Merry Christmas!

 

Been taking a break from social media, but wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

More Minis for the Collection!

 Of late I find myself getting back into miniatures, ok, to be honest I never really left. I have a good sized collection of painted fantasy minis (and a TON of unpainted). However, my Sci Fi and P.A. mini collection could use some work.  That's the rationale I'm going with anyways.  A buddy of mine recently told me about Arcane Scenery & Models out of the UK. In particular there is a line of minis by Trent Miniatures, that have some cool looking 28mm Sci Fi Desert Raiderish figures (Synguree Desert Fighters).  Even though the minis are from the U.K. shipping was FREE!  and the overall price for them was very reasonable. They arrived after just a few weeks and look great. Pictured below.  

 

The dice were a separate purchase from a local shop, gotta have more dice right?

I will need to get these painted up (painted example above is from their website). I can see them being used for a variety of games, Sci Fi, P.A., tabletop skirmish etc...   Looks like I will be placing another order sooner rather than later!

Happy Thanksgiving!

    

     Just a quick post here, some friends have emailed me to check on me. For those that don't know, I'm a nurse and where I live is in the midst of a Covid Surge.  My family and I are healthy, and doing our best to stay that way. However, I have friends, coworkers and acquaintances that have been sick or have lost loved ones. We have lost nurses to this disease.

      I wanted to express how Thankful I am for all the blessings in my life. I have a great family, wonderful friends, and a good life.  For that I am thankful.  I know these past few months have been difficult, and the future is uncertain, but I am thankful for what I have. This pandemic will end at some point and I look forward to rolling more dice with my friends, creating more adventures for us to share around the gametable (virtual or otherwise) and gathering again with friends and family. 

Be safe, take care and God Bless!

-Brutorz Bill

WildChild for AS&SH

     With AS&SH still on my mind, I went with the wife to Target. Of course, I had to browse the toy section, I mean I do have a grandson, not that I need an excuse. ; ) 

     I spotted a Marvel Comics Wild Child action figure on the shelf and that got me to thinking...dangerous I know.  Trey over on the Sorcerers Skull blog has been posting about comics for a bit, and I realized how much of a significant influence comics have had on my RPG game .  For our upcoming campaign I want to get back to that model.  So after I got home, I sat down to work up a version of Wild Child for my upcoming AS&SH Campaign. 

     Wild Child is more of a secondary character in the Marvel Comics, this figure ties into the Age of Apocalypse storyline wherein he was nearly feral, of low intellect and had limited ability to communicate verbally, plus he was prone to berserk rages. Sabretooth kept him in check on a chain leash to keep him from harming his teammates. ...So when I saw the figure, I thought...ok how do I work him up for AS&SH?  It turned out to be much easier than I thought. 

Wildchild  aka Wildheart

Berserker

level 3

Alignment: Chaotic Evil 

Religion: None

Hit Points: 39

Hit Die: D12

AC: 5

Str 17 (+1 to hit and +2 damage melee)

Int  3 (illiterate, limited verbal communication-growls, howls etc...)

Wis 15 ( additional +1 to will saves)

Dex  17 (+1 to AC)

Con 18 (+3 hit points per level)

Cha 5 (-2 reaction adjustment)

Armour Allowed: Any (but won't wear heavy armour)

Any (but opposed to missile weapons) plus he lacks the intelligence and patience to load a crossbow

Shields Allowed: Any (but won't use one)

Saving Throw Modifier: +2 bonus to all saves (see hardy ability)

Class Abilities: Berserk Rage (1 x day for 3 rds., +9 temp hit points), Enhanced Combat ( +2 to attack and damage rolls on all melee attacks), Fire Immunity: Impervious to normal fire; saves vs. magical fire always successful. Frightening Aspect: Fearsome to behold; enemy morale checks penalized by −2, Refusal to Fall (Can fight to as low as −3 hp), Refusal to Surrender( Cannot yield, retreat, or withdraw from melee once the rage is begun), Unbreakable Willpower (Immunity to fear, charm,), Uncontrollable (once all foes down, may still continue fighting), Leap 25', Climb 8:12, Weapon Mastery (Unarmed -Pummeling attacks- +1 hit and damage,  attacks 3/2, 1d2+4 damage).

Secondary Skills: Hunter

Languages: Common (understands it, can't really speak it)

Weapons & Equipment

Studded Leather Armor, Spiked Collar, chain leash, cæstuses (+1 damage)

For my AS&SH campaign-

     Wildchild was said to have been raised by wolves  and his behavior certainly supports that.  Found as a child by a group of adventurers he was sold to a slaver and wound up in Xambaala. Since then he has been raised and used by the mercenary enforcer Drago as...well as an attack dog!  Wildchild responds to Drago's commands, more or less, but when the rage is upon him, even Drago has difficulty controlling him, hence the leash.  Once per day, Drago can use his speak with animals ability to command Wildchild to stop an attack while he is enraged, Wildchild has a 1 in 12 chance of continuing to fight for 1d6 rounds even after this command is issued.  My initial post had Dr Steel (Drago) as 4th level, for my campaign I have upped Drago's level to 5th, since I felt he needed that extra level of oomph to better handle Wildchild. 

     If you want to go with the truly feral more Marvel Comics aspect of Wild Child, raise his level to 7, which is where he gets the berserker bestial form ability.  I wanted to introduce him in my campaign at a lower level, so I went with  a level 3 version.

WildChild is copyright Marvel Comics, no copyright infringement is intended

Dr. Steel for SB&CS & AS&SH

      Recently the Swords & Stitchery blog did a post that took me back to my childhood.  As a kid I had a ton of fun with the Dr. Steel action figure. In my imagination he was a villain, scowling face, dragon tattoo, scar, and a steel hand!  Ever since I read Needles post, I've been thinking I need to work Dr. Steel into my games. Covid sort of wiped out my face to face gaming, although I have had some fun online games with friends.  However, my group has started talking about resuming face to face play. Earlier today I was skimming my copy of Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells rules and when I came across the Tough archetype I knew that was the right choice for Dr. Steel. Below is a entry level version of Dr. Steel as a Tough for SB&CS.

 

Dr. Steel

Concept: "Mercenary enforcer with a dragon tattoo and a steel right hand"

Archetype: The Tough

Vitality: 18

Sanity: 13

Luck: 4

Physique: 16

Agility: 15

Intellect: 13

Willpower: 11

Prime Attributes: Physique and Agility

Recovery Roll: 1d6+2

Special Abilities:

● Too Tough to Die

● Feel the Pain

● I Can Take 'Em All

● That’s my Favorite:Steel Fist

Complication:  Criminal Background

Weapons & Equipment

Steel Fist 1d6 damage, positive die to hide and when attacking

Combat Knife 1d6 -1 damage, positive die to hide

Heavy Pistol 1d6 damage, long range

Backpack, Belt Pouch, Canteen, Rations (1 week)

        

       But wait there's more!  I gave my players a pretty long list of some gaming options that I would be interested in running for them. Interestingly enough Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea seems to be moving towards the top of their interest list (5E is at the bottom). I thought well... Dr. Steel won't work in Hyperborea because....wait a damn minute. There is NO reason I can't work him into a AS&SH game. So I dug out my AS&SH book and within a short time had a cool NPC that I can't wait to use in a AS&SH game. I wanted him to be a villain for this one, in my readings about the Dr. Steel toy, seems he was called Dr. Drago and was a villain as an overseas toy, so I went with the name Drago and gave him an Ixian vibe. I see him as a mercenary enforcer for some nasty villainous type. I'd forgotten how robust AS&SH characters are and am pretty pleased with how he turned out.  He currently doesn't have ranged attacks, but he can close quickly, deflect missiles and then get into hand to hand. Give him some first level goons to boss around and I see a unique and interesting challenge for low level PC's.

 

 Drago

Drago (aka Dr. Steel)

Monk

4th level

Alignment: Lawful Evil (I think it would be fun to have him a villain in AS&SH, serving as a mercenary enforcer for some higher authority)

Religion: Yig- The Great Serpent

Hit Points: 25

Hit Die: d8

AC: 7

STR 16  +1 to hit and damage melee

INT 13 +1 language

WIS 11

DEX 15 +1 hit ranged

CON 16 +1 hit point adjustment

CHA 10

Armour Allowed: None

Shields Allowed: None

Class Saving Throw Modifiers: Transformation +2, Avoidance +2

Class Abilities: Accurate Strike, Block Missile 4x per rd. (make an Avoidance saving throw), Cellular Adjustment (1 x per day on self or others heal 8 hit points), Controlled Fall (can fall 40' with no damage), Defensive Ability (+2 to AC), Detect Secret Doors (3 in 6), Empty Hand (Unarmed +1 to hit, Steel Fist 1d4+3 damage), Stuns on Natural 19 or 20, Run unarmored at 50', Superior Willpower (+2 on saves that affect the mind), Speak with Animals (1 x per day),  Thief Abilities : Climb 8:12, Discern Noise 5:12, Hide 6:12, Move Silently 6:12.

Secondary Skills: Soldier/Mercenary

Languages: Common, Thracian

Weapons & Equipment

Dagger in leather sheath, backpack, bandages, winter blanket, 50-ft. silk rope, tinderbox, 3 torches, small sack, full wineskin, iron rations (1 week), incense sticks ×12. Leather belt, boots. 13 sp, 52 gp.

As a 4th level NPC, he should have some magic items.  Something like a ring of Warmness would be appropriate. He often walks around bare-chested, in the bitter cold, to show off his dragon tattoo. A potion or two of healing also seems appropriate. I tend to run lower magic campaigns but go with what works for you.