Saturday, December 31, 2022

Assassin Skeledrones

 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and has a safe and happy New Year!

 I splurged recently and ordered the cool Assassin Skeledrones from Skeletron . I've tried to resist jumping on the action figure bandwagon, but I couldn't resist these.  They are scaled for 4" action figures but I think I can use these with my 28mm skirmish games.  They have a Rifts vibe to them that I dig!  If I get to run Wretched Space they should fit right in as well.


Love the Ken Kelly artwork! Some of the last work he did before he passed away.
 

Saturday, December 24, 2022

Sunday, December 4, 2022

Tabletop Skirmish!

     Slightly different post this morning.  The bulk of my gaming has been RPG's, mostly D&D, but long time blog readers know I like all kinds of genres, especially Post Apocalyptic related and Sci Fi.  Many, many years ago, like back in the 80's! I got to play a game of Rogue Trader with a buddy and a relative visiting from out of town. My relative had brought this new game called Warhammer 40K. The minis were soo cool. Legos were used to build a cityscape on the dining room table, and we had two rival Eldar forces battling it out all afternoon. I loved it and wanted to play it more but no one around me played it, and back then you couldn't get the miniatures in this part of the country. Remember this was the 80's and no internet and no hobby shops in my region.  By the time I got the original rules and had a squad, a new edition was out..by the time I pieced together an army for that edition, that edition had more rigid force building rules and "regulations" compared to the original, another edition came out rendering my unpainted force obsolete. Then the same thing happened to me with Necromunda. I got rid of my 40K minis (long story) and moved fully back to RPG's. 

I still have this book, it's falling apart but loaded with fun stuff!
 

      Prior to Covid, I had started playing Zona Alfa with a buddy, just as we were getting into the flow of the game and started meeting regularly, Covid hit and put an end to all of that.  Looking back into my blog, it is hard to believe that was two years ago. Wow, the pandemic really messes with your concept of time.

     Lately I've been once again dipping my toes into the world of tabletop skirmish gaming. Well, to be honest I've been looking into it. I pillaged some online Black Friday sales to order some cool Sci Fi minis.  I have a nice collection of Fantasy minis and terrain, but Sci Fi is where I am lacking. Especially enough pieces to field any kind of skirmish units.  I prefer small scale stuff. I'm not looking to field massive armies. 

     It's nice to see that miniature agnostic and setting agnostic games seem to be more of the thing now. Current trends remind me of the original 40K Rogue Trader build your own stuff days.  Some of my D&D buddies and I have been looking into what skirmish systems are out there, lots of options. Stargrave, One Page Rules, (I'm not doing Kill Team!, GW will get no more of my money, this isn't an anti GW rant, if you enjoy their games great!), Wiley Games stuff, Space Weirdos, Star Breach, Space Station Zero, Zona Alfa, Planet 28 and more.  I'm hoping 2023 will allow for me to have a return to tabletop skirmish gaming.  

Wish me luck!  -B.B.


Oh, I picked this toy vehicle up at an estate sale yesterday, seems to scale perfectly with my 28mm minis.  Miniature is from Battle Valor games painted by my buddy Jeff.


Saturday, December 3, 2022

Wretched Space/Matrix Spiel Solo Session 2

     Hope everyone is doing well.  Work and real life have derailed any face-to-face gaming for the time being, however, when I get a little quiet time, I continue to have fun with the tools that The Lizard Man Diaries blog has made available. I'm still in a Sci Fi mood after running my recent 5E Campaign, and I'd like to run a Wretched Space face to face game at some point., So, by using the Matrix Spiel Solo rules, with Wretched Space as a framework, I can play around in my own little OSR Sci Fi Sandbox and do some fun campaign development at the same time. 


     Last session the outlaw Absolom Wroth, in his hubris, had over-estimated his gang's abilities (The Relentless Bastards) and had seen his entire gang wiped out by the remnants of a group of Red Reign Mercenaries.  Absolom, fled into the ruins to lick his wounds. I've decided to pick up with the story here, I'm curious to see what happens to Absolom Wroth...will he survive to become a more significant character, or will he meet his end on the ruined world of Charund? 

                                           Absolom Wroth
Absolom's Problem List
His gang was wiped out by Red Reign Mercenaries
Absolom is alone in the ruins of a dangerous city on a ruined planet.
He must get to his ship before the Red Reign find it. 

Turn 1:
Can Absolom get back to his gang's ship before the Red Reign find it or him? 
Results: Failure, Catastrophic negative outcome to attempter.
Absolom learns the hard way that the mercenaries are not to be trifled with!  They locate his gang's ship and blow the entire craft to pieces, before departing Charund.  
 
                  Don't mess around with The Order of the Red Reign
 
Things just got way worse for our Outlaw!  He is potentially stranded on Charund, with no allies or even shelter. He has some weapons and gear but not much...

Turn 2:
Absolom needs to find shelter, resources, night will be falling soon, and the ruins are even more dangerous after dark.  Can Absolom avoid danger and find some means to improve his situation?
Result: Success, Desired outcome is just barely, and temporarily, achieved.
Absolom manages to avoid the dangers of the ruins (for now) and he finds something to help his situation.  Referring to the Matrix Solo rules, this will generate a new entity and at least one new problem...  
Lizard Man Diaries recommends using the https://scryfall.com/random generator as inspiration. Using this method for random inspiration I got the result of Isolated Chapel.  Playing around with the card text as inspiration and an AI art generator I get this visual result! 
 (New Entity Created- Isolated Chapel) 

The blue glow in the image makes me wonder what is within the ruined chapel? 

What is the blue glow?  I'll generate another random card and get... Turbulent Dreams...  "Laquatus dreams of seizing control." So within the "Chapel" is a dormant A.I..  It calls itself Laquatus X. If it can be "released" it wants to seize control.. I imagine dotted across Charund and in orbit above the planet are a variety of military defense installations, satellites, in various states of disrepair.. Laquatus X if freed of it's current state wants to seize any available assets and take over!   Absolom's presence within the building has triggered something that enables Laquatus to start to overcome the mechanisms and programs keeping it dormant!!!  Can the Chapel regain control and keep the rogue AI in its slumber state?  

Turn 3

Absolom has entered the ruined chapel, drawn to the eerie blue glow emanating from the structure.  Machinery gives off a low hum, he fumbles around with the consoles hoping to find some means to get a way off of Charund.  Inadvertently he triggers something.  Machinery starts powering up, something is coming online!!

Isolated Chapel Problem List

  • Dangerous Dormant AI is starting to "wake up"
  • AI "dreams" of taking over
  • Defense mechanism keeping AI dormant are old and unstable
Action: Can the Isolated Chapel's apparatus stop the countdown and keep the AI in check? 
Result: Failure, An embarrassing minor set back
Oh no! Laquatus X is starting to wake up! But there is still time!! A countdown begins, Laquatus X is starting to awaken!  The A.I. isn't fully active yet, but continued failure in reigning in the A.I. could lead to disaster!
 
Turn 4

Absolom Problem List
  • Alone and trapped on a ruined world
  • Can he (or will he) stop the dangerous AI from coming online?

 Isolated Chapel Problem List

  • Laquatus X is about to wake up and wants to seize control
  • Absolom is within the chapel, messing with devices that must not be disturbed
Absolom's Action:  Can he figure out the devices and broadcast a signal for help or will he fully awaken Laquatus X and all that entails???
 
Result: Failure, An immediately dangerous negative outcome. 
 
Laquatus X is now online!! Absolom has no idea what he has just unleashed!  

Isolated Chapel Action: One last "Hail Mary" to shut down Laquatus, can the Chapel devices safety protocols muster up enough spark to force Laquatus X back into a dormant state or are the safety protocols too old and broken to be effective??!!  

Result: Failure, Catastrophic negative outcome to attempter. 
 
LAQUATUS X IS ONLINE!!!! ....WE ARE LAQUATUS X..............
 
Absolom's bumbling actions not only awakened the rogue A.I. but enabled it to establish a satellite uplink!
Long dormant military satellites activate in orbit around Charund!
Deep installations begin to come online!
Missile silos come online!

Absolom stands around slack jawed not sure what the hell is going on or what he has done! 

Summary:  Oh boy!  I didn't see that one coming.  Charund just became an even more dangerous place!  I wonder how much actual control Laquatus X will be able to seize?  How much infrastructure is left in place for the A.I. to utilize and control?  Could the dangerous A.I. seize control of all of Charund? Could it become a danger beyond the planet's orbit?  Interesting questions.. and what will happen to Absolom now?  Last session this all was ultimately triggered by Lord Eldrake's quest for the Scrolls of Seraphasma, now as a result, a long dormant dangerous A.I. has activated and is trying to seize control of any remaining military/industrial assets still functioning within the ruins of Charund.