron Man who suffers virtually no damage from people holding relics (read: Phoenix shards, so most people the X-Men were playing). I think I saw four lurking out there, waiting to soak up any damage and laser people from a safe height.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’ve fought Paul before and he’s someone who takes advantage of the Avengers’ heavy-hitters (such as Hyperion in months one and two). He brought out Iron Man, Quasar, Scarlet Witch, Victoria Hand and made them the “Heroic Age” Avengers so they might not have an action token on them for moving.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I won the dice roll and picked the “Flooded Wakanda” map, a great idea until I realised where the walls were and had to change up my plans.</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJEoYte1cmY6b03jomOmPVUC6lw4wSkBlSF_tOVB0w1PEuyKA_Y3dsspL3g-zVRYhJeclibDUJdPzf6Kmi4y3lKX_Sc-pVcILjl3mcrSi2qe_XbbDNUn_7ulNleGAszzB1LC3-JnqoRw/s1600/IMG_0380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJEoYte1cmY6b03jomOmPVUC6lw4wSkBlSF_tOVB0w1PEuyKA_Y3dsspL3g-zVRYhJeclibDUJdPzf6Kmi4y3lKX_Sc-pVcILjl3mcrSi2qe_XbbDNUn_7ulNleGAszzB1LC3-JnqoRw/s1600/IMG_0380.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Cable, Hope and Phoenix flew to a radar dish which was sticking out of the ground. Scarlet Witch flew into a building on her own, the walls providing a good defence from my forces until Bishop teleported in and smacked her against a wall. It was fear of her ability to manipulate luck which had me target her first. She was a weaker version of the character though, and with Bishop on his own Quasar zoomed in for the attack. Paul had Victoria Hand carried around by the heavy hitters, boosting them as she went. I made up for the offending wall by shooting it open and sending my forces in. Cable stuck to Iron Man, in theory to keep him trapped in melee rather than attacking everyone. I had an idea with it, Cable could attack twice so even with the jammy “people with relics probably won’t hurt me” trait, I had two chances of harming him instead of one. It wasn’t enough and Quasar flew all over the map lasering people. I brought Phoenix into the battle a little too late. Bishop and Cable both died and in the last action Paul managed to kill Hope for an extra 75 points in one go. It was an ugly battle, too much of the time my enemy only needed low numbers to take on my people, it seemed entirely the opposite on my end.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As a whole, the round was exceptionally close, a tie between X-Men and Avengers victories, with the X-Men just about ahead on points. The Avengers lost a shard they could assign to their people.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">ROUND TWO</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">One terrible fight under my belt, I felt a little more familiar with my newer pieces. The new battlefield was the Savage Land and my opponent Michael, a player returning after an absence of a few months. Another fan of themed teams, he picked the Great Lakes Avengers as his team, and there were a lot of the buggers.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Big Bertha, Deadpool, Dinah Saur, Doorman, Flatman, Hawkeye, Mr Immortal, Squirrel Girl, then just to make up the numbers a Navy Seaman (I know, giggle if you have to) and a Warbot Rookie. The latter two were ‘pogs’, single-click characters represented by a little cardboard disk. The Great Lakes Avengers are a comedy team, so I did have a question for Michael. “Hawkeye was a member of the GLA?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“They conned him into joining them.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Fair enough, that sounds like one of the many humiliations Hawkeye would have to endure. With that confusion sorted out it was time to battle!</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRD2w9iRbWOtszZdy-FXbv4WXMxzgqQZxG3LOIPFc61jkexEFgoqkS445Flb9WGWeDx0HqpDvEj6c4t1IjB8nquFdsweEVk8BWyZntcXMLvk09mYilFLr4DrFwAJ-yw4Iv8v63PLqFBIk/s1600/IMG_0382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRD2w9iRbWOtszZdy-FXbv4WXMxzgqQZxG3LOIPFc61jkexEFgoqkS445Flb9WGWeDx0HqpDvEj6c4t1IjB8nquFdsweEVk8BWyZntcXMLvk09mYilFLr4DrFwAJ-yw4Iv8v63PLqFBIk/s1600/IMG_0382.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Michael started and had enough pieces to effectively cut a line across the map with his people. Unlike my team they didn’t all fly and started on a ledge so they had to walk over a bridge to get to me.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Jean Grey I was using had different powers than my normal version; instead of moving people with telekinesis she can do a ‘running shot’ at enemies and carry up to three people when she does so. She wasn’t a powerful piece but as I was going second I could have her run at the enemy. Hope boosted Jean’s mental powers, Phoenix outwitted Dinah Saur’s super senses and Jean took her down in one go. There, my first KO of the day! Big Bertha ran at Cable with a weird power generator-looking thing, smacking him round the head. Bishop saw Deadpool and feeling like some 1990’s vengeance teleported at him, gun loaded. Deadpool’s a tricky sod with a power which means he might take no damage, or less damage, or more. He took the shot from Bishop and a bunch of the GLA ran in for backup.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Squirrel Girl hid in a bush with her stealth power, but Hope used the telekinesis granted to her by the Emma Frost Phoenix shard and threw a dumpster into a bush. Normally you can’t use ranged attacks on people with stealth when they’re hiding, but telekinesis simply moves an object to a space. This one happened to have Squirrel Girl hiding in it, so she took the hit.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The game had been a little slow, so despite a lot of potential fun, the call for, “last action” went out and Michael had Hawkeye charge forward to snipe Jean Grey. He hit, he killed. That was it, he scored 100 points for Jean compared to my paltry 25 points for Dinah. A last second win for Michael. Still, while it was short and still up in the air who would have won, this was a more entertaining game.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Avengers and X-Men had another tie for victories, but the Avengers had us beat on the point differential, so they won their shard back and we had to return one to the base. This meant that our Phoenix-imbued characters would be more powerful but there would be less of them. In this case the Colossus shard I was assigning to Bishop vanished.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">ROUND THREE</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">On my way to the tournament, I joked with my flatmate Lee about how we would both see each other on the battlefield as the respective worst of our sides. He’s an Avenger, I’m an X-Man, something which could still tear the fragile peace in our flat apart.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As I had foretold, so it came to pass. Still in the Savage Land, I had to fight Lee’s Avengers. Be brought with him Captain America (with a stealth suit), Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man, Tigra and Wonder Man. </span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHYo96aRHb2TwEAqy_yiO2_i7b9MzejTjUgnZtHGLkXBflTC2oNgXHvpH7NUqcBQQrY8Jvm3gW5K5GlQ9xpA8OQhMS9mxWzlo053euGeNIGsrRpvjioHjzS1ei2uH9FmnIozO3v_DJDk/s1600/IMG_0385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHYo96aRHb2TwEAqy_yiO2_i7b9MzejTjUgnZtHGLkXBflTC2oNgXHvpH7NUqcBQQrY8Jvm3gW5K5GlQ9xpA8OQhMS9mxWzlo053euGeNIGsrRpvjioHjzS1ei2uH9FmnIozO3v_DJDk/s1600/IMG_0385.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Avengers started this game too, with Lee moving Spider-Man in a wide arc around my forces, Scarlet Witch was left fairly open in the middle. Jean repeated her taxi/gunner trick last time, then Phoenix followed and KO’d Scarlet Witch, removing the single support piece Lee had brought. After having lectured him on how it’s best to bring a support piece into his usual team of bricks, I couldn’t help but feel a bit bad for killing his one so early. Now he didn’t have easy access to probability control. Tigra and Wonder Man tried flanking from the opposite side to Spider-Man so Bishop daringly teleported to the pair of melee fighters and started gunning them down. I remembered to use the Phoenix dial and with the more powerful bonus powers, all my team had the sidestep power, a new addition which allows a small amount of movement for free. This meant that every turn I was able to shuffle my people to line up for better shots, hide in terrain or get out of the way of melee fighters. Hope and Cable gunned Spider-Man down with Jean Grey’s enhancement power boosting their damage. He never even made it to the fight. Bishop was ganged up on by Tigra but some terrible dice rolls kept him safe from most hits. He did take one smack to the head, gaining the ability to absorb ranged damage in time for Captain America to attempt to fling a shield at his head. The shield hit but Bishop used the impact to heal himself, then cause energy explosions at Tigra, Captain America (whose defences were outwitted by Phoenix) and Hawkeye. Tigra was taken out from the attack. Phoenix finished off Captain America with another shot and Cable gunned down Hawkeye in the final action of the round. A decisive victory.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The X-Men won this round, giving us a shard back and taking one from the Avengers.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">ROUND FOUR</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This round I was surprised to find Brighton Heroclix veteran Lamp as my opponent. It had been a bad day for him, so he was down to my level. We were again, in the Savage Land. This time he had a sneaky team with Ant Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Sentry/Void and Sharon Carter.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We both started the round cautiously, maybe it was the initial failures, maybe it was that this was our last ditch effort at victory. I don’t know. Still, for Lamp’s Avengers this was very much the plan. Ant Man (whose miniature is just a base as he’s so tiny) shared his massive defence stat with the other Avengers hiding in the hedge. Sharon gave them all stealth so I couldn’t hit them from range. Flash back to the ride over to Littlehampton and my teammate Alex asking, “So who’s your melee person?” Oops.</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj012KygQWCIhwF2P4s7ro1fcggs7DkSz0QfCBGfvWRB-nw7RhRW1WwkChXn3TTuzn-V0RSkRwB3rSEuB08VRkLrZsWjFfD57WeR-lWQGR5M72SwBUQPpxyr1GnnzWotF7iV31urzmUqe4/s1600/IMG_0388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj012KygQWCIhwF2P4s7ro1fcggs7DkSz0QfCBGfvWRB-nw7RhRW1WwkChXn3TTuzn-V0RSkRwB3rSEuB08VRkLrZsWjFfD57WeR-lWQGR5M72SwBUQPpxyr1GnnzWotF7iV31urzmUqe4/s1600/IMG_0388.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Iron Man ran out of cover and shot at my people. He missed, rerolled using probability control only to be met with a botch. I had one hand on the stack of team probability control counters, ready to spend one. I put them back down and watched Iron Man blast himself in the face thanks to bad luck. “I don’t think I’ll ask you to reroll that,” I said. To make matters worse I outwitted Iron Man’s defencive powers and had Jean Grey shoot him. It was </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">that </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Iron Man, the one who suffers less damage from relic-holders. Jean was pure from the Phoenix, so he took a load of damage from her and ran back in the bush.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Half of Lamp’s force were represented by Sentry and the Void, a single miniature who is Marvel’s schizophrenic drug addict Superman equivalent. He popped out for long enough to kill Jean Grey in one attack. Sentry was super powerful but the rest of my team managed to withstand his attacks, peppering him with bullets and psychic blasts. As someone who was impervious, a lot of the attacks were soaked up and I had no way to counter his powers. Still, he was the only person visible. Then Sentry hid in a bin. Bishop teleported at him and the pair kept fighting around the bin. The fight slowed down until I realised I needed to give up on trying to shoot Sentry and should start hitting the cowardly Avengers hiding in the hedge. Just as I did that, time-out was declared. Damn. Jean’s death lost me the fight.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">RESULTS</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The X-Men won this month, despite some truly intimidating miniatures, teams and performances from the Avengers. John had Giant Man transporting people and then shrinking into ant-size, hiding in the pockets of the people he’d just moved around the board. Several Iron Mans provided challenges. Matt’s Black Widow was able to take the budget of team probability control uses that his opponents had, giving him enough luck to turn tables in his favour. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The X-Men had their victors, including Jacob who won the day for the X-Men with his team of Colossus, Cyclops, Emma Frost and Namor, using their Phoenix-imbued versions. There were not a lot of points of damage between the two factions, so things are getting closer as we draw nearer to the dramatic finale of Avengers Vs X-Men.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCqTg3FStIUsbka1HxP3ajI2p6ygsqc5XSIt0Z9vjUJxP9hS9OyW4TJiKKQ2Cbh1h0johN-Lw1eEOC9MvHKKYG3RRUt7j5CciR8MCgCt34PW-ttftjQv5K9mXmT8_CSBxsM5gL3VWB8M/s1600/IMG_0378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCqTg3FStIUsbka1HxP3ajI2p6ygsqc5XSIt0Z9vjUJxP9hS9OyW4TJiKKQ2Cbh1h0johN-Lw1eEOC9MvHKKYG3RRUt7j5CciR8MCgCt34PW-ttftjQv5K9mXmT8_CSBxsM5gL3VWB8M/s1600/IMG_0378.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jacob's horrific Phoenix team.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The final matter was the prizes. Everyone who turned up received the Emma Frost Phoenix shard and a miniature. There were two prizes to pick from; Hope Summers and a version of Professor X where he can walk. The winning faction had first dibs on which of the two miniatures they received. Almost every X-Man picked Professor X.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The top three players received one of the four White Phoenix Hope Summers miniatures. The last was randomly given out to one of the other players as a fellowship prize. That winner… was me! </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I may have come third from last in this tournament, but I’ve ended up with a pretty damn good miniature, my second randomly-drawn fellowship prize. First Cable, now Hope. Awesome.</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzW9i5ec_GF59ieNYTxaJZ0snRlLBovrO5mQjwCuLMrgtC-E7sCBQAnKLhmArZCm-aPLcKp0S7Jd3h7LuMopUSFnnlPSoxf1L4djNa5NCBb1tyx-rYvGNJkLnhPOAIO3aOf8HE1B29fc/s1600/IMG_0390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzW9i5ec_GF59ieNYTxaJZ0snRlLBovrO5mQjwCuLMrgtC-E7sCBQAnKLhmArZCm-aPLcKp0S7Jd3h7LuMopUSFnnlPSoxf1L4djNa5NCBb1tyx-rYvGNJkLnhPOAIO3aOf8HE1B29fc/s1600/IMG_0390.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Next month things change up for the final battle. Both sides can pick any selection of Avengers and X-Men. The people who played X-Men this far have to use a version of Cyclops and all their forces gain the keyword, “Cyclops’ Army”. The people who played Avengers have to use Hope Summers and/or Scarlet Witch, all their forces gain the keyword, “Uncanny Avengers”. Apparently there will be events to represent Cyclops’ descent into madness in the AVX comics. I can’t wait to see what happens.</span></span></div>
Charlie E/Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819269599056012384noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-60821376212165566882014-02-16T23:44:00.000+00:002014-02-16T23:44:33.575+00:00Avengers Vs X-Men Battle Report: Month Two<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;"></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE9OJsQAhKSg76j2eOmRhiq45B3fnp8hbh0LSn4dWvowWzZxV20rflJN4Yz24AEIl41o820nnmPQlX5uJXSwDfWIN6hIebvNUcEOvvFc8VyRtdAyZOa6st7E5LpykRL-YLVd-TfpdYSjM/s1600/Search+for+Hope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE9OJsQAhKSg76j2eOmRhiq45B3fnp8hbh0LSn4dWvowWzZxV20rflJN4Yz24AEIl41o820nnmPQlX5uJXSwDfWIN6hIebvNUcEOvvFc8VyRtdAyZOa6st7E5LpykRL-YLVd-TfpdYSjM/s1600/Search+for+Hope.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Previously
the Avengers and the X-Men squared off on the beach of Utopia, the
mutant homeland. The X-Men won the day, but Hope Summers ran away from
both teams rather than have either one choose her destiny. Both teams
were able to track her signal to five different locations, so this time
the tournament has the Avengers and X-Men split themselves into five
small teams each, fighting in each location as they search for Hope.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">TEAM BUILDING</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Five
teams have to be built for slightly shorter battles. There are some
limitations; Beast and Wolverine aren’t allowed on the X-Men’s side as
they are filthy splitters. Hope isn’t allowed on either side as she’s on
the run. The five teams have to share a team keyword, such as X-Factor
or New Mutants. Each team was to belong to a different group and each
character couldn’t be duplicated as everyone’s around the world
searching at the same time.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
X-Men team would be the easiest to make as most mutants have been an
X-Man at some point. Then there’s the recently-released Wolverine &
The X-Men set which brought a lot of X-Force and New Mutants characters.
A few people share the X-Factor keyword, so the remaining team was a
difficult choice. Sadly there aren’t many Generation X characters, so I
picked Excalibur, as I could just about make the team.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">My teams were as follows:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Excalibur</b>:
Longshot to provide probability control and thrown knives. Shadowcat to
ferry people around and support them. Warlock to turn into a dune
buggy, ram people and be an all-round weird Swiss Army Knife of a
character.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSY9lWP81mVInUEr6YSVMdJOAg83mjHrb6YcCIySqYl6eVcBhm71s2EVkjE9BC80l_y64I9sKi-Gihtj4hxg0gWVANufkupIfEW661bi_w0wibHR7UBmnDnFGYOc1_HZ_YxdCcxifNfno/s1600/IMG_0217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSY9lWP81mVInUEr6YSVMdJOAg83mjHrb6YcCIySqYl6eVcBhm71s2EVkjE9BC80l_y64I9sKi-Gihtj4hxg0gWVANufkupIfEW661bi_w0wibHR7UBmnDnFGYOc1_HZ_YxdCcxifNfno/s1600/IMG_0217.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>New
Mutants</b>: Magik from the Phoenix Five who appear later in the series, as
a flying death beast. Magma who is like a borderline-psychotic lava Firestar.
Shatterstar who is basically a man with crazy massive swords and that’s a
good substitute for character.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAB_fe6jiErpKo_iuCxOe1fFaK75Htu_gpOkoDGLiMtjJu4OS6kK2Jn-o_qYFsr9GO2IApLEdh1kiPTIwjMaZE_Tauy9YyCrKRk48vwxNgrIHML-Zsr6sUneY8IBgIeA-97geUAaDiMgE/s1600/IMG_0215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAB_fe6jiErpKo_iuCxOe1fFaK75Htu_gpOkoDGLiMtjJu4OS6kK2Jn-o_qYFsr9GO2IApLEdh1kiPTIwjMaZE_Tauy9YyCrKRk48vwxNgrIHML-Zsr6sUneY8IBgIeA-97geUAaDiMgE/s1600/IMG_0215.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>X-Factor</b>:
This was possibly the hardest team to build. 300 points was a ton back
in the day, but two massive overhauls later and 300 points is barely
anything. I had Layla Miller to resurrect people and use the
near-essential Outwit & Probability Control powers. I wanted to use
Polaris as her Telekinesis power allowed fast placement of people around
the map. Originally I wanted to use Strong Guy as a tank to move into
place, but that was heavily veto’d by the X-Men’s captain so I picked
three Multiple Men as their replacement. One is the original, the others
his ‘dupes’.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6JDW7LXRUktcZIpOPJ8ZcRHw_O9iUhOpFpNWU3bIFbxJBXSNAQcvHjzP2Uvn_LPSQbTNO8fQuZpNHhxOANz-hgAdHeuc5xYF2X386tYVItZ_fAsJ7GY8XpbZeZYPHYa3u2NKx3wVn-rI/s1600/IMG_0219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6JDW7LXRUktcZIpOPJ8ZcRHw_O9iUhOpFpNWU3bIFbxJBXSNAQcvHjzP2Uvn_LPSQbTNO8fQuZpNHhxOANz-hgAdHeuc5xYF2X386tYVItZ_fAsJ7GY8XpbZeZYPHYa3u2NKx3wVn-rI/s1600/IMG_0219.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>X-Force</b>:
I wanted to use my limited edition Cable from the last game as he hunts
Avengers and damn it, he was my prize. He could phase through things
and do two attacks in one go. Spiral is a whirling dervish of blades who
can teleport. Then I needed enough points to fill the rest and I
decided Wolfsbane would make for something sharp to throw at the enemy,
especially if I could make her carry a Phoenix Shard.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlTU4hvjYgLG0_Ka88AA1zEp8pipdqXIe6AgUxFHFOvfv002FXnZAG4_y23RTNc52tH3MFy7K-a08guClw_ioPA3QEphHEI87514f4ggIGLU0SBORsw6HYUo1XZvc-QU8IA0s4H6q-0I/s1600/IMG_0216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlTU4hvjYgLG0_Ka88AA1zEp8pipdqXIe6AgUxFHFOvfv002FXnZAG4_y23RTNc52tH3MFy7K-a08guClw_ioPA3QEphHEI87514f4ggIGLU0SBORsw6HYUo1XZvc-QU8IA0s4H6q-0I/s1600/IMG_0216.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>X-Men</b>:
Cyclops was a must, as the Avengers Vs X-Men version is one of the best
I’ve seen. Emma Frost is a great support piece, and with 75 points left
after that, I took Professor X. This makes a team filled with Mind
Control, Probability Control, Leadership and not a great deal of
mobility.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZjGSj8XTz4Xjqmeju19cTWwiOfvizVvmwMj3GALVoLh1m2sz3zo15Z0M2DFw44vDUjQdmpocGfg6rPPVeJqAoXWJX0t7NTOU10AvmGuhkkmTJme4dQ5dHZJOhdNSNwfv8S9s2yYcyjrY/s1600/IMG_0218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZjGSj8XTz4Xjqmeju19cTWwiOfvizVvmwMj3GALVoLh1m2sz3zo15Z0M2DFw44vDUjQdmpocGfg6rPPVeJqAoXWJX0t7NTOU10AvmGuhkkmTJme4dQ5dHZJOhdNSNwfv8S9s2yYcyjrY/s1600/IMG_0218.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Next, on to the tournament!</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">THE TOURNAMENT</span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Fifteen
people arrived for this session, still in the hall in Littlehampton;
six Avengers, nine X-Men. This made things a bit difficult. One person
would sit out for a round (initially a late player) and then two X-Men
would fight in a training exercise which wouldn’t count as part of the
points for the round.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIOq_HjqKnVfQRUtNhWfyC-UxObXQFtCDi13fx29njq1pgTyEdamKZyXWL3TP_OPpHw2tkQIXWpNg-pv1Awd0vCJzc6GJ8zmh_wRlag44dNh3pwvRQasSk80onUkLmSa06nPJeUA_VYRY/s1600/IMG_0224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIOq_HjqKnVfQRUtNhWfyC-UxObXQFtCDi13fx29njq1pgTyEdamKZyXWL3TP_OPpHw2tkQIXWpNg-pv1Awd0vCJzc6GJ8zmh_wRlag44dNh3pwvRQasSk80onUkLmSa06nPJeUA_VYRY/s1600/IMG_0224.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">GAME ONE - WAKANDA</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I
was thinking about using my weaker team, X-Factor with all the Multiple
Men. At the last minute I panicked and switched to X-Force. Cable,
Spiral & Wolfsbane.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">My
enemy was my flatmate Lee, making his Heroclix tournament debut after a
while of playing the game in the flat with a few friends. He brought
along the Avengers Movie version of Thor, and the horse-faced Thor
wannabe, Beta-Ray Bill.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
It was odd facing off against my flatmate, but frankly we’re about
evenly as non-tactical as each other and as this was his first fight it
was probably a good warm-up.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCfWscCcKJ7bhg_m1p92V8UFREupwcMbLRqQYBBL6UjX-PUVj6duw5FdIzBwf1KnIIXSOG6w7ZvzWHLdAa2WyHagPplNC0EFJIj-Xd37H5t9JQZc3CQ9FncrzEbVbidnmglPDi9ai7as/s1600/IMG_0223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCfWscCcKJ7bhg_m1p92V8UFREupwcMbLRqQYBBL6UjX-PUVj6duw5FdIzBwf1KnIIXSOG6w7ZvzWHLdAa2WyHagPplNC0EFJIj-Xd37H5t9JQZc3CQ9FncrzEbVbidnmglPDi9ai7as/s1600/IMG_0223.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">X-Force getting in place.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I
started, only moving Wolfsbane far enough to pick up the Phoenix
Cyclops Shard, allowing her to fly and poison people who touched her.
Beta-Ray Bill and Thor started a slow move towards me, so I split out my
forces with Spiral aiming to hit Lee’s flank, possibly even split the
two massive bruisers apart. My biggest problem was that his tiny team
both had damage reduction powers and a high defence. Cable shot Thor,
taking him down a bit before he flew at Wolfsbane, the weaker of my
forces. He knocked the little lycanthrope a bit, but the biggest benefit
to me was how she kept him locked in place so he wouldn’t move around
to my other forces. Spiral was perfectly placed purely by mistake, but
she could use the Pulse Wave power with only Beta Ray Bill as a target,
handily keeping all damage on him instead of spreading it through the
other forces. Bill flew in to hit her, leaving his back open to Cable
who managed to finish him off with a shot to the back.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Thor
should have easily knocked Wolfsbane into a paste, he was even immune
to the poison the Phoenix Shard gave her. When her health was on the
rocks she was able to regenerate, using up her action but keeping Chris
Hemsworth in place long enough for Spiral and Cable to surround her. The
ensuing cutting and shooting left only a fine paste and a hammer. A
total victory for me, and a great start. Lee had some terrible luck with
his dice rolls, and spent too much time with Thor locked against my
weakest character.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">GAME TWO - THE STREETS OF LATVERIA</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For
this battle we had two maps which could have represented Dr Doom’s
hometown. My fight would be on an outside map with a hut in the middle
and some elevated terrain making it difficult for non-fliers. I decided
for the mobility of the Excalibur team.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">My
enemy was Elliott, bringing his ‘comedy team’ of Great Lakes Avengers.
These guys are losers in the Marvel Universe, with only Squirrel Girl as
their breakout hit. The team he had built were: Big Bertha, Flatman, Mr
Immortal and… Deadpool?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Things
went wrong pretty early. I sent Warlock ahead to grab a Phoenix Shard
on top of a building and he failed. Kitty Pryde carried Longshot into an
alleyway and then hid in a bin. The GLA were tentative at first, and I
drew my forces together in the alleyway. Mr Immortal tied up Warlock,
making his ability to turn into a dune buggy and ram people fairly
useless. He did have the ability to pick whatever attack power he
wanted, however, so some poison helped put Mr Immortal down… kind of.
When Mr Immortal dies, he starts to regenerate off the table, eventually
coming back to life in the same place. That’s really irritating.
Flatman outwitted Longshot’s luck powers while Big Bertha slammed into
him. Shadowcat pinned Deadpool and attacked him a couple of times. This
Deadpool had a trait which made him roll a d6 when he was attacked and
on a six he actually healed damage instead of taking it. He made the six
on both attacks and took nothing. Deadpool killed her pretty quickly
after that.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghcPWTOVmIURA0GCnAkCaUIepS3Zipe9Q_U7EXK85L_z-jszIkieb_i8MBoYvzfp5sQSKNfimXJGGZNxOzX7lLwv5sAb9_FVwl2lsldglaXPUzRTwqdxNotUdVCoUfgyP4tH9Vt7lvwv4/s1600/IMG_0228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghcPWTOVmIURA0GCnAkCaUIepS3Zipe9Q_U7EXK85L_z-jszIkieb_i8MBoYvzfp5sQSKNfimXJGGZNxOzX7lLwv5sAb9_FVwl2lsldglaXPUzRTwqdxNotUdVCoUfgyP4tH9Vt7lvwv4/s1600/IMG_0228.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Never go down a dark alleyway in Dr Doom's home town.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Warlock
managed to kill Flatman and when Mr Immortal came back to life he ran
away so that I couldn’t score the easy points he would give me. Big
Bertha jumped down from the nearby building and pummeled Warlock into
the ground. An almost-complete loss.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;"> GAME THREE - WUNDAGORE</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">An
indoor map this time, Wundagore looking suspiciously like Asgard. I was
assured they just bought their decor in the same place. I decided that
my fairly slow-moving X-Factor team might work here.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">My
enemy was Elliott again, thanks to random draws. If last time was a
comedy team, this one was deadly serious. Asgardians, again. Kid Loki,
Thor and a character we X-Men had received warnings about via email…
emails I didn’t bother to read… The Absorbing Man. Oh, I should have
read those warnings.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Layla
Miller took the Phoenix Cyclops Shard and hid behind a wall. The
original Multiple Man failed to collect the Phoenix Namor Shard and was
pretty much exposed. Absorbing Man grabbed a heavy object and well,
absorbed it, adding to his attack and damage stats. The little Multiple
Men ran into action and Polaris threw the original at Absorbing Man, as I
had no idea quite how bad he was and wanted to see his power in action.
Absorbing Man hit Multiple Man so hard he flew backwards and spawned
five more duplicates instantly. His power in the comics is that kinetic
energy makes him duplicate, so the game does the same kind of thing.
Elliott and I sourced some more Multiple Man figures from the rest of
the tournament-goers. My friends Alex and Jacob provided three before
the game. Fellow X-Man Ed lent me three more.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3gKbPtEZYiCU2CYNDQypnCpXusjegrZ1zeEjrhZZ7tG01oYwzUKjTRg4FChKYpvDDCwWDCMEY3EBCarKZj5D1uebuiYDzQ5t6QHvSjcKRou16pZYmxM1qmDmPLxCzxI5o5gteK1MBpZs/s1600/IMG_0235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3gKbPtEZYiCU2CYNDQypnCpXusjegrZ1zeEjrhZZ7tG01oYwzUKjTRg4FChKYpvDDCwWDCMEY3EBCarKZj5D1uebuiYDzQ5t6QHvSjcKRou16pZYmxM1qmDmPLxCzxI5o5gteK1MBpZs/s1600/IMG_0235.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of the Madri!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">After
all that, the original Multiple Man was near death and absorbed his
duplicates back into his body to heal himself back up, swapping place
with another Multiple Man further away. Polaris was the surprise
big-damage-dealer out of the group, attacking Thor and damaging herself.
Take two and she teamed up with a Multiple Man duplicate to knock the
God of Thunder down. Absorbing Man took a ride on Kid Loki’s weird
monster thing and finished off Polaris alarmingly quickly, followed by
Layla. With two remaining Multiple Men facing off against Kid Loki and
the Absorbing Man, I had very little left to do. Absorbing Man was
really easy to hit, but each time you hit, his player would roll a dice
and ONLY if the result matched the damage dealt would it go through.
This meant a one in six chance of Absorbing Man taking damage each time
he was hit. Elliott tried goading me into popping another five Multiple
Men to try and flurry Absorbing Man to death, but each one he would kill
would be 25 more points for the enemy. Instead I had the remaining
duplicate run all the way around to the original and get absorbed to
deny him the maximum points he could have scored. Then with his last
breath, the one true Multiple Man knocked out Kid Loki. My best victory;
beating up a child.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">GAME FOUR - THE SAVAGE LAND, AKA JERK MOUNTAIN</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">With
two teams left I decided to break out the New Mutants. The map was
actually Krakoa… The Island That Walks Like a Man! We were using it as
the Savage Land though. Lots of hedges and a hill which I labelled Jerk
Mountain, immediately claimed by the Avengers just to prove that they
were the kings of Jerk Mountain.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">My
enemy was Ash, who has only ever played in the last tournament and this
one. I had a great game against him last time which was a proper brawl.
He was borrowing a team for this round. An Asgardian team. After five
minutes of ranting bitterly about Absorbing Man in the kitchen area and
getting another coffee, I saw the team I was going to face… Absorbing
Man, Kid Loki, Thor. It was Elliott’s team. God damn.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGkzb4gXTTAGxctkx4ru3WqUF1eCnXNLM4sz6lAfpUpfUmQM3GtmM4TQ744Nrh6XIVi6fL8NhtGYKV9zqrW_DSnD3j-pcafsFq5g6ST3THzFBtnwqS4zaQL8mMIanNuPxqO27F6CCBLu4/s1600/IMG_0236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGkzb4gXTTAGxctkx4ru3WqUF1eCnXNLM4sz6lAfpUpfUmQM3GtmM4TQ744Nrh6XIVi6fL8NhtGYKV9zqrW_DSnD3j-pcafsFq5g6ST3THzFBtnwqS4zaQL8mMIanNuPxqO27F6CCBLu4/s1600/IMG_0236.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> When
we laid objects down I put both of my Phoenix Shards near Jerk Mountain
and sent Shatterstar after one. I left Magik and Magma behind in the
hope of using Magik’s Running Shot power to run and gun against someone.
The other Avengers stormed Jerk Mountain, sensing it as their natural
home, and I sent Magik away from the mountain but near enough to shoot
Thor as she went. The blast was good, but I rashly moved Magma away from
her before realising that her powers lessen penetrating damage done to
her and allies. Thor retorted with penetrating damage all on Magik
because even Ash noticed that power. Absorbing Man started next to a
heavy object again. He absorbed it… again. He took a ride on Kid Loki’s
monster steed… again. Shatterstar missed his Phoenix Shard pickup and
spent the rest of the game slashing wildly at Absorbing Man, rarely
missing but the dice roll to see if damage went through never worked.
Magma was carted into the fracas by Magik, surviving just long enough to
poison Kid Loki and fail to poison Absorbing Man as that was a dealing
of damage which was diced against and missed. Gah! Absorbing Man easily
KO’d Magma in one hit and in a panic I knocked Thor out with Magik.
Shatterstar’s constant attempts at damaging Absorbing Man had caused
maybe about eight or ten successful hits to miss, and he was weakened
enough from all the effort that he was downed in a single hit. Magik
tried to fly away from Absorbing Man but after one actual successful
hit, managed to knock him back into a wall (which didn’t damage him) and
he punched her one last time, taking a damage which he couldn’t avoid
and KO’ing my last figure. With one health left, the relentless ‘no’
machine of the Absorbing Man had been the one cause of my demise again. I
was fuming. I ranted in the kitchen about biting off the head of the
miniature if I fought it again. It’s great that this was Ash’s first
victory in a tournament, but I still hate that stupid Absorbing Man and
his stupid face. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">GAME FIVE - A SPACESHIP CRASH SITE</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
X-Men had been victorious, despite my hideous track record of one
victory to three losses. I had my X-Men team left and being in the lower
tier of combatants, I wasn’t in space but instead the wreckage of a
crashed spaceship.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">My
enemy was Lee again, who hadn’t won any more battles since we last
fought. He’d lost in the second battle by being the only person to lose a
piece in what sounded like a quite drawn out fight. This time, to match
my vanilla X-Men team he was using a vanilla Avengers team; Luke Cage,
Scarlet Witch and Wolverine. To allow a second Avengers team, he’d
fitted them with an Alternate Team Ability, a card which costs points
for each character which gives them a new power. They couldn’t be
targeted with Outwit, which cancels out powers, unless you’d targeted
them with an attack first. All of my characters had Outwit at some point
in their dial… this was going to be rough.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I
started by having Cyclops and Emma Frost running to cover so that they
could pick up Phoenix Shards. They both failed, but I knew with Cyclops
here he could shoot through the wall at the enemy if he had to.
Professor X kept close so that he could grant the attack-avoiding Shape
Change power to the others. The Avengers came close, but not enough. I
had Emma and Cyclops move up, shooting and missing Scarlet Witch.
Professor X grabbed a Cyclops Phoenix Shard so he could fly and be
better at ranged combat. Oh yes, just like in the two-issue
X-Men/Starjammers comic… BALD PHOENIX!</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrZCbAh29TzOQ0GwvbwpP3SvT3pkBP9Vv0xiJ_sQWo5uu2Fja5yb1o1xN85yeSRdgimU76thS5rt1MggLjoeseQA0OZXyBYs250ngc0rUm6gPUQsmVi-aB31Jhx7m2o1MdfgtsCZDaGlE/s1600/IMG_0241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrZCbAh29TzOQ0GwvbwpP3SvT3pkBP9Vv0xiJ_sQWo5uu2Fja5yb1o1xN85yeSRdgimU76thS5rt1MggLjoeseQA0OZXyBYs250ngc0rUm6gPUQsmVi-aB31Jhx7m2o1MdfgtsCZDaGlE/s1600/IMG_0241.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8qQ5rqAMIzYjGCtcss-UjS8JzDZrdRGn6x-cg2HzUIHjOYGJjQchAZvcSu_ieu2Xs1uJLQPyXdvp93r8yj4pTstf5XGwswzOlwhE0RgPD0JMUlYNgd-bQkgfj-8H82P0WmbjYGg2aqI/s1600/Bald+Phoenix.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8qQ5rqAMIzYjGCtcss-UjS8JzDZrdRGn6x-cg2HzUIHjOYGJjQchAZvcSu_ieu2Xs1uJLQPyXdvp93r8yj4pTstf5XGwswzOlwhE0RgPD0JMUlYNgd-bQkgfj-8H82P0WmbjYGg2aqI/s1600/Bald+Phoenix.png" height="242" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Cyclops
was okay, but he only managed to damage Luke Cage once, which was
boosted by having Emma Frost and her Enhancement power to hand. Emma was
great though, mind controlling Wolverine into gutting Scarlet Witch.
See, it was okay, he was just working with his old team again. Stupid
Wolverine.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
fracas got closer, with Professor X stupidly exposed as I’d used him to
tie down Scarlet Witch before she died. Wolverine tried to hack him
apart and missed. Professor X didn’t take this lying down, mind
controlling Wolverine into slashing Luke Cage’s impenetrable skin.
Unfortunately the feral killing machine broke from the mental control,
killed Cyclops, then Emma Frost. Professor X tried to boost his own
damage and fight Wolverine but that was never going to be a good idea.
He had enough defence powers which allowed rerolls and rolls to miss,
but it wasn’t going to help in the long run.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Time
was called, leaving Wolverine and Professor X on the table, I’d lost
thanks to the amount of points killed on my side. Long story short for
this one; Wolverine killed EVERYTHING.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">THE RESULTS</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The X-Men won the day. That’s the good news. It was pretty decisive, which is good because I was nothing but a hindrance. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Out
of fifteen people, I came twelfth. That was about right. The first game
went amazingly for me and the last was so close if not for
Wolverine winning it back so heavily. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’d
show you the prizes, but sadly they were delayed, so we don’t have them
this month and they will be given out to us in time for the next match.
For entering the contest, the Avengers were all given a Black Panther
miniature and the X-Men were given a Danger (the sentient Danger Room
who is just a little bit evil). As the winners, the highest-scoring
X-Men were given a choice between Black Panther and Lei-Kung The
Thunderer. Personally, as the lowest-scoring X-Man, I will be happy with
my Black Panther as I can make an Illuminati team with him.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Everyone will also get a Colossus Phoenix Shard which will be useful really soon…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
next match will be a battle on the moon in about a month. Six hundred
points in one team who have to be used for each battle. This means the
team selection will be very important, and we’ll start using the Phoenix
Shards we’ve been winning since the first tournament. The X-Men are
half-way there, but a couple of victories for the Avengers could change
it all.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDN1JkFdXHcIke3rLAkqqeFzSHISW42lXJYmXco9catNwAedDeR2DLQgR_L3f_wNNVlua8Ycaght45he7WJl5WFw4fCfbJIlF-DSEq2ZzE5DeNSPgSH-Mc9CI2JT2YsftR3JplvZcbu0/s1600/Moon+War.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBDN1JkFdXHcIke3rLAkqqeFzSHISW42lXJYmXco9catNwAedDeR2DLQgR_L3f_wNNVlua8Ycaght45he7WJl5WFw4fCfbJIlF-DSEq2ZzE5DeNSPgSH-Mc9CI2JT2YsftR3JplvZcbu0/s1600/Moon+War.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moon War!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
Charlie E/Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819269599056012384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-35836593633864995372014-01-16T08:08:00.000+00:002014-01-16T08:08:23.742+00:00Photographing miniatures.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So one of my hobbies outside of miniatures is photography, with that in mind I've put together a few comments and thoughts on how to get the best photos you can of your miniatures. If you've spent hours/days painting them and what to show them off then clearly a quick shaky snap on your phone just isn't going to cut it.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With all photography, there are a lot of factors that go
into a great shot. I’m going to go over a few of the basics and so feel free to
experiment and play around until you achieve the image you want.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>LIGHTING – INTRODUCTION</b><br />
<br />
The key to setting up your lighting is to position the lights to eliminate any
harsh shadows and dark areas on your models all the while maintaining enough
contrast in your lit areas to reveal details.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here's this in a bit more details:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You will want a main light, If you’re shooting outside this
could be the sun…. but chances are you’ll be inside and you will need to create
this light your first task is to decide where you want the main light source
coming from.<br />
<br />
Next look at where the shadows have formed from this main light, look for where
you are losing details and definition due to harsh shadows. You want to
position a second light (a fill light) to bring illumination to these areas.
Usually your fill light is a bit dimmer than your main because you don’t want
these areas to shine, but just have enough illumination to reveal the missing
details you spent so much time preparing and painting. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For me I use two side lights and an on board flash (i have a custom built diffuser on this....tissue paper and tin foil basically).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next is a back light, I don’t always do this but if you want
the best possible image you should do. This light is to illuminate the
background. I would recommend something simple such as a gray or white
background. If you are looking to replace the background in a post-processing
program such as Photoshop use an extreme color like a bright green or pink,
something you can easily select the pixels and remove them as needed. You will
want the back light to be just bright enough to bring contrast to your models,
making them ‘pop’ off the backdrop. I strongly recommend a large piece of solid
color paper. You want to place your models on the center of one of the short
sides and then lean the paper up against a flat backing such as a wall. This
will create a nice even curved (crease-less) surface behind your models.<br />
<br />
And that’s really it for the lighting basics.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUHwNNJhF4ML8qFL3Hc033iOf0xnJgNv6tkMLWZh8kjFloAQ5oE3NykboT34XDWG6auZV1sNh3nwVf9R75BqBExkxwkVqcC2ec5pbAThlHfLW3OnOS3kycf5R_cERaygWQuwoOrVijr0/s1600/Photographing+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUHwNNJhF4ML8qFL3Hc033iOf0xnJgNv6tkMLWZh8kjFloAQ5oE3NykboT34XDWG6auZV1sNh3nwVf9R75BqBExkxwkVqcC2ec5pbAThlHfLW3OnOS3kycf5R_cERaygWQuwoOrVijr0/s320/Photographing+1.jpg" height="236" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>
CAMERA BASICS</b><br />
<br />
Fist rule for the camera. USE A TRIPOD. Don’t even argue, just do it. You
cannot hand hold a camera and get the image you want, you just can’t. At worst rest your camera on something.<br />
<br />
Next use the camera's self timer, one big issue can be that the actual act of hitting the shutter button causes you to move the camera...which in turn makes the image blurred. Not even a tripod can necessarily fix this problem completely. The simplest way to solve this issue with a digital camera is to use the self-timer.<br />
<br />
Activate this feature on your camera and then just let it sit there without touching it until the picture is taken. This way you can absolutely guarantee that your hand touching the camera will not cause the image to be blurred.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you are used to using your camera, you will want to be
shooting in aperture priority mode, usually the one with an ‘Av’ on your
camera dial. Set this as low as your camera will allow and work your way up.
This will allow you to get that nice clear focus and blur the background. This
may blue the models next to the focus point, so again, you will want to work
your way up the scale (bigger numbers allows for more depth of field) until you
are happy with the result. You will want to always use manual focus here, don’t
let your camera focus on the model in the back, while your model in the front
is blurred, it will look very strange.<br />
<br />
A simpler approach is simply move your camera dial to the macro icon, this will
automatically set up your camera for taking pictures of minute details. Again,
you will have much less control, but it should do the job 9 times out of
10. The only issue with using this function is that it narrows the depth of field significantly meaning that some of the model could be out of focus. Play with setting first and if/when you don't like the results start to use Aperture Priority.<br />
<br />
Shoot in RAW if you can and you know what you’re doing! It’ll make the Post
Processing easier.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Simianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01636898789066693752noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-79226824635711647862014-01-13T23:33:00.002+00:002014-01-13T23:33:27.874+00:00Avengers Vs X-Men Battle Report: Month One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOTdHXn-op1PnM0fuFaw11ZO_oaXPSy-XarnVpfC3hj3jhfDKpexflFjdUitq-EqDKPb9GEyDLfbC_cIsVBWHkmMUWozlk5BgZhgQEmRhhO7rwRGF04aFe8DYPqY9V0KofCslCfpw7GU/s1600/Heroclix+022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvzdT_xqTzDZLJJZJdi9k1pvF_FSD2a4Y3QnXI-42U5vubKojRUSbUOd304cieSJQg4MR8oRXhrMLAu6zlDvoZ_-AnV5yoowDEKMnASWMrsE3GKmNxrphKXC1LvYStROOMHSriPo0dbs/s1600/Heroclix+007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvzdT_xqTzDZLJJZJdi9k1pvF_FSD2a4Y3QnXI-42U5vubKojRUSbUOd304cieSJQg4MR8oRXhrMLAu6zlDvoZ_-AnV5yoowDEKMnASWMrsE3GKmNxrphKXC1LvYStROOMHSriPo0dbs/s320/Heroclix+007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOTdHXn-op1PnM0fuFaw11ZO_oaXPSy-XarnVpfC3hj3jhfDKpexflFjdUitq-EqDKPb9GEyDLfbC_cIsVBWHkmMUWozlk5BgZhgQEmRhhO7rwRGF04aFe8DYPqY9V0KofCslCfpw7GU/s1600/Heroclix+022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The first couple of issues of the AvX comic event dealt with <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/James_Howlett_%28Earth-616%29">Wolverine</a> bringing the Avengers to the X-Men’s island home of Utopia; a nation off the coast of San Francisco which housed over half of the X-Men. <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Steve_Rogers_%28Earth-616%29">Captain America</a> came with a demand for <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Hope_Summers_%28Earth-616%29">Hope Summers</a>, the potential host of the Phoenix Force. When <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Scott_Summers_%28Earth-616%29">Cyclops</a> refused to give the girl over, a SHIELD helicarrier became visible overhead, with a TON of Avengers. With the majority of both teams facing off against each other, everyone knew that things were going to start big.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And that’s where this event will begin. The Brighton Heroclix Community are split into two factions, Avengers and X-Men. Both sides will play off against each other using teams of 600 points, taken from a selection of 2,000 points each player will bring to the table. If a character is knocked out in a round, they can’t be used again. When people fall, they fall HARD. Everyone will see it all four rounds though, so if you can’t make a team of 600 points you can buy back dead units costing points equal to how many points of enemies you’ve knocked out so far.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Each fight is timed, and whoever can knock the most amount of points out of the other team wins. The amount of points you knock out add up at the end to settle any ties, so a total wipe is obviously the best.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Both teams have a selection they have to stick with, the characters (not necessarily the miniatures) from the Avengers Vs X-Men Starter Sets. The Avengers have to have a version of; Captain America, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Iron_Man_%28Earth-616%29">Iron Man</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Wanda_Maximoff_%28Earth-616%29">Scarlet Witch</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Peter_Parker_%28Earth-616%29">Spider-Man</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Thor_%28Earth-616%29">Thor</a> & Wolverine. The X-Men have to have a version of; <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Colossus_%28Earth-616%29">Colossus</a>, Cyclops, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Emma_Frost_%28Earth-616%29">Emma Frost</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Illyana_Rasputina_%28Earth-616%29">Magik</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Magneto_%28Earth-616%29">Magneto</a> & <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Namor_McKenzie_%28Earth-616%29">Namor</a>. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">TEAM BUILDING</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Here is where I begin to suck. I picked X-Men because I’ve been a fan of them since I was five and, ahem, liberated a UK reprint of <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/X-Men_Vol_1_23">X-Men #23</a> from a doctor’s waiting room.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I borrowed a 10th Anniversary Emma Frost and <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Ororo_Munroe_%28Earth-616%29">Storm</a> from one player and <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Lucas_Bishop_%28Earth-1191%29">Bishop</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Elizabeth_Braddock_%28Earth-616%29">Psylocke</a> & <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Charles_Xavier_%28Earth-616%29">Professor X</a> from another.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">My total forces were:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Bishop, Colossus, Cyclops, Emma Frost, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Gambit_%28Earth-616%29">Gambit</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Paige_Guthrie_%28Earth-616%29">Husk</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Quentin_Quire_%28Earth-616%29">Kid Omega</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Longshot_%28Mojoverse%29">Longshot</a>, Magik, Magneto, Namor, Professor X, Psylocke, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Kitty_Pryde_%28Earth-616%29">Shadowcat</a>, Storm and <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Roberto_da_Costa_%28Earth-616%29">Sunspot</a>.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">My plans were minimal at best. Telekinetics like Kid Omega, Magik and Magneto could move people into battle, as could Shadowcat (who is also able to hide and outwit folk). Colossus, Husk, Namor and Sunspot are bricks who deal okay damage and absorb a lot. Emma, Psylocke and Professor X do mind control, while Bishop, Cyclops, Longshot and Storm are brilliant ranged attackers.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9GzDRYdFi4zHDMMQ5Fd3HGa6lCPbUcWU_aigEk1VHMh6lDSjaV6NkUDAdEthzkRIhgo5httjxUInz6ivTpQfbo3_ysA9bZrXrEQ86HXWVPjKhdpH6C999Nbf1vEHwjyzBhz_00rP0SQ/s1600/Heroclix+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9GzDRYdFi4zHDMMQ5Fd3HGa6lCPbUcWU_aigEk1VHMh6lDSjaV6NkUDAdEthzkRIhgo5httjxUInz6ivTpQfbo3_ysA9bZrXrEQ86HXWVPjKhdpH6C999Nbf1vEHwjyzBhz_00rP0SQ/s320/Heroclix+001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">THE TOURNAMENT</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Fourteen people turned up to a hall in Littlehampton; seven Avengers, seven X-Men. We were told the rules and an additional incentive… If one of the mandatory characters kills another mandatory character, the team will earn 200 more points. Or, if Cyclops or Captain America take each other out, that’s 400 bonus points.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The maps were laid out, the beach at the X-Men’s island home of Utopia. If more Avengers teams won, then the next map would be the inside of Utopia. If more X-Men won, the Avengers would be driven into the sea and play an underwater map.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdlncTk6FBqimKYMou9ctMGDFmUv_oerXxzQuJwjOW4NVxYV3O_0IOABl1YadP1Jb0oOqxgaxWjMKS5pv_F1nK3X125qAe1Ce_vQvn1ffW0DpXOP20N2jdHfKLulocQ9M7ESotCCG8hs/s1600/Heroclix+010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdlncTk6FBqimKYMou9ctMGDFmUv_oerXxzQuJwjOW4NVxYV3O_0IOABl1YadP1Jb0oOqxgaxWjMKS5pv_F1nK3X125qAe1Ce_vQvn1ffW0DpXOP20N2jdHfKLulocQ9M7ESotCCG8hs/s320/Heroclix+010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">GAME ONE</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">My first team were: Bishop, Emma Frost, Longshot, Magik, Shadowcat and Sunspot. Bishop would provide ranged attacks, Emma could mind control and lead the team. Longshot has ranged attacks and rerolls from his luck powers. Magik and Shadowcat are good transporters. Sunspot was there just as the cheapest brick character.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">My enemy was Paul R, with <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/T%27Challa_%28Earth-616%29">Black Panther</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Anthony_Druid_%28Earth-616%29">Dr Druid</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Jericho_Drumm_%28Earth-616%29">Dr Voodoo</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Marcus_Milton_%28Earth-13034%29">Hyperion</a> and Scarlet Witch. A surprising about of mystics, who Magik would be better at hurting thanks to a power I thought would be useless.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The game started with a setup which looked like both sides would split their teams into two. I entirely took the rooftop and Paul sent Black Panther to collect a Phoenix shard on the beach for his team. I had Emma Frost take the Cyclops Phoenix shard, allowing her to fly and be poisonous to people. My characters clustered together around cover, made better when Scarlet Witch came up to try and knock my people off the roof. I used her as cover while my team crept into position. Hyperion, Marvel’s evil Superman, ran around punching people, but I managed to use probability control to stop him affecting me at first. Emma took a punch to the face with a bin and reached a ‘stop click’ where the massive 7 damage was frozen at 2 while she turned into living diamond. A great hit turned into pretty much nothing.</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Bishop targeted the magician and former VCR repairman Dr Druid and blew his face off. He went on to shoot Scarlet Witch off the map. Sunspot was sent ahead to block Black Panther and Hyperion. There’s a mechanic called, ‘breaking away’ where people need to make a die roll to get away from base-to-base contact with an attacker. Hyperion could easily but Black Panther was stuck there, empowered by the Phoenix but hiding behind a motorbike. Sunspot lifted the bike, beat him into unconsciousness and time was called.</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzdYuozxNHNRuImkEbseE7_J4XQzaA2oc0psEz0g1MSjbwA_5t3X4dpIbF-d9cQqpRq6Mud3w2jNlB_fQSYTnZT4PdvJs4CZ5GL91CBQhyphenhyphenU6mtyJwEPtcxk4NA8NszyTovllpsuPX1AFE/s1600/Heroclix+009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzdYuozxNHNRuImkEbseE7_J4XQzaA2oc0psEz0g1MSjbwA_5t3X4dpIbF-d9cQqpRq6Mud3w2jNlB_fQSYTnZT4PdvJs4CZ5GL91CBQhyphenhyphenU6mtyJwEPtcxk4NA8NszyTovllpsuPX1AFE/s320/Heroclix+009.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’d won through elimination, having lost no pieces and killed three. Paul had some bad luck and scared the life out of me with Hyperion, a 275 point powerhouse who would be the most expensive piece I fought that day.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The X-Men had won the most fights (all but one) so we drove them into the sea.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">GAME TWO</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">My first team were good, but I thought I’d change things up, especially with it being under the sea. I made what turned out to be a squad full of jerks; Bishop (future aspirant babykiller and one of many murderers of Professor X), Emma Frost (former villain and adulteress), Gambit (Marvel’s premiere pick up artist), Longshot (who is Longshot) and Namor (pervy former villain who spents most of his time in his pants talking smack to people). Namor’s a brick who gets better in the water, Gambit and Longshot make with the nice ranged attacks, Emma and Bishop were great characters in the last game.</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43-GZ2WjoCvGTByyvQF8GGqL6O1oOsqZoWdGmC8Sci63KSpaZNSnRe_tcuNVbzzUZxqmpVH9TO0KArWt947J698Xh69ptHE4FNrl4MpyXBf3t2I_XDTcbS6eZ1DdiWzGrH4kfHxSbZxs/s1600/Heroclix+016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43-GZ2WjoCvGTByyvQF8GGqL6O1oOsqZoWdGmC8Sci63KSpaZNSnRe_tcuNVbzzUZxqmpVH9TO0KArWt947J698Xh69ptHE4FNrl4MpyXBf3t2I_XDTcbS6eZ1DdiWzGrH4kfHxSbZxs/s320/Heroclix+016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I fought Matt Hardy, one of the organisers and fellow fan of niche super hero comics. He brought along <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Henry_McCoy_%28Earth-616%29">Beast</a> (splitter!), Hulk, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Jessica_Drew_%28Earth-616%29">Spider-Woman</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Tanarus">Tanarus</a> and Thor.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Things… they went bad fairly early on. Namor carried Emma to just under a cliff where they could try and hit Spider-Woman… who turned out to be hiding. Thor started flinging his hammer most of the way across the board while Tanarus was able to snipe from what was my starting area. Tanarus smacked Namor to the middle of the map and almost to death. Bishop decided to teleport over to Thor and block him from making any more ranged attacks. The Hulk picked up a random object (a rare underwater desk) and beat Longshot up with it. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Gameplay stopped as there was a shout of triumph at another table. Cyclops had knocked out Captain America! Bonus points for us!.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Gambit managed to penetrate The Hulk. What? There’s nothing filthy about that, penetrating damage goes through thick skin… I’ve no idea what you were thinking about. Beast killed Namor before he could heal, the Hulk healed his damage and Emma fell to Tanarus. Gambit’s sleazy pick-up lines were not enough to stop Spider-Woman kicking his butt. Bishop just about killed Beast and Thor before being surrounded by all the other enemies… Time was called and I put all of my team but Bishop on the table of dead characters. A shameful loss against some tough characters.</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhbS6DEaqV6kwStEQSXaJn4IIAY0N-czgLWKlmDWexeX6bNwnFfTcTidHGwN_YDRPM7jy_iz8D-H9OAhP49gpKNXIdltcX1VbSxomtiiu4GoSCws0d-CdpkygRp8AavKHVW7qzrD4_3aA/s1600/Heroclix+019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhbS6DEaqV6kwStEQSXaJn4IIAY0N-czgLWKlmDWexeX6bNwnFfTcTidHGwN_YDRPM7jy_iz8D-H9OAhP49gpKNXIdltcX1VbSxomtiiu4GoSCws0d-CdpkygRp8AavKHVW7qzrD4_3aA/s320/Heroclix+019.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">GAME THREE</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Back to the beach, I took: Bishop, Husk, Magneto, Psylocke and Shadowcat. I’d missed having the ‘Outwit’ power on Shadowcat, which stops someone’s power for a turn. Psylocke’s mind control power could turn enemies against each other. Magneto was pretty huge so I thought I’d take him along, and Husk was a tougher brick than Sunspot.</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_XME94ThSnAXy16CL8pbQcoFQsOc0W1oWJSwjXSr4ekG7Nng8FJXY1u4Nw9LD6Mh9vaMUYpZRO7mMxHB6obD9jwiBtoM15p_SIPTi3tWSImZzPg6fStvWzJghUog2SoSQ2hyEEUa-_to/s1600/Heroclix+022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_XME94ThSnAXy16CL8pbQcoFQsOc0W1oWJSwjXSr4ekG7Nng8FJXY1u4Nw9LD6Mh9vaMUYpZRO7mMxHB6obD9jwiBtoM15p_SIPTi3tWSImZzPg6fStvWzJghUog2SoSQ2hyEEUa-_to/s320/Heroclix+022.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I fought Ash, a fairly new player. He had a team of: <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Ares_%28Earth-616%29">Ares</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Matthew_Murdock_%28Earth-616%29">Daredevil</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Donald_Blake_%28Earth-616%29">Donald Blake</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Luke_Cage_%28Earth-616%29">Luke Cage</a>, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Marc_Spector_%28Earth-616%29">Moon Knight</a> and <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/May_Parker_%28Earth-982%29">Spider-Girl</a>, who inexplicably was an Avenger despite being an alternate future daughter of Spider-Man. Weird.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Of all the games, this was one of the most frustrating. A melee tangled up everyone in the centre. Husk ripped her skin off and became invulnerable to help her tie up Luke Cage. Ares shot apart Magneto after Daredevil outwitted his invincibility. Psylocke managed to mind control enough of Ash’s forces (mainly Spider-Girl) into punching Moon Knight into paste. It sounded like he had fun powers based on his multiple personalities, but he never got to use them.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Donald Blake tried to heal his team but after picking up the Cyclops Phoenix Shard, Bishop was now poisonous. This meant that at the start of my turn any enemy next to him would suffer damage. Donald had taken one hit and decided to kill himself pushing to heal an ally rather than simply fall at my hand.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And then there was Daredevil. I love his comics, but he was a nightmare. He had a power called ‘super senses’ which meant that when an attack hit a d6 would roll with a 5-6 meaning that the attack actually missed. Daredevil kept passing this roll and avoiding my shots. Worse, he had a special power which made every successful super senses roll hit someone next to him as he deflected my bullets into my own men. I was annoyed, I doggedly went after him and never got a hit in, all while Magneto suffered. I won by a measly 40 points. Husk was essential to tie people up, Shadowcat was unfortunately punched out of usefulness and Bishop was again, my most valuable player.</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvoxxKuha8N1oXgY_qAGFoC7cnndRuAcJCxe5X9OqxIHDhR-3ywEDIYeUW-G521YhDwPKJ57e3dcolX1MSo47VRrKg1fIFt0v41b33ABHjXyU5YffzCLfeIVVoFD0FExcqueHAR7319us/s1600/Heroclix+025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvoxxKuha8N1oXgY_qAGFoC7cnndRuAcJCxe5X9OqxIHDhR-3ywEDIYeUW-G521YhDwPKJ57e3dcolX1MSo47VRrKg1fIFt0v41b33ABHjXyU5YffzCLfeIVVoFD0FExcqueHAR7319us/s320/Heroclix+025.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">GAME FOUR</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Two wins and a loss. I needed to make this count. The words of warning from Matt and Jacob, the organisers, was that things were scarily close between the Avengers and X-Men.</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">My team were: Bishop, Cyclops, Magik, Psylocke, Shadowcat, Sunspot. I almost fielded Husk instead of Cyclops but I really wanted to try the figure out.</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkO_a4yu5v_V-usyFTEx0PKxXIJsmGJaT-ulDBnJjan60IbZfv14CXbgKE6kc5GCdY2lFkDRRvSeHTxTGt4Lds5z3O6lITdwKU2JHex9XHZMVoRUnUwxDryDj3vnoVHMae3Xqffai1BA/s1600/Heroclix+026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkO_a4yu5v_V-usyFTEx0PKxXIJsmGJaT-ulDBnJjan60IbZfv14CXbgKE6kc5GCdY2lFkDRRvSeHTxTGt4Lds5z3O6lITdwKU2JHex9XHZMVoRUnUwxDryDj3vnoVHMae3Xqffai1BA/s320/Heroclix+026.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I was fighting Vince, an old friend since the days of the much-missed Doomtown card game. His team were; Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man, <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Brunnhilde_%28Earth-616%29">Valkyrie</a> and Wolverine. I immediately went for the throat by insulting his love of the Defenders and his choice of putting Valkyrie on the team. He had four of the mandatory characters on the table, all I needed to do was have Magik KO one of them and that would be more points for my team.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We fought in the Utopia Indoor map, having had less success last time. This was an indoors map with some hindering terrain and a massive office in the middle.</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I took my team all in one direction to the right and got cocky. I used Shadowcat to move Cyclops to where he could get a potshot at Wolverine. It worked for a moment and Bishop teleported himself into place for a follow-up shot as I couldn’t let Wolverine go without a lot of damage. The version being played healed a point of damage each turn, so if I dallied then my effort would be for nothing.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As it turned out, that was the high point of the battle. After Valkyrie, Iron Man and Wolverine were all pushed and immobile I sent in Sunspot to tie them up, only to have him beaten down fairly quickly. Psylocke moved into position only to be hit by Spider-Man who was darting around the map. Shadowcat kept using her trick of incapacitating people for free after moving, phasing through Iron Man whenever she moved so that she would always have a free attack on him thanks to her powers shorting his armour out. It wasn’t enough. I managed to beat a few figures down but not knock a single figure down.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Iron Man killed Cyclops in one shot, blasting through walls as he went. My luck fell away with any attempt to force Vince to reroll only giving him BETTER results. That led to Wolverine gutting Psylocke mere seconds after she finally killed Spider-Man. Shadowcat and Psylocke were my last fighters and sadly not enough. I lost my entire force for the first time in the tournament.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">THE RESULTS</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The bonus points for people knocking out named figures were tallied. I’d contributed nothing, or if you wanted to be technical about it, I contributed -200 points to my side by Iron Man killing Magik in the fourth round. The results were added up and by a weird fluke both sides had managed to get exactly 2,000 bonus points in their kills. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">With all of the points of knocked out figures added up, this meant that the Avengers had scores 7,541 points and the X-Men had scored 9,429. The X-Men had won the day!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In overall results, I was placed seventh out of 14 combatants. A decent enough place given my irregularity at playing.</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXC0YCoNIx8E607HFaTP0AR23fxx9qsUYwUeSNYJ1_XhtYy3CJCsTwsx_HuhmRkQe0PKwnwXI-SspjW5FOoahtr6cvZ4V1wxXFIimhr3nJtHrf-1UbXrNk94fB0qvRw8RdLNNttk34Ts/s1600/Heroclix+031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXC0YCoNIx8E607HFaTP0AR23fxx9qsUYwUeSNYJ1_XhtYy3CJCsTwsx_HuhmRkQe0PKwnwXI-SspjW5FOoahtr6cvZ4V1wxXFIimhr3nJtHrf-1UbXrNk94fB0qvRw8RdLNNttk34Ts/s320/Heroclix+031.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The prizes were handed out. At the start of the game everyone received a Phoenix Force resource dial which could be used in future games to bestow little chunks of the Phoenix to people. The Avengers were all given a Namor Phoenix Shard (which gave flight, poison, X-Men, Avengers and Defenders team abilities to the holder). The X-Men were all given a Cyclops Phoenix Shard (which gave flight, poison and ranged combat expert powers to the holder). For winning, the X-Men were all given Namor shards, too. That may provide a bonus to us in the next battles.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The top player and the best X-Men and Avengers players were all given a limited edition <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Nathan_Summers_%28Earth-616%29">Cable</a> miniature. There was a fourth left over which was given to a random player, and that turned out to be me!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So I’ve left the first match on the winning side with a bunch of prizes. A great game, despite bad luck and overextending my forces doing me in on the final game.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh37LOPWVclSdSBcWYYsz9YWQgEkbLNRoPZiJETMABugAA9JB655PoqL7Sd1dd6TjIEK4ghT75m1o0HOnbkyXe0iAPiO-BUJGYxxsDkW0lJSWsVJWX8WOkOMBrVu6P_b9R7lgCQjcAzXvo/s1600/Heroclix+030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh37LOPWVclSdSBcWYYsz9YWQgEkbLNRoPZiJETMABugAA9JB655PoqL7Sd1dd6TjIEK4ghT75m1o0HOnbkyXe0iAPiO-BUJGYxxsDkW0lJSWsVJWX8WOkOMBrVu6P_b9R7lgCQjcAzXvo/s320/Heroclix+030.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The next match will be The Search For Hope in a month. Five shorter matches with 300 point teams all looking for Hope Summers. The X-Men won this fight, but can they keep their success going?</span></span></div>
Charlie E/Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819269599056012384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-81143556219245597772014-01-10T00:24:00.001+00:002014-01-10T00:24:24.855+00:00Avengers Vs X-Men: An Introduction to Heroclix<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In my introduction to Hooting Into The Abyss I announced that I was <a href="http://hootingintotheabyss.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/tale-of-unpainter.html">The Unpainter</a>, a person who didn’t play miniature games, didn’t play
wargames, and didn’t paint miniatures. There is an exception which has
happened in the last year, a miniature game which sounds at first like
it would be anathema to any other Abyss-Hooter on this site.</span></span> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’m talking about Heroclix, a game I have drifted in and out of a couple of times and recently returned to as my local community has been expanding its presence and the scope of its plans. I thought I would write about the four events which will take place monthly in gaming groups worldwide, but in particular the Brighton Heroclix community.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/t_A_-Kn_N8Po-EakOjOZFHcxjlqz3upNemvPzFE48x1cJWZCoviDAzBoZ162SeEuQxflJsJjfYIkGbGUUmaqT9Q=s1600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/t_A_-Kn_N8Po-EakOjOZFHcxjlqz3upNemvPzFE48x1cJWZCoviDAzBoZ162SeEuQxflJsJjfYIkGbGUUmaqT9Q=s1600" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">So what is Heroclix?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Heroclix is the name of a miniature gaming system for skirmish-size battles between two or more teams of generally, but not necessarily superheroes. The main two licenses the game carries are Marvel and DC, however the list of past Heroclix includes; Assassins Creed, Judge Dredd, Halo, Gears of War, Iron Maiden and Pacific Rim.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The system is really quite simple. Each player makes a team, places them on a map made of little inch squares, often replicating things like the Batcave or Columbia from Bioshock Infinite and you knock the snot out of each other. To see The Hulk chasing Batman and Ezio Auditore da Firenzi across a rooftop would normally be the matter for a fanboy’s dreams. Here, it’s a little plastic reality.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Each turn is short, players have an action for every hundred points of characters (so 500 points gives 5 actions) and each character can only be given one. If you move, that’s an action. If you punch or shoot someone, that’s an action. If you have Magneto fling a dumpster across a mall into the face of Captain America, it’s a really satisfying action. Really satisfying. Once your turn is over you’ve got little tokens on some or all of your people. The next turn they keep the actions and have to rest to remove them. Or, if you’re feeling risky, they can damage themselves to do another attack. There’s a whole risk/reward system to taking actions which makes prioritising what you can do and effectively budgeting cool superhero moves more tactical than you’d think. Can you afford to have Hulk headbutt the Juggernaut? What if he misses and is so weakened that the Toad can knock him out in one punch?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/wnJBAw3iCC3ZxkMIWOJBQnoN5fkBGWL58Z47pIVCG7EN_F1Xwci70lxzU4Nn_rkCHRW4wfLwddxLQiHN-dXlEl4=s1600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/wnJBAw3iCC3ZxkMIWOJBQnoN5fkBGWL58Z47pIVCG7EN_F1Xwci70lxzU4Nn_rkCHRW4wfLwddxLQiHN-dXlEl4=s1600" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">What about the miniatures? Are they cool?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">They are the coolest. Over the years the game has been out, the sculpts have been getting prettier and prettier. Look at them, just look at them. Gorgeous. Or if you don’t like Jean Grey in her 1990’s outfit (because who in their right mind would?) you could just paint her up as any other version of the character from her fifty years of existence. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Anyway, they look pretty, and that’s not all. The rules for each miniature are provided on a little card, and on the base of the miniature itself. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/Eu3Bd-dKD-VPCnt452JG8sSGV3Yqkp4HJe0GO46hZZ9IFDqy5eTTKfKX5e0naY9bSwRyaoYy5hb2RZ9qxh4lyg8=s1600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/Eu3Bd-dKD-VPCnt452JG8sSGV3Yqkp4HJe0GO46hZZ9IFDqy5eTTKfKX5e0naY9bSwRyaoYy5hb2RZ9qxh4lyg8=s1600" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Here we have Cyclops. I know he’s a tool, but shut up, he’s awesome. Look at the base and the handy guide I’ve provided to how it looks. There are five basic stats; Speed, Attack, Defence, Damage and Range. To attack you roll 2d6, add your attack and try to beat your enemy’s defence. If you succeed, you inflict the character’s damage on the opponent.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/242MvOYlpN-h0pk7aQ-YvCXmQ-ClPZi4ybz6oZ2voCmafdFLin0WfArNNUF_zhxJRX1ZErHzwV5KNA2BQcOekn4=s1600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/242MvOYlpN-h0pk7aQ-YvCXmQ-ClPZi4ybz6oZ2voCmafdFLin0WfArNNUF_zhxJRX1ZErHzwV5KNA2BQcOekn4=s1600" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It’s not as simple as that though and we'd all be disappointed if it was. Each stat might have a coloured background, meaning there’s a corresponding power in the Powers and Abilities Card (PAC) which tells you that Cyclops is super-determined with his Willpower power (purple on defence), or he can run and gun with Running Shot power (grey on speed). Move is how many squares you move, range is how far you shoot. There are little special powers too, but those all pop up as and when they are needed on a card.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But why’s it called Heroclix? Well, there’s a mechanic which justifies the numbers on the base looking like that. Each character has a certain amount of health and when they’re dealt damage, you rotate the base round. This means the stats change as the game goes on, giving people different powers and combat values as the fight ensues. Some people may want to suffer a little damage; The Hulk in the first set starts off as Bruce Banner, but after a click of damage gets a bit bigger, a bit angrier. Then more damage makes him even bigger and angrier as he Hulks out. At his mid-point, the Hulk is a nightmare of a piece to fight, before he drops back down and then is knocked out. It’s all very elegant and just to continue overusing a word I love in tabletop games, it’s </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">thematic</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. For the most part, miniatures reflect their characters with a great level of accuracy. The movie version of Captain America can choose to have a ranged attack (fling his shield) or defend better against ranged combat (by using the shield as a shield). Spider-Man ignores most terrain as he bounces and swings around the map. Catwoman’s whip trips everyone next to her. It’s glorious and as close to settling those, “who would win, Superman or the Hulk?” arguments that most of us have had.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/K7KXkcOy4IraQhRBs4vVACJ4PwdlJ9eKKExdl9imUpvl4MYyhALgzD_JGN1kKV3MDWzEl3L00wBZj1lN-0ZqHU4=s1600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/K7KXkcOy4IraQhRBs4vVACJ4PwdlJ9eKKExdl9imUpvl4MYyhALgzD_JGN1kKV3MDWzEl3L00wBZj1lN-0ZqHU4=s1600" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Okay, you’ve convinced me, so how do I get Heroclix?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Well, there are several different ways, online is of course the easiest method, but if your local game store is awesome then buy from them instead. I order mine through <a href="http://davescomics.blogspot.co.uk/">Dave’s Comics</a> in Brighton and buy single miniatures online from <a href="http://www.blueratgames.com/">Blue Rat Games</a>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Wizkids Games' official site is <a href="http://heroclix.com/">here</a>, and news on Heroclix tends to be best found <a href="http://www.hcrealms.com/">here</a> or <a href="http://heroclixworld.com/">here</a>. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/CaAoTmEtNUaYKE51n4GEUV3AjZsmlOFNnl1DzTES19afYFH72UVf-MPNGSHWN0a1eThQc588e5d0cKo2x47fVZ4=s1600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/CaAoTmEtNUaYKE51n4GEUV3AjZsmlOFNnl1DzTES19afYFH72UVf-MPNGSHWN0a1eThQc588e5d0cKo2x47fVZ4=s1600" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">You called this Avengers Vs X-Men, what’s that all about?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Marvel Comics have had a lot go on in the history of their comics. In 1980, Jean Grey was possessed by the Phoenix, a force of rebirth and destruction, things didn’t go well. An Avenger called Scarlet Witch went completely mental, wrecked both the X-Men and Avengers, before depowering all but (approximately) 198 mutants and stopping any more from being created. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In 2012, the Phoenix Force made its way towards Earth, specifically towards the only mutant to have been created after Scarlet Witch’s mental breakdown; Hope Summers. The Avengers were warned about it by Wolverine and prepared to capture Hope so that they could contain and destroy the Phoenix. Cyclops and the X-Men thought that Hope could kickstart the mutant gene again and let more mutants into the world. Both sides came to blows in Avengers Vs X-Men, which was an epic brawl. It was daft, but really entertaining.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Wizkids Games have released two starter sets for Heroclix, each containing six heroes. One is for X-Men, one is for Avengers. They contain everything you need to play, and form the backbone of the Avengers Vs X-Men organised play event.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Over the next four months, the Brighton Heroclix community and several other gaming groups all over the world will fracture into two sides to beat the tar out of each other and prove which team is the best.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’ll be with the Brighton group, representing the X-Men, my favourite superheroes since I was a child. I intend on putting up some form of battle report to show you how a Heroclix event works, and the awesome battles that ensue.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/tRSRoD80hK_G9G3V0nuGatUINCSd2qZOMmPgBIYKcv8Pabqtva9wWYuoHhSeFp9d6MV0x3_Ej9MrVBkOFm0cvWM=s1600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/tRSRoD80hK_G9G3V0nuGatUINCSd2qZOMmPgBIYKcv8Pabqtva9wWYuoHhSeFp9d6MV0x3_Ej9MrVBkOFm0cvWM=s1600" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
Charlie E/Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819269599056012384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-27644276280521606702013-12-11T00:38:00.000+00:002013-12-11T00:38:57.731+00:00Dungeon World: Session One<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5ODpLvFpRdRDc0JigYJXoGi7WAOpf1pgRL7zyahFH0s47_POlMO-p6uhDb_489-bLQPmOPYYx7415ZD4tW9kMpD9Sd_PMcgOQklECMK0SmAKjPE41SU_c_B9-DPyqU857ICcEcRV1Ng/s1600/Dungeon+World+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5ODpLvFpRdRDc0JigYJXoGi7WAOpf1pgRL7zyahFH0s47_POlMO-p6uhDb_489-bLQPmOPYYx7415ZD4tW9kMpD9Sd_PMcgOQklECMK0SmAKjPE41SU_c_B9-DPyqU857ICcEcRV1Ng/s320/Dungeon+World+Cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I recently started a campaign of Dungeon World. I thought I’d collect some thoughts about it, as well as a look at the system and the wonderful monsters that are my gaming group.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">First of all, what Dungeon World isn’t</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’ve grown annoyed with “old school” style games as the phrase seems to hand-wave a lot of shoddy design in mechanics, art and setting because that’s apparently what it was like when we were younger. Hackmaster was a fun parody of the mood of those games, but the system was unwieldy in its 4th edition and somehow worse in its newer iteration as it removed the ‘fun’ of the previous one. The Free RPG Day reviews I’ve been writing have been a slog because there are so many ‘old school’ adventures and systems and I can only write “hate” so many times.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">So what is Dungeon World?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Dungeon World takes the <i>feeling</i> of the old games, the fun, wonder an yes, occasional silliness. Then we get some interesting and simple mechanics in the style of modern games like <a href="http://www.faterpg.com/">Fate</a>, which are where my mind’s been at lately.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Dungeon World uses the six basic stats of most d20-based games; Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma, then puts a modifier going from -3 to +3 on each one depending on each score. To make an action you roll 2d6 and add a stat, translated in the system as Roll + Strength, if you’re climbing a rope, for instance. Roll + Bond to call on your bond with someone to help or hinder them. Roll + Dexterity to roll through the blade traps. You get the gist, but it gets so much better from there.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You roll 2d6 + a stat, and if you get a 10 then you succeed. If you get a 7-9 you succeed at a cost. If you roll a 6, you fail miserably but get an XP from the experience. Not just that, but rather than having 100 pages listing all the detailed things skills can do, you simply describe what you’re doing and the GM determines what move you’re using. The key rule to this game is that the narrative comes first. Before anything else, you describe what you are doing and then the GM says if this is an attack, they say if it’s a Charisma roll instead, or an Intelligence, or if you don’t actually need to roll at all.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">There’s more, but I’ll get to that when I describe the session.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCmVFaI6cYVlXkbWtHmt67v4hsBpBID6Ln1gEUnNMSLlBKGxqEdbipG8GHCDAsmTJ8E-zo64AmzVtjkkuU2hyX0XGVemnKstxmOta_qVdlVU78ZBIqZ5VBGLY_ZHvakb1nTA5nYCTg8K4/s1600/Treasure+Chest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCmVFaI6cYVlXkbWtHmt67v4hsBpBID6Ln1gEUnNMSLlBKGxqEdbipG8GHCDAsmTJ8E-zo64AmzVtjkkuU2hyX0XGVemnKstxmOta_qVdlVU78ZBIqZ5VBGLY_ZHvakb1nTA5nYCTg8K4/s320/Treasure+Chest.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A chest of random treasure!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Session One sees my group one man down. My idea for collaborative campaign creation will have to wait until next time. Before then I’ll be using a convention game for Dungeon World written by one of my favourite game designers, Jason Morningstar. He’s best known for Fiasco and Durance, both of which will get covered more on this site soon. His adventure, The Slave Pit of Drazhu is up on the Dungeon World website <a href="http://www.dungeon-world.com/pit-of-drazhu/">here</a> and there <i>will</i> be spoilers in this game report. I recommend it as a good introduction to the game for new players and should only last a few hours. Should. I’ll get into that later.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">First of all, the cast.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Alex</b> is the longest-running regular member of my group. He’s a fan of systems with a good mechanical foundation, so normally that means these games aren't a match for his style of play, but he’s the guy who will know all of the rules and is my go-to guy for discussing how and why a system's mechanics do or don't work.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Shaun</b> is our wildcard, an amazing gamer when he puts his mind to it but easily distracted and some kind of sentient vortex of chaos... and possibly evil.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Lee</b> is my flatmate and best when he doesn’t realise the spotlight is on him. He’s fairly recent to the hobby compared to the others and a little nervous when it comes to story games. Despite all of this, his character in our monthly game is the wonderful, horrible protagonist of the series most recently famous for assassinating a king and leading to millions of deaths.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Jacob </b>is a science teacher and when I’m not running something, he will be. Almost as logical as Alex, he’s got the cruel streak that makes any GM worth their salt and knows when to wreck things for himself and other players in the name of a good story.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We’re missing <b>Steve</b>, a fellow story game person who will inevitably pick, “Bard” out of the character classes and gesture wildly with his hands all the time. <i>All the time</i>.</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Together, we are <b>The In-Fighters</b>. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Character creation is easy as most of it’s handled on character sheets you hand out to the players. Each person picks a class, takes the sheets and follow the instructions. They pick a race, an alignment, circle little options for how they look and either roll or pick fixed statistics for ability scores. We rolled dice for them, as we’re hardcore (okay, we're not hardcore, we just love dice). You pick out starting moves specific to your class, the bonds you have with other player characters and normally gear. I had to tell them that they weren’t starting with any equipment before they started to pick their shopping lists of stuff. They would be starting with ragged clothes instead. Sad times.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In Dungeon World the class starts you off, and then you’re allowed a limited selection of race and alignment choices. Race will give you a little bonus ability and alignment tells you a thing you can do to gain extra experience points (XPs). For instance a human wizard can pick a cleric spell in addition to their wizard ones. A good-aligned wizard can gain an XP by directly aiding another with a spell.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In this game, I asked them a few questions about why they have been caught by the dread lich Drazhu and put to work expanding his underground lair.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Alex created </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Aston Chitwell</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, a young human wizard who was the accountant to Drazhu before offending him and being sent to work in the pit. Her spellbook is held elsewhere in the dungeon, leaving only a couple of tiny spells in her head. She’s seen visions of Brandon Shrike’s freedom, was a member of a magical academy and confuses Cimmerian with her odd (to him) ways.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Shaun made </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Greggor Augustine</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, a lawful human paladin of The One God. He’s about the law more than good and has an oath to defend everyone from the undead. This oath gives him immunity to bladed weapons and he doesn’t need to eat or sleep. To keep these powers, he has to fight without underhanded tactics and is not allowed to let anything evil live. He was on a quest to kill Drazhu.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Lee made </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Brandon Shrike</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, a neutral human ranger with his loyal wolf, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Fang</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. Brandon thought he lost his brother when they were younger, but he’s the lich lord Drazhu. Whether that means any of Brandon’s brother is still in there is yet to be seen.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jacob created </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Cimmerian</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, a barbarian in the eyes of the locals. The Barbarian is a <a href="https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3269630/Barbarian.pdf">free bonus character class</a>. Their race is ‘outsider’ which means they can be any race they pick, just not one from round these parts. He’s a holy murderer for a death god and Drazhu stole their holy gem. He has enlisted Greggor to help him, although the pair both chose to educate Brandon in the ways of their separate gods.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So we have our setup, we have ideas of who the characters are and a very rough grasp of the system. Now to go to the adventure itself…</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRnFpvSQQC_K0BRjXruNtIvcySJGP3ZDsiIO52kK4cDqNXLY_8teHgHoxouAAn0bCjoTbK5MRO5u43cHz8SOElBPpA3VkElcsxjJaTXTKOSvrHlGbe4kG32EEPBqOz_WCt4rJ0oxt4uk/s1600/Brandon+Bonds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRnFpvSQQC_K0BRjXruNtIvcySJGP3ZDsiIO52kK4cDqNXLY_8teHgHoxouAAn0bCjoTbK5MRO5u43cHz8SOElBPpA3VkElcsxjJaTXTKOSvrHlGbe4kG32EEPBqOz_WCt4rJ0oxt4uk/s320/Brandon+Bonds.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brandon's semi-legible bonds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq23F9enSW2o78wU-cImy4RbtNeux2DFsJ4oklS6C_2OBsr6ipGTK-VHtUZkikXfpxlyioznq-9ECl66mWo038Q8Gya0zDLjuAwvSz5RHjiBGU9Qqi8uELRVk6zWk_P_o8Hjnzl47lchY/s1600/Dungeon+World+Goblins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq23F9enSW2o78wU-cImy4RbtNeux2DFsJ4oklS6C_2OBsr6ipGTK-VHtUZkikXfpxlyioznq-9ECl66mWo038Q8Gya0zDLjuAwvSz5RHjiBGU9Qqi8uELRVk6zWk_P_o8Hjnzl47lchY/s320/Dungeon+World+Goblins.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>
<br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We have our setup for the adventure. Aston, Greggor, Brandon and Cimmerian have been captured by the lich lord Drazhu, who is a total jerkwad. Seriously, it says, “Dickish” on his stat block. Brandon’s wolf hasn’t been seen in days, no one has any of their equipment.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The adventure itself started in the tunnel the slaves have been shut into. There are barred gates keeping them from the two ways out. One leads to the place the orc slavers come from and the other is where the slaves who talk back are taken to, only known as The Killing Pit. The action began with an earthquake which shook the bars on the gates loose. The goblin taskmaster fled, calling for reinforcements from the room with the slavers.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">Now there’s no initiative in Dungeon World so the first time action breaks out, there’s no ‘battle mode’ initiated. I simply say that they can see the goblin taskmaster running and calling for the alarm and ask what they do. Things resolve when people react.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Greggor and Brandon chased down the taskmaster, Aston tried to levitate a stone and Cimmerian watched the situation at hand. Brandon got stuck in the warped bars and had to be freed by Cimmerian who had managed to find a shoring timber. Little would they know that the acquisition of the timber would be one of the most important times in their lives.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The taskmaster and his orc bodyguards were dispatched quickly, but an aftershock caused a cave-in, blocking the group from going that way. They could only get out through The Killing Pit. It was dark, the floor was slick, and it had a giant hole on one edge. Most of the group went slowly, but Greggor stormed ahead, as is the wont of a paladin. A twenty-foot tall spider crept around them. It shot a web at Greggor and sank its venomous fangs into him.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">Back to the system for a moment, the spider has a few character traits and instincts. Monster creation is very simple and in this case it was already statted out for me. The GM doesn’t roll any dice in this game. I’ll say that again, the GM does not roll any dice. The players roll to ‘defy danger’, I tell them how much damage to roll for. Where a player move might be, “Hack & Slash”, a GM move might be, “Deal Damage” but it should only be done when narratively relevant. Greggor’s player failed to spot the thing sneaking around in the dark, so I had narrative permission to have the spider poison him.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">There was a special move in here and special moves can be pretty rad. This one made the player Roll + Constitution. On a 10+ he wouldn't be affected, on a 7-9 he could pick two of the following; “You are not paralysed”, “You are not deal a lot of damage”, “You aren't debilitated”. Note the wording, as there’s a relationship between statement and non-statement. So Greggor was paralysed and debilitated. He was frozen in place and needed an anti-toxin.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The group did their best to stay on the slippery ledge and fight the spider who was jumping around and attempting to web up other people. After a couple of attacks with what little equipment the group had, Cimmerian used the shoring timber to pole vault through the back of the spider, smashing it to pieces with his feet.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">Cimmerian is a barbarian, he has a d10 damage dice, so every time he can justify doing damage, whether it’s with a sword, the body of a fallen enemy or himself flung through the air, he does a d10 damage. For being a barbarian, he also makes any weapon he wields (including himself) have the messy and forceful tags. These are narrative cues mainly. Forceful attacks knock things around and messy ones make chunks.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So… chunks. The spider exploded everywhere and the group looted the room a little. The ranger found a sword which glowed, the wizard found a pouch of money and there was a healing potion which was used as an anti-toxin on the paladin so that he could move. The next problem was how to move on. The group had a map which showed a fallen bridge ahead. They could see spider webs and vines, as well as a supposedly bottomless pit. The vines started to lash out at the heroes and slash away with barbed thorns. Greggor and Brandon were both hit and looked like they would be knocked into the abyss. Brandon was hanging by his hands gripped onto the killer vines. Greggor was held up by his feet and nothing else. They both started to clamber back up. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">Greggor’s player, Shaun, said that he wanted to use the vines to get up. I told him that death was on the table. As ever, he had to defy danger using his weakened Dexterity. If he rolled a 10+ he would be safe. If he rolled a 7-9 then he would get back at a cost. If he rolled a six… well… he found out.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The paladin’s body fell into the darkness, where it was dashed against a jagged chasm which was covered in slithering assassin vines which feasted on his carcass. Aston and Cimmerian were looking for ways across while this happened and Brandon had managed to clamber over to the other side where he found a wizened old goblin crone. She jammed her knife into his gut before he was able to get an attack in.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Aston and Cimmerian found a couple of interesting items, more money and a cursed chain (the holy chain of his people, Cimmerian insisted), then decided to start making their way across the chasm. Cimmerian climbed across and Aston calculated how to use the shoring timber and momentum to catapult herself across. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">Despite having a ‘light’ system, Dungeon World actually provides mechanics for gaming elements which old school D&D didn’t have. Making camp, having a party in a local tavern, and death. Oh yes, death has mechanics. You Roll + Nothing, so just 2d6, and if you get a 10+ you escape from Death’s embrace. If you don’t… well, this time Shaun rolled between 7 and 9.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Greggor felt himself being poured down a river of magma, skeletons around him, some reaching out to grasp onto anything which could help them escape from their certain doom. At the end of the river was a giant blackened skull which consumed everything from the river. Death itself followed Greggor along the path. It asked him for a favour, to kill Good King Theodore of Wall. Greggor agreed and was returned to life.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">As a non-system aside, I had my players other than Shaun write down bargains with Death and I took my favourite as the one to use. I think this is a technique I’ll use again. It was great fun and had the players do things during a one-player scene.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Greggor breathed once more. He was being lifted by the killer vines and could hear a wolf in the distance. It was Fang, the ranger’s companion! Above him was the working bridge, guarded by orcs who were mocking the caged animal. Greggor arrived and threatened the pair. They fled and he chased them into a trapped chamber. The room locked shut and zombies started to rain on them all from above. Greggor told the orcs that if they worked together then they could have an honest fight afterwards. His oath was that he would never use underhanded tactics in combat after all, and keeping the oath meant that he could be immune to bladed weapons and never needed food, water or sleep.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">While Greggor fought the zombies, the goblin taskmaster was easily dispatched by Cimmerian and Brandon. Joined by Aston, the three went into the central chamber where Drazhu was ready to monologue (</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">the players insisted I monologue, so I went full Skeletor-voice for Drazhu). </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Brandon was heartbroken to see the monster his brother had become, but Drazhu didn’t care and unleashed icy talons of death and soul-sucking darkness.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">One of the orcs fighting with Greggor was killed by a stray blast from Drazhu. Greggor grabbed an obsidian sword from a nearby statue, killed the zombies and then stabbed the remaining cowardly orc in the back. The orc didn’t entirely die from this backstabbing, but Greggor crushed its head in his hands and lost his paladin’s oath from his attack. Cast out by his god he suddenly felt hunger for the first time in a decade, and exhaustion. And then the icy talons of Drazhu.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The lich floated around, blasting the group until he was finally brought down by them. He was smashed to pieces (</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">the adventure stated that he needed to be killed by a cleric to die forever, so I made a note and he will return one day, the players know this</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">).</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Brandon was devastated by the death of his brother and wept with his newly rescued wolf in his arms. The characters were free, were safe, and could finally take their first steps out of the slave pit, into the sunlight and the world.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">CONCLUSION</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It was almost midnight when we finished the adventure. No one realised what time it was, and it was great that we were able to make our way through to the conclusion. The game lasted longer than expected, but was amazing.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">There were only a few desperate scrabbles for the rules to make sure everything was done right. I don’t think we fell down in our rules usage, but I made sure to avoid most special moves (taking camp, etc) to settle the group into things and then will go further from there as the campaign goes on.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A few notes:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Levelling up looks quick, but I think the system might mitigate that as it goes. You need 7+Current Level amount of experience points to level up. My group reached there mostly through their constant failures. As they level up they should get better at making their rolls and have a slightly larger amount of XP to get before levelling. This should make it slower between levels, otherwise it’ll be a fairly short campaign before they hit the end of their progression.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Printouts are your friend. Alex printed out <a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3269630/dwdotcom/DungeonWorld_character_sheets.pdf">this file</a> which has multiple copies of the basic moves, each of the character sheets, the GM sheet and the Campaign Fronts. I’ll get into the campaign bits later. The players (and I) weren’t familiar enough with the basic moves to play entirely without them. The GM Move Sheet also had information about what you want to be doing as the GM. These include, “Be a fan of the characters” and “refer to the characters, not players”. All great little reminders to cheer on the characters for their stupid and wonderful ideas, and getting the group acting more like their characters than like players moving pieces around a board.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Finally, there’s the “initiative” issue. In a normal d20-based high fantasy roleplaying game everything tends to get split out into slices of six second action. Everyone rolls a dice, adds a number and from highest to lowest take turns to do a thing. In Dungeon World you are presented with a problem and in any order you react accordingly. A giant spider jumps at you from the darkness… what do you do? Despite any thought about how people might lose control and yell, the group rarely talked over each other, they reacted quickly and instinctively to the threats and improvised to suit the strengths of their characters. It felt like the only effect we had was a regained focus. Normally people have a minute of action and have to wait until they can do something. When they are attacked, they can’t do anything but take damage depending on what the GM rolls. This time everyone’s involved at the same time, everyone’s acting or waiting for an opportunity to act. The ‘chaos’ of a system with no initiative actually brings more order and more involvement into an RPG.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This has been a brief look at my first session. I’ll be continuing to write up the campaign here, pointing out extra mechanics as they appear. Next session we’re going to have some world-building and a new party member.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In addition to my game reports I’ve set up an Obsidian Portal page for this campaign which you can find <a href="https://dw-leviathan.obsidianportal.com/">here</a>.</span></span></div>
Charlie E/Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819269599056012384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-11735194417046853102013-11-07T07:39:00.003+00:002013-11-07T07:39:48.844+00:00Zombie Dice Review<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">A dice-risking game about eating the most brains, for two or more people.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdRmLxdM18zvZzYGigi9xQxVNOm0D3dFUL22beXqj1zazqPdUNHwUEYf9eFj1reGXfUxNSg50i1P4tW_kgNuhkdU1ZHvjNTk5oFLTC1Z9E7OoKag5jGrZxgEy23gYWUGFvP10JUaOdDOU/s1600/Zombie+Dice.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdRmLxdM18zvZzYGigi9xQxVNOm0D3dFUL22beXqj1zazqPdUNHwUEYf9eFj1reGXfUxNSg50i1P4tW_kgNuhkdU1ZHvjNTk5oFLTC1Z9E7OoKag5jGrZxgEy23gYWUGFvP10JUaOdDOU/s320/Zombie+Dice.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Zombies are pretty much over as a thing now, right? The zeitgeist peaked a few years ago and now a game with zombies in have to be pretty damn good to get anyone’s attention. Last Night on Earth is thematically interesting but really imbalanced and not towards any particular side. Zombies!!! is a good occupier of time but not a very good game. Zombie Dice is thematically very light, but that might be its saving grace.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In Zombie Dice each player is a zombie trying to chase survivors who are represented by six-sided dice. The first one to munch on thirteen brains is the winner. Although really you’re all zombies, so you kind of lost at life already. It’s still a win in their books, I guess. It’s also a good time to practice your zombie noises, which I’m sure will be essential in the Unlikely But Inevitable Zombie Apocalypse.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The contents of Zombie Dice are thirteen six-sided dice, a rules booklet and the short cardboard pot they’re all contained in. Compared to board and card games it sticks out from the collection, but don’t throw away the pot, it’s necessary. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Each turn the active player shakes the tube and blindly draws three dice, they roll them and separate the results into brains, feet or shotgun blasts. You roll again, taking any feet dice you have and adding more from the pot to make three dice. If you choose to stop, you score every brain dice you’ve rolled so far. The thing is, get a total of three shotgun blasts and every brain you’ve rolled so far is gone, your turn is over and you score nothing. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So far so simple, but why the blind-drawing from the tub? Well, there are three colours of dice in the pot; red, yellow and green. The red dice have more shotgun blasts and green have more brains. The yellow are pretty average. This helps you predict what’s left in the pot to draw from.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As example turn goes as such:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You draw three dice from the pot, two red and a yellow dice. Damn. You roll them and get a single kablam on a red dice, and feet on the red and yellow. You scored nothing, so you may as well roll again because you’ve got nothing to lose. The red and yellow dice with the feet on have one more added from the pot. It’s green! You roll all three and get three brains! It’s not likely, but not impossible. With one shotgun blast and three brains, you decide that you’ve got most of the bad dice out of the way, why not roll another? But should you? The smart decision might be to bank the points and walk safely away with your three points, but your in last place so you let ambition get ahead of you. Two of the dice need to show up as shotgun blasts this time, so the odds may be in your favour if you draw well. There are five more green dice in the pot after all. What do you do? It’s a tough call. When I was in this position I drew a red and two yellows. Three shotgun blasts and all my points for the round were rendered worthless.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This is a very fast and simple game, but the use of risk and reward can make things tense as people eye up the pot, hoping they made the right choice and fate smiles on them. It’s also loud. Sure the people are loud but that might be group-specific with brain-eating noises and yells of excitement or disappointment with the dice rolls, but I mean the actual game. The dice clatter loudly in the pot, satisfying unless you’re a nearby family dog or a person who’s not joining in. I think the noise actually helps get people animated. I still remember the game designer saying to me that rolling dice = fun, so rolling more dice = more fun. Hence Zombie Dice, I guess. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Zombie Dice is so thematically light that you don’t need to give a toss about zombies to enjoy yourself with the game. I view this as a great gateway game for people who aren’t used to mechanically heavier games. It’s also a good start for an evening of gaming to get people in the dice-rolling mood, all excitable and ready for when the other players turn up.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
Charlie E/Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819269599056012384noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-66041456120874166472013-10-18T12:33:00.003+01:002013-10-18T12:33:28.423+01:00WHW WeekenderA quick Hoot just to shout out and say this weekend is the biannual Warhammer World trip for me and my fellow bloggers. Not much to report now other than we are very excited, there will be photos and reports post this event.<br />
<br />
Good Gaming.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09685907228588076756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-73462132845119907542013-10-11T21:28:00.000+01:002013-10-11T21:28:03.855+01:00Preparing a Chaos Team for a Blood Bowl TournamentA number of people I play Blood Bowl with in an online league have decided to get together and have a live game of tabletop Blood Bowl. There are six coaches and I am using this as a chance to debut my all beasts Chaos team, with no Chaos Warriors. I have played tabletop blood bowl before but this is the first multi game tournament of any kind I will have played in.<br />
<br />
I managed to pick up a second hand 3rd edition Chaos team for around 11 pounds, which provided eight of the beastmen i needed (plus three spare Warriors). I also managed to pick up a Minotaur and three other unused Beasties.<br />
<br />
Picture Miniatures<br />
<br />
The Chaos team had been painted previously so I went through the process of stripping paint from these models. For this task I used Dettol, which is something I have done in the past. I put the miniatures to be stripped in a plastic container that was surplus and left them for over 24 hours.<br />
<br />
Picture Miniature in Dettol<br />
<br />
After 24 hours I went, with a medium toothbrush, and scrubbed the paint off the miniatures. After the amount of time it came off very easily. I also used my fingers (in gloves) and toothpicks to get left over paint in the recesses. These were quickly rinsed in the Dettol, and rinsed in neat Dettol to clear completely before being allowed to dry<br />
<br />
After drying I soaked the miniatures in soapy water (use dishwashing liquid) to breakdown the Dettol. Ensure the paint is off as if you put it back into water it will go claggy and stick. A final rinse in clean water was all tha was needed.<br />
<br />
I then assembled those requiring assembly and have undercoated the miniatures and added numbers to the bases. As the tournament is with friends I will be able to play with undercoated miniatures. I plan on painting them before the next meet.<br />
<br />
Picture ready for the games<br />
<br />
Now the tournament is tomorrow, my list has a Minotaur and 11 Beastmen and I get a chance to see how the team goes. Report and photos to follow.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09685907228588076756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-90835768103820031012013-09-29T11:41:00.004+01:002013-09-29T11:41:52.735+01:00Pumped Level High: Preparation for a Nerdvana Weekend at WHWSo a couple a times a year a large percentage of the bloggers who post on this blog have a weekend away at Warhammer World in Nottingham. We have been doing this for the last few years and the gaming and copious drinking and the company make for a great weekend. The next weekend away is planned for the 19th and 20th of October.<br />
<br />
Over the next few weeks I will be using the blog to post what I am preparing for this weekend and using it to motivate myself as well.<br />
<br />
I also have a small maiden tabletop Blood Bowl tournament i am participating in which I have collected a chaos beastman team to play in. I will detail what I am doing in preparation for that as well.<br />
<br />
To finish this post lets state, Geek levels are high, rulebooks are to be read and strategies formed. For the Emperor!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09685907228588076756noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-11241992429384138022013-08-22T08:00:00.000+01:002013-08-22T08:00:09.020+01:00Free RPG Day Reviews - Part Two<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKv_0OkXZI1OivKBOv4S1MLL_ZnxASyVq92gDYZnKHsjjsXEKKTx3Irj8b3o1zJXw5gxgZwFqVcbyxwLGDbRbfTmhxub6xs4C5lRKj2Li8mDy-aJwiFJ2eUaOLu33QlLOtJEM4DWss-sk/s1600/Free+RPG+Day+02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKv_0OkXZI1OivKBOv4S1MLL_ZnxASyVq92gDYZnKHsjjsXEKKTx3Irj8b3o1zJXw5gxgZwFqVcbyxwLGDbRbfTmhxub6xs4C5lRKj2Li8mDy-aJwiFJ2eUaOLu33QlLOtJEM4DWss-sk/s320/Free+RPG+Day+02.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It’s been a little while. I’ve been busy and easily distracted, but I’m here now, with more reviews of RPG releases from this year’s Free RPG Day</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In part one of the <a href="http://hootingintotheabyss.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/free-rpg-day-reviews-part-one.html">Free RPG Day reviews</a>, I looked at the first five products in my bulging pile of free games. There was a fun dice tower to play with, an interesting adventure in the free Shadowrun rules, a really fun looking little sci-fi game, a beautiful Star Wars RPG and an ugly mess of a retro-style RPG.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This time I’m looking at the middle five of the selection of free games, which is proving to be a retro-clone-fest.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">FROG GOD GAMES - SWORDS & WIZARDRY: HALL OF BONES</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Another retro-clone, this adventure is for the Swords & Wizardry system which is free at the <a href="http://www.talesofthefroggod.com/">Frog God</a> website which is a nice touch. It means that the rules are briefly touched on in the book, along with an adventure and premade characters, but you can go online, download the rules and make your own characters anyway. Having not heard of Swords & Wizardry before, linking to your free game from this booklet is a nice touch for getting your voice heard. The rules system looks exactly like first edition D&D from the brief look here. Taking up more space in the book is a primer on old school gaming. It’s… It’s a rant, a long rant which feels alienating to someone who’s not really been there. A lot of talk in the primer is about what a roleplaying game should and shouldn’t do. Rather than set the tone of the game, it feels judgemental and bitter. There are a couple of points I agree with, but don’t tell us why other games are bad, tell us why you are good.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Does it look good?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: The maps in the centre of the book are fairly standard and the art for the premade characters are nice. There’s not much art aside from those pieces, just monsters and special items.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Does it read well?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Aside from the bitter ranting in the primer, there are a few times in the adventure where the writer breaks off and talks to the reader about nostalgic jokes. As a GM, I’m fine with the rules and setting fluff taking a casual tone, but adventures should be all business.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">How accessible is it?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: You will need to use the downloadable rules if you want to do anything complex, but basic actions can be handled with what information is in the book</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You can buy this module <a href="http://www.talesofthefroggod.com/hob.html">here</a> for $4.99 as a pdf or $8.99 as a print copy.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">GOODMAN GAMES - DUNGEON CRAWL CLASSICS: THE 13TH SKULL</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The series of “Dungeon Crawl Classics” adventures have been going for years, using the Open Game License (OGL) to bring old-school adventures which are compatible with any d20 System or OGL games. The system presented in this adventure looks like it’s DCC’s own since the last time I read it, although the statistics in this book could translate fairly easily into d20, which I assume was intentional. There are no rules with this adventure and no visible free preview rules on their site. The adventure is a short dungeon bash where the players try to rescue a princess. A lot of the ideas capture the old-school tone but don’t appear to muddy the system to capture the era’s style.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Does it look good?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: The art is sketchy and rough. Like my look at Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls, my guess is that this is the intended effect. Unfortunately it makes the better art look unfinished and the worse art painful to the eyes. The map is really interesting-looking. It keeps the sketchy appearance and is initially confusing but I like its style.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Does it read well?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Compared to the other retro games it keeps things legible. There are little pieces of advice for things to prepare like index cards with rumours on. I like the table for a chaotic changeling which could have at any one time the head of a goat, legs of an ostrich, body of a bear and tail of a peacock. Now there’s a fun enemy. Personally, I don’t like dungeon crawls, but it reads nicely, with the ideas of old school games but little clunk.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">How accessible is it?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: You can’t play it just with the book. You need the DCC RPG, which I haven’t found demo rules for. I do believe you could use Pathfinder or D&D 3.5 to run it with little bother.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You can buy the PDF of this module for $9.99 <a href="http://www.goodman-games.com/5071preview.html">here</a>.</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">GOODMAN GAMES - DUNGEON CRAWL CLASSICS: THE IMPERISHABLE SORCERESS/XCRAWL: THE 2013 STUDIO CITY XCRAWL</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This module, also from Goodman Games, presents a short adventure for both DCC and Xcrawl (powered by Pathfinder). The Imperishable Sorceress finds an ancestor of the players haunting the group, a strange race of insectoid ‘Builders’ and false people. XCrawl is an adventure using Pathfinder as a rules-placeholder until the Maximum XCrawl rulebook comes out. Think Running Man meets Dungeons & Dragons. In a grim & gritty future, all the high fantasy tropes exist and go through lethal dungeons for money. There are a few interesting ideas like people to ‘tag’ for bonuses, a time-out area where you’re safe but disqualified, rival teams and a green room as the starting area.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Does it look good?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Much like The 13th Skull, the Dungeon Crawl Classics art is sketchy but the map is impressive (and more legible than the 13th Skull map). Xcrawl is similar, and as a preview look at the setting, maybe there should have been more images to help get the audience in the mindset for the world.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Does it read well?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Yes. With little space for two adventures, each room is interesting compared to the classic, “this room has a 50% chance of containing 1d4 kobolds”.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">How accessible is it?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Like The 13th Skull, either the Dungeon Crawl Classics core rules or OGL would be useful for the first adventure. Pathfinder is needed for Xcrawl and has its own free rules online.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You can download the characters for this module <a href="http://www.goodman-games.com/FRPGD13preview.html">here</a>, but not the module itself.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">LAMENTATIONS OF THE FLAME PRINCESS: BETTER THAN ANY MAN</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">An adventure reportedly for old school gamers who like their worlds grim, dark and deadly. A cadre of seven magical women and their strange demons have taken over a town. They took away the weapons, cast out the military and the church. A Swiss army are coming to take the land back and probably wipe everything out. The adventure isn’t necessarily about stopping or supporting that, but presents a rich land of adventure until the army comes.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Does it look good?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: The book is smaller than the other releases with a woman and her pet tentacled thing on the cover. The cover has colour maps on the inside and is loose so you don’t need to pluck staples out. This is good and bad as I’ve almost lost the cover to the book a few times. Inside the book is dense with an easy layout to navigate and several maps. This does not look like a free product.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Does it read well?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Not really. Not whenever the author inserts themselves into the narration. It starts by telling you about how it aims to alienate and offend. That put me off it right away. The thing is, it’s really good sometimes, when it’s not trying to be controversial. There’s a brief look at the overall events, the descriptions of these seven magical women and their beasts, then a location guide with plot hooks, a rumour table with more hooks, a random encounter table with yet more and so on. It’s filled with so many interesting little places to go and events to have. The way the random encounters are described is far more interesting than the “you find 1d4 kobolds”. But then there’s a lack of direction in this open world, despite all these goodies to play with. It’s ripe for stealing hooks from, but might be a struggle to run on its own.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">How accessible is it?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: The book makes itself clear on page one that it’s not here to give you a basic system, an introduction to the world or help with pretty much anything. There are scenes which might drive people away, such as having to perform specific sexual acts to each other or randoms in return for one of the Seven to give hints which feels a bit unnecessary and out there to shock.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Lamentations of the Flame Princess: Better Than Any Man may have even been banned in some stores during Free RPG Day, but it’s available to one and all <a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/116452/Better-Than-Any-Man">here</a> on a 'pay what you want' basis. The RPG’s core rules are able to be downloaded for free at the Lamentations of the Fire Princess <a href="http://www.lotfp.com/RPG/">website</a>.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">LOUIS PORTER JR DESIGN - TEMPLE OF THE FORBIDDEN GOD</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A mage summons the players to help a savage giant ape-like race who have found the body of one of their kind having drifted down from a forbidden territory. The adventurers must brave this strange land and the many random tables of encounters it provides in order to enter a dungeon like all those which d20 players have faced since the system started. This time however, it’s because of the threat of a god they likely will not know about unless they’re already invested in this setting. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Does it look good?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: The cover looks nice. In looking for links and free PDFs for each game on this list, I saw that there are a lot of covers with this similar design in the “Neoexodus” line. It’s stylistic enough to know what it’s about from the art. There are only a handful of pieces of art inside, some uninteresting maps and an awesome picture of a drow riding a giant tiger-looking thing (not featured in the game). </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Does it read well?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Not really. It’s pretty much every single d20 System game since D&D Third Edition came out. Part of this is due to trying to tell a whole adventure in 16 pages. There is a primer to the setting which is 100% necessary for understanding the motivations of the player characters, but the players are unlikely to see this or care. The middle is mostly a selection of tables referring to the main Pathfinder books and a few stat blocks which are included, then the dungeon at the end feels just like any dungeon but with an ‘Aztec jungle’ reskinning. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">How accessible is it?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: If you know d20 games, then it’s really easy to understand. I forgot how awful these kinds of short adventures looked as I’d given up on d20 about eight years ago. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">There is a free prelude to this adventure available here. I have not been able to find the free copy of this adventure. It might become available in the future or be really well hidden. If you can find them, please post a link in the comments. The setting information can be found for free <a href="http://lpjdesign.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=86539">here</a>, and <a href="http://lpjdesign.rpgnow.com/product/107698/NeoExodus-Legacies-Campaign-Setting-%28PFRPG%29?cPath=1308_4217">here</a>.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Next time we visit more retro clones, one of my favourite authors and a conclusion about which of these games I’ll run, which will be mined for information, which I’ll keep just to read and which will be burned (or tactfully hidden in my increasing eBay pile and forgotten about).</span></span></div>
Charlie E/Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819269599056012384noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-74791859301932371962013-07-24T10:00:00.000+01:002013-07-24T10:00:07.647+01:00A Tale of VIII Painters: Ray Part 6 - Dystopian Wars<i>Dystopian Wars </i>is a game I <a href="http://hootingintotheabyss.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/britannia-rules-waves-introduction-to.html">dearly love</a>, with visually interesting models and a great theme - its factions span the usual world powers that one would expect from a steampunk game (with some unusual additions like Australia, Canada, Poland and Belgium among others) but also include among their number the Covenant of Antarctica - possibly the most interesting in flavour terms. Within the setting, they represent an alliance of scientists who initially discovered the super-technology that started the world war, and now try to make amends by waging a campaign against everyone else - fighting to try and restore peace. It's a fairly standard kind of sci-fi set up but one which stands out in a game that's mostly alternate history.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a name='more'></a><div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In game terms, the Antarcticans are supposed to be the most advanced faction, shown by their use of force fields on most ships, teleporters, laser weapons and "Particle Accelerators" which function in-game as railguns that can penetrate multiple targets with a single shot. The designs are aesthetically much less industrial than most, with <i>Bioshock-</i>esque art nouveau stylings and a heavy reliance on submarine-like designs. As a result I wanted a much more showy and extravagant colour scheme - my other two fleets were more utilitarian or militaristic. For my Russian fleet I had picked blue-grey with gold detailing as a kind of midway point between ostentation and function, while for the Japanese ships I had dark green with silver detailing heavily washed with black ink to look greasy and weathered.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcK9FDawVAYQQAhMERbyDYlugxCYKXqWVWVs0eb-QxumLr_O1F8Z29xUYl_N5SqGapJKSgBqgzK223bi2-7wsOUk6Soqy0wOp6Lr05-9a3HEaW3KDJeme6x2G1ikouIiRMRLkVMeGTsqs/s1600/IMG_4146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcK9FDawVAYQQAhMERbyDYlugxCYKXqWVWVs0eb-QxumLr_O1F8Z29xUYl_N5SqGapJKSgBqgzK223bi2-7wsOUk6Soqy0wOp6Lr05-9a3HEaW3KDJeme6x2G1ikouIiRMRLkVMeGTsqs/s320/IMG_4146.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-927TS-8M1O1sMlZajib5f8MGZhpowcxFLoCRqrpoxUrveDT4XBKdlbmsczQvD4mn4sD0xRIuFslrN4hqMR22HqWgezFjEj9xGjvMH9E4uvtTqLc8xyI5f2h2maP2XS1I6DwlVO4CV0/s1600/IMG_4147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-927TS-8M1O1sMlZajib5f8MGZhpowcxFLoCRqrpoxUrveDT4XBKdlbmsczQvD4mn4sD0xRIuFslrN4hqMR22HqWgezFjEj9xGjvMH9E4uvtTqLc8xyI5f2h2maP2XS1I6DwlVO4CV0/s320/IMG_4147.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jx5CDhW7YkwSYttNVS_98bQ5gUDkZP3ywYL0154TDNfhmBHC3nmAcdCspUe9fP155KfICkCkTm7Af_DehI8UMo_-4KzmZjw1rpBgBK_rojIwjkWpLJg31sEA19GAVDHAAA9RJ-O9i44/s1600/IMG_4149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7jx5CDhW7YkwSYttNVS_98bQ5gUDkZP3ywYL0154TDNfhmBHC3nmAcdCspUe9fP155KfICkCkTm7Af_DehI8UMo_-4KzmZjw1rpBgBK_rojIwjkWpLJg31sEA19GAVDHAAA9RJ-O9i44/s320/IMG_4149.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Antarctica needed to stand out even over the Russians - I could imagine a fleet intended to cause terror and force others into submission completely eschewing camoflauge (what's the point of disguising a ship that can hide underwater, fly, teleport or if all else fails use a forcefield?) - and so I went with red, white and gold.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'd bought the first parts of the fleet - some cruisers, corvettes and a battleship - a while ago, and then put the idea on hold. Now I've returned to the game and am expanding my Antarcticans. My latest purchases have been some destroyers (as yet unpainted), some light airships and a unit of "Support Cruisers" - heavy vessels armed with giant laser cannons and reflectors to increase their power. It is the latter of these that is the focus of this piece - they're really detailed models that gave me the opportunity to modify my unifying scheme a little.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7ugyx4eoQ8ZTeqw98VWf0B9YeLjIZql0UNQZWsQGrzEbzpWa2lXyyVTi3ltRW8KqhTEb2d8xSy13o1XogSDEJCGHZvZYL3RHYaGUtPPPtNZ92RmIqMweZV8Yzxfs5k16ySQNpFyuaq8/s1600/fresnel+02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7ugyx4eoQ8ZTeqw98VWf0B9YeLjIZql0UNQZWsQGrzEbzpWa2lXyyVTi3ltRW8KqhTEb2d8xSy13o1XogSDEJCGHZvZYL3RHYaGUtPPPtNZ92RmIqMweZV8Yzxfs5k16ySQNpFyuaq8/s320/fresnel+02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I began with a black undercoat - most <i>Dystopian Wars </i>models are made of a kind of resin, with metal or resin turrets. 90% of the time this is great and doesn't even need washing. The other 10% of the time (as happened with some of my Japanese cruisers) it won't hold primer and the paint flakes off in massive chunks unless you varnish it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsqqf0l9Bgk6A4VozR9U7ynoFQXo3ps6RMgd5Fj6F4iwb-O4UwkMWxETC7Cxh4VItoWANYZ2mc_v95kMLzKrSdA-uqsSYAybnToU-eOGl1VbmVRyystw2Ti6fWMa1BwVsAH-ol4A7RNnA/s1600/fresnel+05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsqqf0l9Bgk6A4VozR9U7ynoFQXo3ps6RMgd5Fj6F4iwb-O4UwkMWxETC7Cxh4VItoWANYZ2mc_v95kMLzKrSdA-uqsSYAybnToU-eOGl1VbmVRyystw2Ti6fWMa1BwVsAH-ol4A7RNnA/s320/fresnel+05.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The first proper painting step was two thin layers of <i>Khorne Red </i>on the main hull - I left the secondary turret unglued at this point (the primary turret is sculpted onto the model). I also left the engine (which looks like a hydrodynamic screw in keeping with the Antarctican submarine theme) and broadside lasers unpainted.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7q47og2a9joGWq1nPt1xAEasmTs7TyMk3-oth7xhoRFVI05aSRg84VGGYdsaaL2O1y2EvpnRqrsHyiSCP1TXCNo4uJCii48pcMvG0yMQnP5-ie5T0VImdAAQT43RQznWSmpBHakK1Jc0/s1600/fresnel+06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7q47og2a9joGWq1nPt1xAEasmTs7TyMk3-oth7xhoRFVI05aSRg84VGGYdsaaL2O1y2EvpnRqrsHyiSCP1TXCNo4uJCii48pcMvG0yMQnP5-ie5T0VImdAAQT43RQznWSmpBHakK1Jc0/s320/fresnel+06.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxCVSrqm4LjfbaejfGjsbnlOgWV-qCHaVdKeEBPjdetOHLyZPWiHdZRv-OYne2s9Yf0OOPEwkx4LGLR2PIwbXyGTYiNIhT6Uk_3Yvl1xm0k0SzJQ6EaIgcyz_KvApjBFjjDhu0h-xJNDY/s1600/fresnel+07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxCVSrqm4LjfbaejfGjsbnlOgWV-qCHaVdKeEBPjdetOHLyZPWiHdZRv-OYne2s9Yf0OOPEwkx4LGLR2PIwbXyGTYiNIhT6Uk_3Yvl1xm0k0SzJQ6EaIgcyz_KvApjBFjjDhu0h-xJNDY/s320/fresnel+07.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When the red was dry I painted the propellers, turret mounting, funnels and broadside gun mounts with <i>Hashut Copper.</i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMHtWhBqbJkbZWfYqB3Q9I3pRvEH5QqaP3oTVJ9whqbqEsINMKGH0JrqFSFow4P_XS-bRFYFY6nXSI0WZxGAIWIEPqf0VCMMSZbhcG2qGLLl_946Mb0yHm0cqmilI_FrEC9Zr7VPbwuw/s1600/fresnel+08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMHtWhBqbJkbZWfYqB3Q9I3pRvEH5QqaP3oTVJ9whqbqEsINMKGH0JrqFSFow4P_XS-bRFYFY6nXSI0WZxGAIWIEPqf0VCMMSZbhcG2qGLLl_946Mb0yHm0cqmilI_FrEC9Zr7VPbwuw/s320/fresnel+08.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI-MV5phIMV6xiRaMnhtsl22DNPCsNwL_5iGHfm3QWNUJCL0DfyZD3_wx2ZBoCaPfWuRjW6f2QwRwnqGBhj70sRxFuUW3ozZe96RAkt64IM8Flkv0JZQ4SvQ4ptPfGNM68DQhsZxGSQL0/s1600/fresnel+09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI-MV5phIMV6xiRaMnhtsl22DNPCsNwL_5iGHfm3QWNUJCL0DfyZD3_wx2ZBoCaPfWuRjW6f2QwRwnqGBhj70sRxFuUW3ozZe96RAkt64IM8Flkv0JZQ4SvQ4ptPfGNM68DQhsZxGSQL0/s320/fresnel+09.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
All that remained was to paint the deck, for which I used <i>Rakarth Flesh </i>to give an off-white colour that went well with the red. I also painted the small bridge underneath the main turret red at this point.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtlWzN5vGy5HPEFLJl3Aw07GRPgdTbzkaIhH6lBnhKVxw4BYBdtWgqOHXoxTQm2at1BDVglB0W1CowkHUdFCQFD4ptCSH617Py7LADTgj5UXViRthZYjR07VT2Z8rz8Vx4UQwP3yOF_g/s1600/fresnel+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAtlWzN5vGy5HPEFLJl3Aw07GRPgdTbzkaIhH6lBnhKVxw4BYBdtWgqOHXoxTQm2at1BDVglB0W1CowkHUdFCQFD4ptCSH617Py7LADTgj5UXViRthZYjR07VT2Z8rz8Vx4UQwP3yOF_g/s320/fresnel+10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGe-R0b5WtVJ2SGBDRCjcWo-QTmnLc3vi10Jw2yHJO79Ss-1l6KB5Av2RyqXYb-aahoXSB90yNWUaEBtohLNCs2aeh0l4HTu_r2O_U1ZeeDYJpFTCKbBTv4Hj-4g9eGPAMkOC07FPfokk/s1600/fresnel+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGe-R0b5WtVJ2SGBDRCjcWo-QTmnLc3vi10Jw2yHJO79Ss-1l6KB5Av2RyqXYb-aahoXSB90yNWUaEBtohLNCs2aeh0l4HTu_r2O_U1ZeeDYJpFTCKbBTv4Hj-4g9eGPAMkOC07FPfokk/s320/fresnel+11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEWisTzGW1JSy4qsMwvVNI7yJAssjk0ke4JDWvRd0kn3zGtu3mCKhy3dkJACQCLjrti0nUqOPyG0vJkjsUeqTEhKWF4ywIJyeipaftKCXg-EnauB5SeAobg-nsY3FcDHF5FbTBnva7a-A/s1600/fresnel+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEWisTzGW1JSy4qsMwvVNI7yJAssjk0ke4JDWvRd0kn3zGtu3mCKhy3dkJACQCLjrti0nUqOPyG0vJkjsUeqTEhKWF4ywIJyeipaftKCXg-EnauB5SeAobg-nsY3FcDHF5FbTBnva7a-A/s320/fresnel+12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGeLdHLFj7mFobakIzZqRV724hl9UL1ucHSU9xbLpwnYUz3t1cWbQi6ivJiG4uwGE7kWDcdxtdoVnlcOEKaEPjCqMGhUWXJ_zJr0-lTlSZkYIhEcHLw74Rxg8YP8SbfSc18d2r6pYCn-Y/s1600/fresnel+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGeLdHLFj7mFobakIzZqRV724hl9UL1ucHSU9xbLpwnYUz3t1cWbQi6ivJiG4uwGE7kWDcdxtdoVnlcOEKaEPjCqMGhUWXJ_zJr0-lTlSZkYIhEcHLw74Rxg8YP8SbfSc18d2r6pYCn-Y/s320/fresnel+13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The main turret I painted in line with the rest of the ship, the body of it red and the mountings and barrel gold. The turret ring I picked out with <i>Ironbreaker </i>to stand out from the rest of the ship.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At this point I also applied a series of washes to the ship - the red parts were painted with <i>Carroburg Crimson </i>and the gold and cream with <i>Agrax Earthshade. Dystopian Wars </i>models have a lot of fine detail which washing brings out very quickly.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0GCpPB74VmKY2Me1rTFrnLmndInB6XWks_HlKQV0m5icKlx5VHjttwy-Y_aEmPbCRVwnazCjlNVP1Xzj51p8KCOZNGzdhwb-TegX5oyS9L26-BGC1p-Z51QDXG1gNOr30LBrd5v41iis/s1600/fresnel+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0GCpPB74VmKY2Me1rTFrnLmndInB6XWks_HlKQV0m5icKlx5VHjttwy-Y_aEmPbCRVwnazCjlNVP1Xzj51p8KCOZNGzdhwb-TegX5oyS9L26-BGC1p-Z51QDXG1gNOr30LBrd5v41iis/s320/fresnel+14.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizpIKLzXyWjzL51YIv-K5VgXYNrVVs9XHY8ZrjrvSKM57Y8TR90jVaDGVWR8yxe_PDzx4lQM1WA2W5yKSRDlwvh-tbtvfnjweg_sDhAo3xU30eOlKLy9JqyRBmZCptc7pnmkOnmTgvI90/s1600/fresnel+15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizpIKLzXyWjzL51YIv-K5VgXYNrVVs9XHY8ZrjrvSKM57Y8TR90jVaDGVWR8yxe_PDzx4lQM1WA2W5yKSRDlwvh-tbtvfnjweg_sDhAo3xU30eOlKLy9JqyRBmZCptc7pnmkOnmTgvI90/s320/fresnel+15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Finally, I painted the coils on the turret - a basecoat of <i>Hawk Turquoise </i>was coated with a wash of <i>Biel-Tan Green. </i>I have continued this theme across all the turbines and coils on my fleet - it is a simple way of adding a kind of glow effect.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbo7hXDg_adxu6k_GVIzfrK5ZEr0FdW8tqXjBLQEu5ljRzqbpCBoA6SExqi9qHcaPImqcsVWyBfDPoxu4TA7s5FqnYIGnz2zl7bnBzG6HcJjdH1PHDtLPOmYN_WwY_N3jI5TZUpsvo5d8/s1600/fresnel+03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbo7hXDg_adxu6k_GVIzfrK5ZEr0FdW8tqXjBLQEu5ljRzqbpCBoA6SExqi9qHcaPImqcsVWyBfDPoxu4TA7s5FqnYIGnz2zl7bnBzG6HcJjdH1PHDtLPOmYN_WwY_N3jI5TZUpsvo5d8/s320/fresnel+03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0v5WJFhafXPfNKQxg23j036MFQkZ2qFWXy-w4Gj-PpkJVrsZzXqNJCgQZK4HjanM_JM26MNs0UUyzYvs1AJgn73JpXeUzh2HvKza14XkvqmM76vLPO_PVSd5fu0MTNz-vQkEeca7Dxs/s1600/fresnel+04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0v5WJFhafXPfNKQxg23j036MFQkZ2qFWXy-w4Gj-PpkJVrsZzXqNJCgQZK4HjanM_JM26MNs0UUyzYvs1AJgn73JpXeUzh2HvKza14XkvqmM76vLPO_PVSd5fu0MTNz-vQkEeca7Dxs/s320/fresnel+04.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
My next <i>Dystopian Wars </i>update will be when my latest purchase arrives - a Chinese detachment to accompany my Japanese into war.</div>
</div>
Ray Websterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02171852534254987113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-67201064602850249782013-07-24T08:00:00.000+01:002013-07-24T10:24:16.793+01:00Dice!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipBOY2z6JOejwq-dBThkaPk6XpAEK61qRlsglImfS-6K0ZuLKASOFCsr2NzDJimntCpooMMPtr_GKKI1d0JRmD7QFUVF54-0-9-cp72M54r1lLT484kQpzfkgjC3ey5uolE7NHTHIRijo/s1600/Dice+12+20+percentile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipBOY2z6JOejwq-dBThkaPk6XpAEK61qRlsglImfS-6K0ZuLKASOFCsr2NzDJimntCpooMMPtr_GKKI1d0JRmD7QFUVF54-0-9-cp72M54r1lLT484kQpzfkgjC3ey5uolE7NHTHIRijo/s320/Dice+12+20+percentile.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXfQCuWVUZkUrIH-88un-q1dg58AisyTjTFz_4SYJ-KRwCIKOzHJ-zdZo2uQuM8EGBySrBMGQ4mwyq2zQkDDdcPXETe7NXMvty8b_PTlfTU85nYYNFea6p3bNUv9LV0tRoE0k9J5rUgb4/s1600/Dice+12+20+percentile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXfQCuWVUZkUrIH-88un-q1dg58AisyTjTFz_4SYJ-KRwCIKOzHJ-zdZo2uQuM8EGBySrBMGQ4mwyq2zQkDDdcPXETe7NXMvty8b_PTlfTU85nYYNFea6p3bNUv9LV0tRoE0k9J5rUgb4/s320/Dice+12+20+percentile.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRf7cWIlOPBWi1z9NE15bh0prckyc520SkAM3WX_l8Nq56thWQ66B8RY5B_fdAgRtgrSYOxD35qPxRH6EVLx1N33e7fEZUzsnvXe9WqaLFe4NXkekvwzabvQ_g8fUCd41vrqHR3IfK5s/s1600/Dice+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRf7cWIlOPBWi1z9NE15bh0prckyc520SkAM3WX_l8Nq56thWQ66B8RY5B_fdAgRtgrSYOxD35qPxRH6EVLx1N33e7fEZUzsnvXe9WqaLFe4NXkekvwzabvQ_g8fUCd41vrqHR3IfK5s/s320/Dice+01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dice!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Dice! They’re great! They’re lovely little number-generators, each one able to dictate your life or death in a game! Roll them around in your hand and then sling them across the table where they’ll make a little plastic clattering noise! Unless they’re not plastic… there are metal dice, and dice made of fancy stones, or bone! Bone dice! Wow!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Gamers and dice have a very emotional relationship. I once asked a game designer why his system demanded people roll whole handfuls of dice and he explained that players love it. If you roll one dice, it’s okay, but more dice and more often means more of a tactile experience. It draws the attention of players and makes them do more than just check their character sheet to see what they can do. Quite simply: More Dice = More Fun.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">My brother used to have a ‘lucky knee’ he would roll his dice on. Mainly the dice used on his knee was a green translucent d20 with little bits of glitter inside. He believed it would grant him high dice rolls. My old roleplaying group (and some of my current players) believed the dice from the original Heroclix miniatures starter sets to be ‘Devil Dice’ which would almost always roll high. I called my d20, “Playersbane” as it worked against players when I was running a game and against me when I was playing. I lost Playersbane I in my late employer’s grave, Playersbane 2 was eaten by my dog and now I’m up to Playersbane 3.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I realised that I’m going to be talking about roleplaying games a lot here on Hooting into the Abyss. There are several indie games which don’t involve dice, or have a bare minimum interaction with them and as long as the system works well that way then good for them. As a lot of the people looking at this blog either only know dice from miniatures games or classical board games, I thought I’d prepare this handy guide to identifying dice, why they exist and some of the reasons they’re used. I’ve also got some favourite dice which will be listed here.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjKqj1Q3n78CdRZfl2QaI9AqGlBSoVHr-19aKQGnty1bLMDpA-vy8d12c5cQhtPucvPftSYompFVNsDpHaj5LGMSeVXtteny8tKS4jnEp1PpE97OhvxFEOddWTnKiJiOvg57ZecE-pPAo/s1600/Dice+-+4+6+8+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjKqj1Q3n78CdRZfl2QaI9AqGlBSoVHr-19aKQGnty1bLMDpA-vy8d12c5cQhtPucvPftSYompFVNsDpHaj5LGMSeVXtteny8tKS4jnEp1PpE97OhvxFEOddWTnKiJiOvg57ZecE-pPAo/s320/Dice+-+4+6+8+10.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four, Six, Eight and Ten-Sided Dice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Two and Three-Sided Dice (d2, d3)</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">These are not technically real dice, but some games will still use them. Some crazed dice companies have made real dice with 1-2 or 1-3 sides, either experimenting with the shape of the dice or simply renumbering a six-sided dice to fit their sinister ends.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">To replicate a d2, you may as well flip a coin but coins aren’t dice and we’re here to play with dice! Just get any even-sided die and roll that with odds/evens being a result of a one or a two.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">For a d3, you get a six-sided die and use a result of 1-2 as a one, 3-4 as a two and 5-6 as a three. Easy enough.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* The main use of a d2 is as an insult. In systems like Hackmaster, where everything has a ton of arbitrary tables and unnecessary dice rolls, doing 1d2 damage is… well, it’s not dignified. Luckily most games don’t use them </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* In most d20 System games, your punches, kicks and headbutts will do 1d3 damage, if you’re not trained. So a d3 is a slap from someone who’s not been in many fights.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Four-Sided Dice (d4 or “caltrop”)</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">These are possibly some of the easiest dice to identify. They’re like little pyramids pointing upwards, or possibly stuck in your foot if someone’s knocked one off the table and forgotten to pick it up again. Non-gamers, this is a horrible inevitability. They’re not an exact pyramid, as they need four equal sides to roll. Depending on the maker, they’ll have your result either on the top or the bottom of the die, but it’ll be the number that’s visible on every side.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* A d4 is a small weapon in Dungeons & Dragons. A dagger in a rogue’s hands, or maybe a magic missile from a wizard, automatically hitting but not doing much damage.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* A d4 is how healthy a wizard used to be in the old D&D systems. So that dagger from earlier or a weak spell would murder them.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* Comics like Knights of the Dinner Table show the d4 being used in several punishing rituals, such as walking across a hallway filled with them. I am 90% sure this has been done by old school gamers. Those guys were crazy.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* My least favourite use is when it was a substitute for the content of a room in D&D. For instance, “You enter the room and there are 1d4 kobolds.” That’s it. Adventures like The Sunless Citadel filled their dungeons with tons of rooms like that. Where’s the flavour? Where’s the fun? What are they all doing in that room, and why aren’t there toilets in this dungeon?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* If you are building a tower or a little man out of your dice, the d4 has to be the top. Fact.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* My favourite use comes from a game called Spycraft. Each starting character had a pool of three or more Action Dice. They were able to be added to dice rolls before or after they were made to modify them or trigger special effects. I ran this system a lot at conventions and found handing out physical d4’s to be better than just using glass beads or jotting it down on paper, they became a currency and a practical tool. As spies level up in Spycraft, this dice gets bigger, but I keep my spy games fairly low-level as a whole.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Six-Sided Dice (d6 or “Normal Dice”)</span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></b>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The little cubes everyone thinks of when ‘dice’ are mentioned. These are the dice you probably have kicking around your home already. When breaking people into the hobby, or into board games, starting with a game which uses the d6 might make them feel familiar and comfortable. After that, it’s time to break out the d10,000! Yes, there’s a d10,000.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* A d6 might be a slightly better weapon than the lowest kind, such as a shortbow or a short sword. Basically anything short.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* Board games like Arkham Horror use a handful of d6’s depending on your skill, and instead of adding the numbers together you count every 5 or 6 as a success. So a d6 counts as a third of a win against monsters like Cthulhu. RPGs like me recently-reviewed Shotgun Diaries do the same thing, except only a 6 is a success against the zombie horde.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* In the classic West End Games Star Wars RPG you roll a ton of d6’s. You would make a dice pool depending on your physical or mental attributes, your skills, equipment and force powers. I ran a light vs dark side two-player game where the players stalked each other through Tatooine. In between the eerie silence of players communicating only with secret notes, there would be duels using upwards of 20d6. It was joyous madness. I wouldn’t recommend the system as a whole, but the ludicrous nature of it all was a hoot.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* My favourite use for d6’s is in John Wick’s Houses of the Blooded. You make a ‘pool’ of dice depending on various character factors and try to get a result of “10”. Difficult on 2d6 but amazingly easy on 8d6. So you can add extra parts to your success or failure by holding dice back from your pool. By secretly wagering an amount of dice in one hand and rolling another, the risk and reward are far greater. “I hide from the spectre” becomes, “I hide from the spectre and see the dessicated husk of his last victim, and the victim’s holding a scroll with forbidden magic on it.” There will be more on Houses in the Future.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Eight-Sided Dice (d8)</span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></b>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. The d8 is used in most systems which use different dice types, but doesn’t have a system all of its own. Even twelve-sided dice get that. A d8 looks a bit like its sexier cousin, the d10, but with more even, triangular sides.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* In games like D&D the d8 is the cleric dice, representing their health, the damage of a mace, the amount they can heal at lower levels. Showing that it’s still a good supporter but little else.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* It’s a good base for a tower of dice, given their large, flat areas and less-spherical nature than a d12 so it’s not as easy to topple or roll.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Ten-Sided Dice (d10 or “The Dice the Good Games Use”)</span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></b>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The d10 looks a little like the d8, only its sides are in a slight diagonal, its points slightly pointier. It doesn’t roll 100% accurately as a lot of old schoolers will tell you, but I’ve said before that they’re hardcore crazy mofos. There are “true d10’s” which are d20’s with only single digits.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The other problem with the d10 is that the “10” side tends to be reflected with only a “0”, which confuses more new gamers than you’d think. Some introductory RPGs come with 10-siders which include the full “10” result to stop this confusion.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* The Buffy RPG uses a d10, but only players roll it. The narrator doesn’t touch dice as all the drama is supposed to come from the players. They act when they choose to and they react when the narrator chooses. There’s a little chart showing how good of a result the player has rolled and they can narrate accordingly.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* In White Wolf’s World of Darkness game, d10’s are used to make a pool of dice and each rolled result of an 8 counts as a success, each ten allows you to keep that success and roll again. For instance you roll Strength + Brawl to punch someone, which could be 5 dice in total. <a href="http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/1459/Vampire-The-Requiem-Demo-Full?it=1">Try WoD, it's great</a>.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* In Legend of the Five Rings and 7th Sea, there’s a slightly more complex idea which is still fun. You roll an ability (eg; Finesse) and a skill (eg; Rapier) amount of dice but you only keep the ability. What’s left is your result. You keep putting dice in and out of a dice pool, mixed with an early version of John Wick’s wager system from Houses of the Blooded. This time you make the roll more difficult by guessing that you’ll do better at this roll than the target number the narrator sets you. If jumping across that roof requires a 10 or higher and your rolling 6 dice, then keeping the best 3, you could get away with ‘raising’ the difficulty to a 15 for a better result. It creates a nice risk/reward system which is my favourite use of the d10.</span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipBOY2z6JOejwq-dBThkaPk6XpAEK61qRlsglImfS-6K0ZuLKASOFCsr2NzDJimntCpooMMPtr_GKKI1d0JRmD7QFUVF54-0-9-cp72M54r1lLT484kQpzfkgjC3ey5uolE7NHTHIRijo/s1600/Dice+12+20+percentile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipBOY2z6JOejwq-dBThkaPk6XpAEK61qRlsglImfS-6K0ZuLKASOFCsr2NzDJimntCpooMMPtr_GKKI1d0JRmD7QFUVF54-0-9-cp72M54r1lLT484kQpzfkgjC3ey5uolE7NHTHIRijo/s320/Dice+12+20+percentile.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Twelve, Twenty and Percentile Dice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Twelve-Sided Dice (d12, or “Barbarian Dice”)</span></span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The d12 looks like an angular boulder, it clatters across the table without finesse, its large, five-sided faces making a good amount of noise. The twelve-sided dice is less spherical than the d20 and known for pretty much one reason…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* The barbarian. In Dungeons & Dragons, the largest of the weapons use the d12, greataxes, greatswords. The d6 might be the ‘short’ weapon dice, this is the ‘great’ weapon dice. It’s also the dice a barbarian uses to determine their starting health. If you’re playing a barbarian, get rolling that d12, if you’re not, back in the dice bag it goes. Sure there are probably some uses, but the barbarian gets the lion’s share.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* In games like Marvel and Deadlands, people’s abilities go up by the size of the dice, from the pathetic d4 to the mighty d12. This means you might roll a d4 for Intellect and a d12 for Reflexes, so you know what you’re more likely to be able to get a high result with.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* My favourite use sees the d12 get its own game, (unlike the neglected d8). In Steve Jackson Games’ “Pokéthulhu”, delinquent children fight each other using monsters which are a mash-up of Lovecraft’s mythos beasts and the Pokémon. The d12 is used as both a dice to roll, and to represent the angular ball the monsters are kept in. That makes the dice a physical representation and a mechanic. Lovely.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Twenty-Sided Dice (d20, the dice of “d20 System” fame)</span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></b>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">With several triangular faces, the d20 is the most ubiquitous dice in gamer circles. Sure it’s not the mainstream d6 which everyone knows about, but this dice is a geek icon. You’ll see the d20 on t-shirts, used as the icon on several websites, on dice apps and in the name of the most common RPG rules set, the <a href="http://www.d20srd.org/">d20 System</a>.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* The d20’s relationship with gaming was solidified with Dungeons and Dragons, the aged powerhouse of roleplaying. You would roll your old dice (some which had to have their numbers filled in with wax crayons) and that would determine whether your man hit a monster. Advanced Dungeons and Dragons made the complicated THAC0 (To Hit Armour Class Zero) which was a lot more work than its worth, but still has a place in many weird old gamers’ hearts. Finally, the third edition of Dungeons and Dragons created a universal system in an “Open Gaming License”. Suddenly anyone could publish an Open Game License (OGL) game which included Fate, the d20 System and others. The d20 System brand which gave people a logo to stand behind and to entice gamers. It was a great idea which created a glut of awful products, along with a few good ones. In the present there are fewer releases and only a handful of established names from the survivors of the d20 glut. Pathfinder and the Spycraft/Fantasy Craft games, for instance. All of these systems use a d20 plus numbers to achieve a target set by a narrator. Now it’s not just fighting, but anything is dictated by the d20. Running, jumping, lying, gambling. The other dice are used too, but to a much lesser extent. It’s not the d8 System, after all. Those dice are relegated to rolling the amount of health you have or the damage you do. Literally everything else is done with a d20.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* My favourite use doesn’t actually involve the d20 system. It’s in the long-dead Alternity science fiction RPG. In Alternity you roll a d20 as a ‘control dice’ and modify with by adding or subtracting a ‘situation dice’. A low result is best, so rolling a d20 and having to add three more d20s to the roll is a nightmare, as well as a handful.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Percentile Dice (d100 or d%, or “Bubba” for the true d100)</span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></b>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A d100 is another ‘not real’ dice. Kind of. Most people use two ten-sided dice, described in my last article. You nominate one as the tens and one as the units. Some even come with 00 to 90 written on them instead of 0 to 9.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">There are real d100’s though, which look like oversized golf balls filled with… I don’t know, sand or something, to weigh them onto one side. They have a ton of tiny numbers and a plastic outer shell with tiny flat circles to keep it on each rolled number’s side. It’s not practical and it’s barely legible.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* A d100 roll is used in games most often to determine your odds of success in simple percentages. In Dark Heresy, you might have a Pistol skill of 35% and know that 35% of the time you’ll hit. Call of Cthulhu does the same kind of thing.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* Speaking of Call of Cthulhu, my favourite use of the d100 is in this game. It’s all about madness and mysterious unknowable, unpronounceable monsters. You roll a d100 and compare it to your Sanity Points. If you get above your current sanity score, you lose points. Occasionally (rarely) you gain a handful, but life in Call of Cthulhu is reflected by the slow descent of your mental faculties. Asking a group of players to roll for sanity and watching their faces drop is great.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* Another Cthulhu-based point. The only time I’ll generally use Bubba, the giant true d100 I own, is for people suffering 1d100 points of damage and/or sanity loss. I’m a cruel narrator…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;"></span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwV9JoYmRow7KjyNL8tdG0dT2ncpzJWIY_CsI_u4-_sJD3dhi6ozyVrNsZZYmfrZ5KvCoUCSmOCTqxL1N3H0YwXOwVKyvmVQBXZKcbxeH9u7vq22SqK6PBr4MqLW4xKA37G5eLio3Q8QQ/s1600/Dice+Odd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwV9JoYmRow7KjyNL8tdG0dT2ncpzJWIY_CsI_u4-_sJD3dhi6ozyVrNsZZYmfrZ5KvCoUCSmOCTqxL1N3H0YwXOwVKyvmVQBXZKcbxeH9u7vq22SqK6PBr4MqLW4xKA37G5eLio3Q8QQ/s320/Dice+Odd.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some weird dice. I love them, especially the Yes/No Dice.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;"> </span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Thirty-Sided Dice (d30)</span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></b>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’ll have been a roleplayer for 20 years this December and I’ve yet to see a game I want to play which uses a d30. They’re too rarely used for me to even bother having any in my collection. They’re like bigger d20’s, but even less popular than the wishy-washy d8.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Thousand and Ten-Thousand-Sided Dice (d1,000 or d10,000)</span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></b>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">There are crazy people out there, and sometimes they get let near the dice. We love them and fear them. In this case, they’re the people who saw the d% and just kept adding zeroes in case hitting a head wasn’t enough on a hit location table, only hitting the upper half of the left ear would do. Games like Hackmaster 4th Edition, a satire of the strange and unwieldy world of old-school gaming, use these dice for critical hit tables and random encounters. Is there much of a point? No, but it’s a d10,000 and that’s hardcore!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Fate Dice (dF or “Fudge Dice”)</span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></b>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’m not normally a fan of a system which has to use its own dice. Fantasy Flight Games have done this with the new Warhammer Fantasy and Star Wars RPGs. Fate is different. It’s precious. It’s a system I was introduced to by systems which sections of it under the OGL (Houses of the Blooded, Starblazer Adventures, Icons). These games used normal dice and made me susceptible when I heard there was a proper version coming out using 4dF. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Fudge was the name of a system which predated Fate and the dice kept the name until recently, confusing people who came into Fate recently (like me). The master of the <a href="http://www.faterpg.com/">Fate System</a>, Fred Hicks, has started producing his own Fate Dice instead which is great as Fudge dice were really hard to track down.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Fate/Fudge Dice are basic six-sided dice, except that two sides have a plus sign, two have a minus sign and two are completely blank. People playing Fate-powered games have a skill or attribute which already has a numerical and narrative value (a 2 is Fair, a 3 is Good). They roll four Fate dice (4dF) and that nudges their result up or down by -4 to +4. This means that if you are Fair at Shooting, you’re most likely going to remain Fair at shooting when you use your skill, but you could go hideously wrong, or amazingly well. The four dice create a curve of success and failure.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">The Yes/No Dice (aka The Executive Decision Maker)</span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></b>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This is a six-sided die with “Yes” and “No” on three sides each. When people have needed an outside decision-maker, the Yes/No Dice has been invoked. And I don’t just mean in gaming. Sure, in a game a player will sometimes think about doing something awful and let the dice decide. That way they can blame the dice for their behaviour. But no, I’m talking about things like a non-gaming flatmate telling me that she didn’t know whether to go to the pub or the laundrette. I handed her the dice, and in rolling it, she could say that the dice had decided. That’s the wonder and the horror of the dice. In having something else take agency, she was satisfied in going to the pub and less guilt-ridden.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">Novelty Dice</span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></b>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I love strange dice. I have a dice with weather and a dice with a bunch of smiley faces on it. Unlike the other dice which tell you how well or badly a player or narrator did, these can add flavour to a game.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As the narrator, I’ve often rolled the weather dice so I’ve got a random extra narrative factor. The group approach the town and it’s raining. Guards are under a makeshift shelter, merchants are running around covering stalls, children are playing in the mud much to the annoyance of their parents. Or maybe it’s sunny and there are travellers who are picnicking on the roadside, the guards are in lighter armour and crafty merchants are selling cooled water for inflated prices.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The face dice is the same kind of narrative prompt. How are the guards feeling? Maybe they’re happy and let the players through with no fuss. Maybe one of them is pissed off and lets the characters be his outlet for frustration. Maybe one of them feels cheeky and after a prank or two they have either a friend or an enemy.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">These things make a game far better than, “You enter a town.” It adds a sense of place, a sense of investment. Maybe the group love the town and hate the guards, maybe one of them wants to join the guard. All because they had a good or bad experience there. A boring experience might lead to them burning it down and not giving a crap about the story you planned. Ninety percent of the time, bored players equal everything burning down. Otherwise it’s only forty percent.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjufZI8SQHjQeZLvuqAaZ1dwlPO5M6rwPzGR3RJtCkSQyas_425Plm_-zvRQwrdfvrFYkgLTI2pgE-GLV8aHmHgFkl2-5zvODQBEiN6hULYKkOhuNs2YYwJzIoMzx2128llglbHL8SPJ6Y/s1600/Dice+Many+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjufZI8SQHjQeZLvuqAaZ1dwlPO5M6rwPzGR3RJtCkSQyas_425Plm_-zvRQwrdfvrFYkgLTI2pgE-GLV8aHmHgFkl2-5zvODQBEiN6hULYKkOhuNs2YYwJzIoMzx2128llglbHL8SPJ6Y/s320/Dice+Many+01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Conclusion</span></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So to wrap up, dice are amazing things, able to represent a punch, a lap of a race, a bullet, your likelihood of seducing the barmaid or picking the lock before she notices. The main dice people use are the d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20 and d%. If you’re getting into roleplaying and your group hasn’t decided what to do, there are companies who sell sets of one of each of these dice. There are dice bags, if you want to keep your own dice safe or separate from other peoples’.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Some people may insist that they have a lucky dice or that you never touch their dice. These aren’t all gamers with a laundry list of disorders. Some people have had their dice with them when they conquered the Earth, or when they saved it. Maybe when they became king or killed a giant spider. They’re a tool, a weapon, a narrative aid. They add a little bit of randomness in a story you and your friends are telling to each other.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In writing this, I realise that I love the tactile concept of dice and might have to integrate that into my roleplaying more.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Hopefully this has helped non-gamers understand a little of what dice mean to games, what they’re capable of in games and in future articles, what I mean when I say phrases like “4d10” or “dice pool”.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What are your favourite uses of dice? Which dice do you love or hate? I’d like to hear any comments, ideas and foaming dice-based madness in the comments below.</span></span></div>
</div>
Charlie E/Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819269599056012384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-37058235082774714902013-07-23T07:49:00.001+01:002013-08-02T13:39:03.369+01:00The Quiet Year Review<br>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A map-making game about communities, for 2-4 players</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqPfs8NECDdyBceNCBnMBk4iNU_ZKfZTMSiEKS4MgP1B0Mssem2I5t1Ywb13u5ewT5D5wWfUl4aWPZ3wIlYpxkhjZgKaqi95eZ0HzHy96m3_QvktrWTSX8a1TWNdy8839K2hoy5klWyk/s1600/quiet+year+01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCqPfs8NECDdyBceNCBnMBk4iNU_ZKfZTMSiEKS4MgP1B0Mssem2I5t1Ywb13u5ewT5D5wWfUl4aWPZ3wIlYpxkhjZgKaqi95eZ0HzHy96m3_QvktrWTSX8a1TWNdy8839K2hoy5klWyk/s320/quiet+year+01.JPG" width="239"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The game, the reference cards and a home-made deck.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">STARTING A COMMUNITY</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">Winter has finally passed. We pitched our tents in The Fallow Fields, away from what few crops we had. The fields have never seen life growing in them, even while the woods have spread around us, leading all the way up the mountain. To the east there are the cliffs, we know this as we have had to use them a great many times, but we need to send people out to map the landscape. The woods contain spiders far larger than any man, so we stay at the edge. It isn’t safe to go in, and many have died. Our community is only sixty now, and each person is sacred.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Quiet Year is a game unlike most roleplaying games I know. You don’t play a single character, instead you all play the voice of a small town, and the story’s narrator. It’s a game about community after all, not about single people.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The game lasts about 3-4 hours including the time taken to teach people it. The host of the evening reads out the first page, explaining about how this is an apocalyptic world and we have one year of relative peace to rebuild before The Frost Shepherds arrive. Then everyone reads a piece of the rules out until we’re all ready to go.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Part way through this reading, the group are pointed to a piece of blank paper, a deck of cards, an index card and some pencils. These are our tools.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Everyone has to make a choice about one piece of the landscape and draws it on the paper. This will be the map of our community.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Two of my gaming regulars, Shaun and Lee, joined me for this session. Shaun kept talking about fields of magma. He chose a dormant volcano, one that our community didn’t know about. Lee chose a forest at the base of the volcano. Then I chose cliffs by the sea on the other side of the map. We each drew our feature.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We also had to suggest an essential resource for the community. This can be physical or conceptual. Shaun picked ‘grain’, Lee picked ‘wood’ and I picked ‘safety’. Our community had one in abundance and the rest were scarcities. We decided that wood would be abundant, so Lee drew even more trees. Then I drew a giant spider and Shaun drew an empty field with a skull on it.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The abundance and scarcities were written on the index card, leaving a blank spot for the names of anyone in the community, and then we were ready to go.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhjQJKsRVvriVGNekLHWONdebMZU4ISgC0YRJsbCWcdYFlL5lHWSBJQaNN74bRd0exooiPZIXq3-3DDmhv3-4UACN57bTvV_Ww4GFTeDLwSNy8SK7g9H2uRgSccWjCgBB4UwYXsacR_Q/s1600/quiet+year+07+Start+Spring.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhjQJKsRVvriVGNekLHWONdebMZU4ISgC0YRJsbCWcdYFlL5lHWSBJQaNN74bRd0exooiPZIXq3-3DDmhv3-4UACN57bTvV_Ww4GFTeDLwSNy8SK7g9H2uRgSccWjCgBB4UwYXsacR_Q/s320/quiet+year+07+Start+Spring.JPG" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A close-up of our village.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">SPRING</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week One</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: We have been sleeping in the tents for so long, no one can remember when we had a safe place to sleep. We have heard that there are fields on the other side of the volcano and have sent scouts.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Two</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: A boy, Abraham, finds a hatch, just inside of town. Scouts in the south have brought news of a rogue ostrich. What does this mean?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Three</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: Let us talk of the old people. They have no place here, they have lived long enough. Most are ill and provide nothing. The young have started to build watchtowers to protect against the spiders. We have so much wood that it will only take three weeks to finish this project.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Four</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: Abraham and his friend Ted fight over what to do with the hatch. A large amount of bodies are found at the bottom of the cliffs.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Five</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: In the distance, far away from our territory, there is a beautiful pyramid. It is larger than everything else in the region. Our people needed proper shelter, even with spring upon us, so we started to build a longhall. The scouts have returned and found more barren fields, and an old factory, long abandoned.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Six</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: A young woman, Shirley, has been using her tent as a makeshift brothel. She was sleeping with people around the town, passing on her many infections. Ted and Abraham opened the hatch, finding food, medicine and guns! We have also finished the watchtowers, making the woods seem safer.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Seven</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: There is a bad omen outside of town, circles of human teeth have been appearing at night. We don’t know what they mean, instead, we have been discussing how to deal with the guns. Some of our people are unaware of the myths surrounding them, others suggest securing them from certain people. Two go missing while we talk.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Eight</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: We have a solution to the gun problem. We throw them off the cliff, like any other problems which have come out way. We talk about the next issue, the ostrich. We don’t know what to do about it. We discuss a need to find more and breed them for mounts.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Nine</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: We have been storing food in the bunker and now we realise the problem with that. The ventilation is so poor that our food has spoiled. As a possible solution, we discover a river leading to a lake at the far edge of the woods.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Ten</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: While looking around the lake, we have seen a village in the distance, near to the pyramid. They have banners with pictures of the pyramid. They are far enough away that they are no present threat. We start to build a fishing village.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Eleven</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: There is a giant track going from the pyramid all the way to the cliffs. Nothing uses the tracks any more, but the elders talk about the myths surrounding a “train”. The longhall is finished and we have a central hub to our town because of it. We send people to trade with the pyramid-worshippers.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Twelve</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: The highest status group in our town are the young. They are builders, and can expand the community. The old cannot work the wood and are of no use. People within sixteen to thirty years old are the highest status. We try to set up a hospital, given the suspicious infections which are affecting people.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Thirteen</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: Storms destroy all of our tents. The fishing village is finished, so the fishermen stay there instead of returning to town. They kept the food with them, despite out protests. There is a good sign though, as there are ostriches on the other side of the mountain!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXDWTMmd3j596PfmkfM0lmo4jQuzHjpU6NDKKAZN7ez9LQRmUcUZxgAIWfafn-tchYbpMuuK32EOmthqQ09hCY2w19JjNA5udLkrGDKpH09v9VDQSkKLVZLsxHYqchWT2yehGJrLVnQ8/s1600/quiet+year+09+End+Spring.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXDWTMmd3j596PfmkfM0lmo4jQuzHjpU6NDKKAZN7ez9LQRmUcUZxgAIWfafn-tchYbpMuuK32EOmthqQ09hCY2w19JjNA5udLkrGDKpH09v9VDQSkKLVZLsxHYqchWT2yehGJrLVnQ8/s400/quiet+year+09+End+Spring.JPG" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The end of Spring</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">That was spring. Thirteen short turns and we already had a lot of the town and its challenges established. We determined these events by taking one turn per week. As the host, I started, then each of us took a turn until the season was over.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A turn goes like this: You draw a card from the deck, resolve an event on it, then all projects get nearer to completion, then you take an action.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The deck of cards are just a normal deck which gives you an item in the list at the back of the book. It is possible to buy a special deck of cards in their limited edition of the game. For most people you can draw and then read the result from a list. I used OpenOffice to make cards with no numbers, just the suit and the written events. That way we’d keep in the moment as much as possible. A card might say, “You see a good omen OR You see a bad omen”. If things are going well, general etiquette says that you mess things up because that makes life interesting. If you draw the card, you tell everyone what it means and they’re not allowed to say anything about it. If they don’t like what you did, they can take a Contempt Point from the table to indicate that your idea sucked or went against their ideas. If they think you’re helping the community, put a point back. Contempt isn’t useful in the endgame, but is a good gauge of how satisfied the populace are.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Each project is represented by a little dice. You set it to the number of weeks you think the project will take, and then it gets reduced by one every turn. If it’s completed, the person who started the project draws it on the map.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Finally, you pick an action. There are three to choose from:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* Discover Something New: For instance the ostriches. You draw a little something on the map.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* Hold a Discussion: The only time you’re supposed to talk out of turn. Someone says something and everyone gets one chance to react. Just one.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">* Start a Project: This is a game about building, so the search for supplies, the longhall, the hospital, these were all projects we started.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We all stopped for a coffee, then carried on…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIh1hu1mGvezbumo7gyrqTCFoKF6TrfI29Ucdgl8DjZjnQinVFJi97uEU7btNvWlR5_GXsQ6mXUSRwGpV_dUPOl7-o7HgBd0XS_UGl8JBGexjgiUODNYRQjFKHanlGB03sq2QaNn0hCzQ/s1600/quiet+year+06+-+index+card.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIh1hu1mGvezbumo7gyrqTCFoKF6TrfI29Ucdgl8DjZjnQinVFJi97uEU7btNvWlR5_GXsQ6mXUSRwGpV_dUPOl7-o7HgBd0XS_UGl8JBGexjgiUODNYRQjFKHanlGB03sq2QaNn0hCzQ/s320/quiet+year+06+-+index+card.JPG" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our resources at the start of the game</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">SUMMER</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Fourteen</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: The community started hunting ostriches, herding them into a farm to the south of the town. This would take three weeks. In the longhall there was a discussion about what we hoped the envoys would bring back from the other village:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“Peace and union.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“Knowledge about their defences… just in case.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“New blood for our town.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Fifteen</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: After enough infections going around the town, Shirley the disease-carrier was cast out from the town. Rumour is she’s out there somewhere, looking for a cure. The envoys never returned from the pyramid-worshippers. As we looked for them, a scout saw a second village had sprung up, with a banner of the pyramid on it.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Sixteen</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: The townsfolk are angry. Ted and one of the other kids… they went out looking for blood and not being aware of the places outside the town… they… they killed the men in the fishing village and destroyed it, thinking it was the village. It was awful. Meanwhile we started building wooden weapons. It’ll take us three weeks.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Seventeen</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: Resources we should have put into the hospital get used to make weapons instead, finishing that project early. The ostrich farm is finished and ore is discovered! A bountiful week!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Eighteen</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: The town feels bad for neglecting the hospital, driven by guilt about the elderly. They finish the hospital early while the weather is good. Ted and his friend are still missing after last week. Now they’re done with the hospital, we need a wall around the town, for our safety.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Nineteen</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: Out by the cliffs we spot men in boats. We hide and spot them setting up camp under the cliffs… where they find the guns. The people not building the walls start on some wooden houses for us. We might finally be free of sleeping in fields or the longhall… in five weeks.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Twenty</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: Summer is fleeting and time gets away from us. The ostrich farmers start training people to ride on them. Questions are raised about our foreign policy:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“I think we should make alliances.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“I think there’s only so much land.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">But the popular opinion is that of fear…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Twenty-One</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: Abraham has gone missing! He and Ted were seen arguing outside of town. Summer storms strand the sailors by wrecking their boats.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Twenty-Two</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: Abraham’s father, Old Evan, has fallen ill. The guilt-ridden populace downed their tools to help him pull through. Now we know Ted’s outside the town somewhere, everyone talks about what to do about him. Only one voice says that we need him. The rest suggest the cliff…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Twenty-Three</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: As if he predicted the talk in the town, Ted tries to take control! A wounded Abraham returns and shoots him with one of the accursed guns which went missing. Finally there’s some hope in the village, he can be our leader!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Twenty-Four</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: We start a project to rebuild the fishing village, which will take until early autumn. Now the ostrich riders are trained they show off around the town and its newly-finished wall. As much as we want to celebrate, rumour has it that the spiders are multiplying…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDIU4mgE5exMsKBUNu7WGHYA5F2D_4VmPnhY6tfd-SgklShSz5_7tHrPKU0LjlYxO2U2vtK5Nea5VpvPV5JByB5-wGbeklPCpW-t4BLkZtXuWaQpcicB1deCP4BOkiic_96VajkAIUzM/s1600/quiet+year+10+End+Summer.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDIU4mgE5exMsKBUNu7WGHYA5F2D_4VmPnhY6tfd-SgklShSz5_7tHrPKU0LjlYxO2U2vtK5Nea5VpvPV5JByB5-wGbeklPCpW-t4BLkZtXuWaQpcicB1deCP4BOkiic_96VajkAIUzM/s400/quiet+year+10+End+Summer.JPG" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The end of Summer. Our town's bigger but so are the problems</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6u_sH5nLqpbCjOp_JAi4JJ5LjuAUoYxern0QMNSf7DGHxiFDRWfYqlX7hfIXIJLPKftKNpuhFZhUFrDmCwiab2l1pcFLk37KbyBzuzsKmfQofAG13XRPrY09D5Crz4YaORGeFa8E2B0/s1600/quiet+year+11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6u_sH5nLqpbCjOp_JAi4JJ5LjuAUoYxern0QMNSf7DGHxiFDRWfYqlX7hfIXIJLPKftKNpuhFZhUFrDmCwiab2l1pcFLk37KbyBzuzsKmfQofAG13XRPrY09D5Crz4YaORGeFa8E2B0/s320/quiet+year+11.JPG" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our updated resources</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Lee is the least experienced of our gaming group, and Shaun is a wild card, both can be the best and worst of my group with a stray thought, which is why I love them as players. Luckily they are the players less focused on rules, and when they let games like this in, they’re fantastic. There were a couple of derailing moments in Spring like the infectious whore, but Summer brought a lot more story both in the community and round the table.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I have been asked why we picked bad actions in this game, how did we make that happen? Sometimes the actions on the cards give you two bad choices. Quite often, we would pick the bad result if there was an option, just to make things interesting. The end goal isn’t to “win” The Quiet Year, it’s to tell an interesting story. Forcing constant success or failure is bad form and won’t feel right to the narrative of your town. And that’s why we had to strike the tents with wind, inflict three diseases on our populace and, in our second playthrough,we nuked the community. Twice.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Back to this game though, we had another coffee, and were ready to go into autumn…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">AUTUMN</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Twenty-Five</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: While roaming the woods, Abraham found some hot springs, ventilated under the ground by… well, we don’t know what, but they seem hotter near to the mountain. The wooden homes are built and we celebrate again. One of the ostrich-scouts sees the sailors and pyramid-worshippers making an alliance in the distance.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Twenty-Six</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: Disease spreads! Even without Shirley, somehow. Our health and fertility are suffering, with no new births in the village for some time. Even the hospital isn’t helping us. “I blame the outsiders for the disease,” someone says.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“We need to take a hostile stance to strangers!”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“I believe sacrifices to the cliff will help us!”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Twenty-Seven</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: We have terrible news. The people building the fishing village have defected. We don’t know what they were offered. We start work on a blacksmiths… we need proper weapons, after all. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Twenty-Eight</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: A menacing tower is found near the cliffs. No one knows what it means. To stop food spoiling, we’re going to build proper food storage facilities and stop depending on the hatch. It’s brought us nothing but misery.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Twenty-Nine</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: Shirley returns, having been shunned from the pyramid-worshippers. She’s nearly dead, but we talk about taking her in and letting her die with dignity.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Thirty</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: The community is fixated on the smithy this week. It was discovered that the ore we uncovered wasn’t good enough, so we need to work even harder. A few people are talking about building a barracks. It’ll take a while, especially with the smithy as our only real drive.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Thirty-One</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: Marauders with masks and guns are in the plains in the centre of the map. They are dressed in the clothes of the envoys we sent out in spring. One night Nancy, one of the ostrich-riders, sees a hooded figure making another ring of teeth outside our wall. No one knows who it is or where they came from.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Thirty-Two</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: After weeks of giving up his own supplies for the good of others, Abraham falls ill and dies. The town mourns, and during the funeral a young mother finds out that her son is harbouring a baby giant spider. It is killed before it can grow.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Thirty-Three</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: Now we know why things have been so awful. Shirley was caught trying to burn down the town walls. She said she was under orders from the pyramid-folk. She repented when she saw the cliff, but that didn’t stop us. On the way back, one of the elders mentioned a thing called a ‘lighthouse’, apparently the strange tower is one, and not a threat.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Thirty-Four</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: Something has befouled the river. We assume it is the pyramid-folk. Our water supplies are ruined and rationing starts. We need to avenge the water-spoilage and push our problems off the cliff. The cliff will solve all our problems. That and our newly-finished smithy.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Thirty-Five</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: The barracks were finished early because of the need to start marching on our enemy. The night before we were going to march, the planets aligned behind the pyramid. A ray of light struck the top of the mountain. The old folk are scared. They keep talking of the bad times, and of signs of things to come.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Thirty-Six</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: We should have trusted the elderly, we should have prepared for disaster, not war! The mountain broke open and lava poured out. We did our best to save the town, but we did so at the cost of so many lives. The dead… they were everywhere, burning… just burning. We tried to use the ostriches to ride out of the way, but the hooded woman was actually a small group of women who let the ostriches out. All is ruined!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Thirty-Seven</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: Amongst the survivors is Crazy Ed. We’ve always hated him, but he provided a dire warning. We need to start training the spiders and using them to attack our enemies. Some of our townsfolk try and help him, while others start digging trenches to stop any more lava.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLL3uH482-NRy9rTcC4nBGxTIJR83-1Pgyldg0qssdEyRNifxgUcjL6PTGUhAd5nqN61hToOJifIo7hAarEdzHJN9bbB1NV49csdUsc8KwLxnRE7sLUIntkLT_i31Ly6AYP8XTnqGLii4/s1600/quiet+year+14+End+of+Autumn.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLL3uH482-NRy9rTcC4nBGxTIJR83-1Pgyldg0qssdEyRNifxgUcjL6PTGUhAd5nqN61hToOJifIo7hAarEdzHJN9bbB1NV49csdUsc8KwLxnRE7sLUIntkLT_i31Ly6AYP8XTnqGLii4/s400/quiet+year+14+End+of+Autumn.JPG" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Autumn's End. And a volcano!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<br>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We didn’t even stop for a break now. The fourth deck laid in front of us. The final deck. Somewhere in here is a card which tells us the Frost Shepherds have finally arrived. Then everything would be over.</span></span></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<br></div>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
<a name="more"></a><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYsg9vBmo_L8xgRqUZw1-X-uUG8xn8y3xnKfOqi9Xb-yf6h07RmyCKD3cenYimjU0zn4qdsjGFWrftRlUu6n4F-6jaLxueExBLUt79yxGzadzD8ZQqN_QdKJH6PziaVa1NW_8o-RX4PM/s1600/quiet+year+17+-+Ostrich+Farm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYsg9vBmo_L8xgRqUZw1-X-uUG8xn8y3xnKfOqi9Xb-yf6h07RmyCKD3cenYimjU0zn4qdsjGFWrftRlUu6n4F-6jaLxueExBLUt79yxGzadzD8ZQqN_QdKJH6PziaVa1NW_8o-RX4PM/s320/quiet+year+17+-+Ostrich+Farm.JPG" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panic at the ostrich farm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 600;">WINTER</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Thirty-Eight</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: As the first wisps of snow fell on our town, there was a faction trying to stop Crazy Ed’s plan, making a project which was in direct competition to Ed. We needed to stop the giant spiders. There’s more talk about how to deal with the pyramid-people. The two factions of pro-spider and pro-ostrich people stop anything from advancing. The head ostrich farmer, Dawson, derails the meeting.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Thirty-Nine</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: There’s fertile land beyond the volcano. We can move there, away from our blighted, ruined town. It will take us six weeks to prepare settlements for people to stay in, but we can last that long, surely…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Forty</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: Nancy was out looking for the loose ostriches at the start of the week and went missing. The town pulled together and found her, but all our tasks suffered for it. A shame, but we had so few people left in the town, we needed everyone to live through the winter. We found her eventually, and she said the marauders were coming…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Forty-One</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: A stranger arrived at our town. We thought he might be a marauder, but Old Evan said we should trust him. He was sickly, but he had water for us. We’ll try to make it last…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Forty-Two</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: The cold was a shock to our community and left everyone feeling miserable. Most people were ill and tired, but Old Evan took charge. Much like his son, he decided to lead us. He’ll save the town!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 600;">Week Forty-Three</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">: The snow was too thick to see far. We knew the marauders were coming and Old Evan helped us lead our forces against them. We won, but at a terrible price. The stranger, Dominic, finally spoke. He was from the pyramid-worshippers’ village. They were fighting among themselves when the doors to the pyramid opened. The Frost Shepherds took their first steps into the world, consuming everything around them.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">We can only hope that they stop with their former worshippers. Dawson left the camp, mocking us for our failed attempt to train the spiders. Our only hope is the settlement. If we can last three more weeks then all will be w—</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The diary ends there. The town was unable to defend itself, torn apart by civil war, ruined by natural disasters and diseases. Our lone ostrich farmer may have made it to what little fertile land was settled out west, but no one would ever know. The hooded women, the lighthouse, the spiders and the worshippers. All of it was gone. The Frost Shepherds took all in their wake.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7zU2wMgVaZ9aJFTB6SU98kmpoddBMC8oi172N47xYCA5-zEJwJ4c73MV7cisloW_aElQdZ2bt5ghHObSFFCIGSWHQueFlr-Jp4RWuADyuWFNtNy-A9MxwSsld6DTC-AWHDpCPIKyujM/s1600/quiet+year+21+-+End+Game.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7zU2wMgVaZ9aJFTB6SU98kmpoddBMC8oi172N47xYCA5-zEJwJ4c73MV7cisloW_aElQdZ2bt5ghHObSFFCIGSWHQueFlr-Jp4RWuADyuWFNtNy-A9MxwSsld6DTC-AWHDpCPIKyujM/s400/quiet+year+21+-+End+Game.JPG" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The End</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So that was The Quiet Year…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We only made it forty-three weeks instead of fifty-two; partly thanks to summer breezing by, partly thanks to the ‘game over’ card being mid-way in the Winter deck.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It was a fun experience, and one I’d like to try again with others.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The random events were a good prompt to tell stories about this town, and the map was a nice little keepsake for when we were done. When my regular gaming group are back up to full strength I’ll let the other players describe what happened and see which memories stick.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In our discussion after the game, we wondered about what went right and wrong. The Contempt was the first mechanic in the firing line, mainly as even though it’s a physical token taken, it doesn’t seem to do anything. I can see that the mechanic was simply there as a non-verbal way of registering your objection to what someone was saying about the town, but I think we expected more of a direct interaction between them and the game. In the second game we had more Contempt both taken and given back, which I feel helped show people what was working and failing for the community at a given time.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The other mechanic which was questioned was the, “Hold a Discussion” action. In that, you ask a question or make a statement, then everyone does the same. It’s the only time we get to talk out of turn, and it’s not a back & forth dialogue. People try to make their case no matter what others say. I didn’t object to this system as it put ideas in people’s heads. Without the discussion of the ostriches would any player other than their creator have bothered with them? I think they work as a way of allowing people to chat a little about what is going on, outside of the turn structure.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Quiet Year was more of a success at the game table than I thought, and something we will have to repeat with others to see what they make of it. Even with these two players we started talking about alternate settings. A ruined space station, a bunker somewhere. The new challenges both infinite and of our own making.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Our second game was set in an archipelago and when we started spending actions on the neighbouring communities we realised that they were all one, but they were fractured by our starting village. I performed a Hold a Discussion action which flipped the perspective to, “What should we do about the zealots on the central island?” And the people who started the community became the enemy we had to deal with for the rest of the game. Several tsunamis, nuclear explosions and assassinations later, the small outposts on the edges of the map survived and if they would make it through winter then maybe they’d be able to rebuild and unite again…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="-qt-block-indent: 0; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Quiet Year is available at <a href="http://buriedwithoutceremony.com/">Buried Without Ceremony</a> for $6 as a pdf, $25 plus postage for the book, pdf & cards, $40 for all of that in a bag with Contempt tokens, or you could pay by doing good deeds. Seriously, you can pay by doing good deeds. Kind of fitting for this game, where a good deed could be the difference between life and death for your community.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<div style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: 36px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbodBTdFSJ_sJOcO_xISq6B8ZnoTkIucEvn1W3AZh2gZ_hdR-6Qztnhn2ci0rVqbYXBu1VJZWByH2ifQnZZkXloUWaUYC0DLUBAWBhXL_VcMrxFoEykRan3Pn-u-UwOf2OtHC9c3NWCgE/s1600/quiet+year+22.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbodBTdFSJ_sJOcO_xISq6B8ZnoTkIucEvn1W3AZh2gZ_hdR-6Qztnhn2ci0rVqbYXBu1VJZWByH2ifQnZZkXloUWaUYC0DLUBAWBhXL_VcMrxFoEykRan3Pn-u-UwOf2OtHC9c3NWCgE/s320/quiet+year+22.JPG" width="239"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our town at the end of the game.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
Charlie E/Nhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17819269599056012384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867999303982530956.post-82030283222614070192013-07-23T07:25:00.000+01:002013-07-23T07:25:35.610+01:00Unearthing the Forbidden Desert<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See the pudding there, chocolate glistening…ice cream…whipped cream…sprinkles…a moment on the lips a lifetime on the hips. You want it, but you cannot have it. <br /></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKb8gxyKPLvZtP7vritLuS8n4yfacN3wNaMNqk3oNsH3cw2pN9QggpVGO8LzqJbmMT38rp_kAbkWdVtLhapKxdqbIEVHcTMt52mjeDD5PMzWzHSp-ESzZbogyf-F9jhHWYUma-ah4G7wR/s1600/forbidden+desert.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKb8gxyKPLvZtP7vritLuS8n4yfacN3wNaMNqk3oNsH3cw2pN9QggpVGO8LzqJbmMT38rp_kAbkWdVtLhapKxdqbIEVHcTMt52mjeDD5PMzWzHSp-ESzZbogyf-F9jhHWYUma-ah4G7wR/s1600/forbidden+desert.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<br /> <br /><br />Yes, this is Gamewright’s ‘Forbidden Dessert’, a game about indulgent puddings. <br /><br /><a href="" name="more"></a><br />Of course not. ‘Forbidden Desert’ is the follow up to ‘Forbidden Island’ the co-operative board game that could be disingenuously described as ‘Pandemic-lite’. In that game a team of explorers were attempting to find fabulous artefacts of a drowning civilisation before the flood waters closed over the city for good. Simplistic enough that a whole family could enjoy it from children to Granny, but with a fiendish (adjustable) difficulty that meant it could also have a lot to offer the hardcore gamer. <br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpaM_sUtg7lrdRXifKlqCRrsEIGL20GcJKTQeUYKtrcXMPujWdwnODilQ-AlBweguml_xElfyRLWQEbqciCCvycxRih94UmcP3AqY5SQt8LO2zcDerVNIa0ia79JnYicokUZ7o4OV4n4QC/s1600/20130720_202532.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpaM_sUtg7lrdRXifKlqCRrsEIGL20GcJKTQeUYKtrcXMPujWdwnODilQ-AlBweguml_xElfyRLWQEbqciCCvycxRih94UmcP3AqY5SQt8LO2zcDerVNIa0ia79JnYicokUZ7o4OV4n4QC/s320/20130720_202532.jpg" /></a> </div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;">
A 2-player game at set up </div>
<br />In this follow up you are part of a team of explorers (again) who have been stranded on the site of an ancient city that is gradually being buried under the shifting desert each with different skills sets who must work together to find pieces of a Da Vinci-esque flying machine to escape the drifting sand dunes. <br /><br />What the game designers have cleverly done is take the mechanics of Island and changed them in a way that both reflects the different setting, and imparts a greater depth to the gameplay. Instead of collecting cards to obtain the artefacts (which worked similarly to the cure mechanic from Pandemic) flipping tiles will reveal one of two clues that lead to the location of each piece. The difficulty has been ramped up by the added consideration of each characters water supply. You can top these up at wells or with one of the special pieces of equipment you can find, as well as hide in the tunnel systems that bisect the ancient city, but your water supply is always a very real consideration and one that you must manage if you are going to beat the game. <br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjyBzDTq3GKz6qEKpUe-BwuRwZ-eNDpAfNGMjpGcFz7ZYR-TkYDb1EPm8TvrsOToEjUP4D96wKHNqC9iZ4bdv3i_8Hfgd2GIjH88xE4p0B3KPLjDd9NK5Y41K93emJn6yPgnXNA-okZUL/s1600/20130720_205014.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjyBzDTq3GKz6qEKpUe-BwuRwZ-eNDpAfNGMjpGcFz7ZYR-TkYDb1EPm8TvrsOToEjUP4D96wKHNqC9iZ4bdv3i_8Hfgd2GIjH88xE4p0B3KPLjDd9NK5Y41K93emJn6yPgnXNA-okZUL/s320/20130720_205014.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;">
The Sandstorm in full swing...will we escape? </div>
<br /><br />Whereas in Island the water levels would rise and tiles would become flooded, the ever present danger in the Desert is the swirling sand storm that moves around the board throughout the game, dumping ever increasing mounds of sand on the tiles. After a certain point tiles become impassable and require clearing to both be excavated and navigated, again this is another matter to be managed carefully as players can get cut off, or submerged, or you can find that crucial machine part buried under piles of sand as all the while the sun beats down… <br /><br />Forbidden Desert will feel familiar to anyone who has played Island (or Pandemic for that matter) and has the same strengths as its sister game. Beautiful artwork on the tiles, a strong theme and simple but fiendish mechanics. It is also unforgiving and can take a few plays before you survive it. It is a lot of fun and very engaging. There is the constant threat of both thirst and the increasing sand pile, rarely has such a simple game felt so tense. It works well with two people, although three or four is probably the best amount, and due to the random nature of set up plays differently each time. It is also a quick game, with games typically lasting between 30-45 minutes. As with Island it is also very well priced considering the quality of the components. <br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY30V4Swe3620-9m-wmQlyr4pxuEL5lUfST8CnjanZ2y7hBcuY7eG4Xr7F0KZ_jDG3OAxYvOEphLLY5Y8SKQFqzuJYauVfzBaYA9oZ6dYTt1k_drSCvyczJSz7TMtfZe3yg55idQnMyNx-/s1600/20130720_205324.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY30V4Swe3620-9m-wmQlyr4pxuEL5lUfST8CnjanZ2y7hBcuY7eG4Xr7F0KZ_jDG3OAxYvOEphLLY5Y8SKQFqzuJYauVfzBaYA9oZ6dYTt1k_drSCvyczJSz7TMtfZe3yg55idQnMyNx-/s320/20130720_205324.jpg" /></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Flying machine constructed, and off we fly to escape the Forbidden Desert </div>
<br />As this is a review it is customary to give a rating. This is an excellent game and one that should appeal to families wanting something to play at Christmas or on Sunday afternoons, or to more ‘serious’ gamers who want a quick game to play inbetween more meaty fare. It also acts as a brilliant gateway to co-operative games. As such I would normally give it a 4, but given the price and replay value for me this is 5 out of 5 Sandunes. </span></div>
Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02527170789098337930noreply@blogger.com2