X-Wing

I resisted getting this game for quite a while, but my friend at work got it in an auction at a con, and we played it last week. Super Fun. The boys absolutely loved it, and were wanting to get new ships before we even finished playing our first game yesterday.

So now in addition to the Basic Game, we have an A-Wing, Second X-Wing (Wedge is insane), Tie Interceptor, Tie bomber and an HWK-290.

I ended up getting a Y-Wing and Advanced TIE fighter with my XMas credit (in addition to The Adventures of Brisco County Jr DVD box set

DCCRPG @ Pair-a-Dice Games 27/28th December

I will be running DCC at Pair-a-Dice Games on the 27th and 28th of December.

I will be running Sailors of the Starless Sea funnel tomorrow, December 27th,  around 12 Noon. (closer to 1PM now...kids)

December 28th TBD (waiting on a friend to confirm a time)


Pictures from Session 8 

My wife's lovely shade of green hair...honest, it's natural....she's half-sylvan elf...

Sean looking at his character with the 4 str and 5 Luck...ended up being named Cannoon Foddaer, and was #1

2d20 action dice in a level 1 funnel? See below for dead characters.

And they....and they...RAN AWAY!!!

Found the Stash...but not quite.

And they...and they...RAN AWAY!!!!

3 Deaths, and only halfway through!!! Illustrations of deaths by Sean & Ian

Session 9!! (WOOT)

Added more players for the next session today.

Prepped and ready to roll.

After revisiting some of the upper areas, the characters finally made their way down to the Ziggurat, via the longboat. (good thing they made the detours back because they picked up a certain couple items that prevented a TPK)

The characters fought most of the beastmen from the longboat after shooting at them with the longbow.

This was a REALLY fun adventure to run, and was definitely the one with the most available treasure. 7  0-levels survived from the 23 total (topped everyone up with characters when the new players arrived.)

Earthdawn 4e

Can't say much because of the NDA, but I'm on the dev team for the 4th edition of Earthdawn I blogged about last week! This being due to the open call which FASA Games had put out in November. There are some very cool changes we're discussing.

IndieGoGo Campaign for ConTessa

Fundraising for Additional ConTessa!! 8 days remain on the IndieGoGo campaign, so get out there and suppport your local girl.

Here's a little bit on it, and you can read the rest on IndieGoGo

About ConTessa's Founder

Stacy Dellorfano has been kicking around the tabletop world since her days as a delinquent band geek in High School, skipping class to hide in the band room and play AD&D with her friends.

In the late 90s and early naughties, she worked in the video games industry, spending her late nights patching up games like EverQuest and writing translation tools to make awesome games in other languages. While her day job is now outside the gaming industry, she is also pursuing her newest secondary job as a publisher of tabletop RPGs and related merchandise and events, including her own RPG, Precious Dark.

Getting more women into tabletop RPGs is near and dear to Stacy's heart. Her passion is bringing the ideas, talent, and enthusiasm of all of those women out of the shadows and into the light, where they belong. She's dedicated to not only bringing the RPG industry into the modern world of web and software development, but also providing platforms for new and up-and-coming designers and developers to showcase and expand their amazing work.

About ConTessa

ConTessa is an apolitical space for women to lead their own tabletop gaming convention, deciding which games they want to run and which panels they want to moderate. ConTessa is a celebration showcasing women who play, create, and love tabletop games.

In addition, it provides women with an outlet to experience gaming as gamers, setting aside for a few fun-filled days the women's issues discussions that often dominate our time and energy in the hobby. While women run all aspects of ConTessa, anyone can join in the fun - playing in games, joining a panel, or watching events. The convention is held online, spanning the globe, open to all. Google Hangouts keeps things accessible - no need for a high-end computer or expensive specialized equipment, just click and play.

ConTessa Registration Central

This year, we're adding a new tool that allows you to view events, sign up to play or attend, and manage your schedule - all from a central location. Modern and user-friendly design is important to us, but it takes time and skill. Your support will help us build the best version possible, using modern web development practices and technologies. You can check it out, here, now, and register new events early!

ConTessa Blog & Archives

The ConTessa Blog is home to all of our news and announcements, as well as a central clearinghouse for news and updates about women in gaming. The blog also stores the archives of our previous games, panels, and events, allowing people to watch at their leisure. You can help with maintenance costs by supporting this ConTessa campaign.

We strive to make ConTessa professional and polished, and that includes paying for high-quality artwork and marketing to deliver a one-of-a-kind online gaming experience. It isn't the cheapest way to go, but we think it is worth it to broaden the appeal and attract new players to online gaming.

ConTessa merchandise makes great door prizes. Our swag was extremely popular during ConTessa 2013, and we're expanding the program this year....

Earthdawn 4e Announced

PRESS RELEASE FROM FASA GAMES

FASA Games is pleased to announce Earthdawn: Fourth Edition, coming in 2014.


For the past twenty years, Earthdawn has built a loyal fan base as an original and engrossing fantasy gaming experience. As the game enters its third decade, we are taking the opportunity to update the game, revisiting the core systems to find a balance between the game’s legacy and more recent developments in game design.


We are also taking this opportunity to advance the game’s timeline. Earthdawn: Fourth Edition will be set about five years after the end of the Second Theran War. The Therans have largely been driven from the province of Barsaive. Throal has narrowly avoided civil war and has turned inward. The Denairastas clan continue their plans to dominate the province. And the Horrors, as always, lurk in the darker places, feeding on the pain, fear, and uncertainty the war left in its wake. More than ever, the world needs heroes.


In preparation for the release of the Player’s Guide and Gamemaster’s Guide—currently slated for Summer 2014 release—plans are under way for a Kickstarter campaign in early 2014 to fund the printing and new artwork for the core books.


Development is also under way on new, original sourcebooks -- the first since 2011. Currently in the works are books about the city of Travar, a closer look at the Passions and their Questors, and the elven nations outside Barsaive.


More information about upcoming releases, the Kickstarter campaign, and teasers about some of the changes in store for Earthdawn: Fourth Edition, can be found on the Earthdawn Developer’s Blog at www.fasagames.com.


ADDITIONAL POST FROM LINE DEVELOPER

So by now you have probably seen the announcement that we are working on Earthdawn: Fourth Edition, with plans to release the core books next summer. No doubt there are a lot of questions, so let's get too it.

What about the Revised Gamemaster's Guide?

The book is not going to see print. The decision to move forward with a Fourth Edition is probably the biggest decision I had to make so far as line developer. I know that people have been waiting for this book for some time, and I am sorry to disappoint them, but let me try and lay out some of my thinking.

I don't think it is any secret that the last few years have been rocky ones for the public face of Earthdawn. Revised is tied to that history, and is pretty much Third Edition with a different skin. Fourth Edition -- hopefully -- represents a fresh start with a new hand at the helm. It doesn't make much sense to rush the Revised GM Guide to press, only to announce the new edition shortly after that. Not only would this hurt sales of the book, but I don't like the image it presents.

Honestly, I didn't find any of the options to be ideal. I believe the game needs a new edition, and I think it is better to be up front about that -- even if it does mean some disappointment and bad feelings.

What about the time jump?

This is another decision that represents a step forward. When FASA closed up shop on First Edition, Barsaive at War was in early stages of development. While Living Room Games made an effort to address it in Second Edition and advance the game's timeline, RedBrick's Earthdawn Classic rolled back the timeline to before the war, and Third Edition largely maintained this state of affairs.

One of the more common criticisms of the Earthdawn game over the past few years has been the lack of development in the setting. "The War" has been hanging over the line for a while, and Fourth Edition allows us to establish a new status quo. We may revisit the war in future products, but in Fourth Edition it has happened, allowing us to explore the consequences.

More details about how the war has affected Barsaive will be the subject of future posts here.

What can we expect from Fourth Edition?

Other than the setting changes? We're currently working on going through the rules, examining the core concepts and underlying assumptions with an eye towards what works well, what doesn't work so well, and what could simply use some polish. The core dice mechanic -- the Step System -- will remain largely unchanged, and the concepts of Disciplines, talents, thread magic, and other such fundamental game concepts will also remain.

Where we are looking to improve the game is to try and simplify some of the more complex rules, at least with regard to their explanation if not in actual execution. We're also hoping to bring a bit more attention to some of the game aspects that are important to certain character concepts, but are not very well supported by either the rules or GM advice.

There will be the inevitable revisions to individual talents, or the talent selection available to individual Disciplines. Some spells and magic items will see tweaks. All of this is being done with an eye toward helping actual play. Game balance is a nebulous thing, and is a little different for every group, but it is my hope that the books will give you a good set of tools to play Earthdawn.

As with the setting changes, I'll be going into more depth over the coming weeks.

Oh, and you can expect new art.

Hence the Kickstarter campaign?

Exactly. There was new art introduced in some of the Second and Third Edition books, but there has been a lot of recycled artwork -- along with other material -- in the line, and that is another thing that will help mark a fresh start for Earthdawn. A successful Kickstarter campaign will help cover those costs.

I've been going on for a while, but I've hit the high points. If you have questions, you can post them on our forums, or email me (josh at fasagames.com). I may not be able to go into huge detail at this stage, but I will do my best to keep up with the discussion and answer the questions I can.

Machinations of the Space Princess - S3 Conversion Part 4

So I have been converting stuff, I just haven't had a chance to post them recently, so here will be SEVERAL "Monsters" now.

Mind Ravager (Race)
-4CHA -4STR
Creatures of nearly pure intellect, they appear as a brain with legs, tiny eyestalks can be seen protruding from the front. They feed upon mindwaves.

Traits:
Tiny (Small)
Parasitic (Parasite & Host)
Psychic (Psion Power: Sleep & Mindbolt)
was  Intellect Devourer

Doppler (Race)
-4CHA, -4COM

A Naturally psionic race, all Dopplers exhibit the Pheromones Psion Mark (+2 Cha, +1 Com.) While most are true psions, some of the race are killers, hunting in a purely physical manner. The race is very disconcerting to observe in their natural form and are greatly feared throughout the galaxy.

Traits:
Silcon Based (Goo Body)
Shapeshifting
True Shapeshifting
Psionic Power: Beguile

was:  Doppelganger 


Police Robot XP 250 (Goon)
Close Defense: 12
Ranged Defense: 14
Armour: 1d4
Hit Dice: 6+6 (33hp)
Initiative: +0
Movement: 13m
Attacks: 2/+2
Damage 1d4 Tentacles/1d8 laser blaster
Saves: 5 (6 toughness)
Skills: Law: 1

Traits:
Robot (painless)
Armor 1d4
Electroshock (tentacles)
Tentacles

This is a police robot from the adventure, I had to tone it down from the adventure, because those things have WAY too many powers to fit well into MotSP.

Kickstarter - Advanced Bestiary FINAL HOURS!

 Passing this along, a repost from the kickstarter updates. As you remember I backed this as the early bird, I was one of the first backers even...and now it's coming up on the 50k MARK!

"I would encourage you to post on your favorite boards and social media like Facebook. You would be surprised how many people actually don't find out until it is too late. Or, how many people mean to pledge but forget. Or, how many people are on the fence and just need a little nudge. We're at the stage where just a handful of people make a difference. Here's some points to tell your friends:

* It's been a trusted third party publisher resource for years and will continue to be so.

* Backing now instead of buying later means more content for everybody and a better book.

* This book increases the value of the monster books they already bought. It's like getting a handful of new Bestiaries."

BACK THIS BOOK!!!

I'm not Dead...

OK it looks like I've been slacking on the blog, and in a sense I have, but I have good reason, I just went to see my dad before he passes. I'll be getting back on track here soon, the holidays are upon us. Work is in crunch mode currently and that means a lot of OT, which combined with Working out, means something's got to give, thus, the blog.

But  I do have some stuff to share I just need to transfer it to the blog instead of pencil notes.

so PLEASE STAND BY!

Kickstarter - The Strange final hours.

The final hours of "The Strange" kickstarter are upon us.

I finally decided to back it last night, as I knew I would be picking up the core rulebook regardless and effectively I get "ALL THE PDFs" for an additional $20...that's a good deal.

So let's push toward that final Conversion guide, letting you use Numenera and The Strange together through conversion....nice.

Machinations of the Space Princess - S3 conversion Part 3

Additional S3 baddies, in this one I tackle the Displacer Beast and the Phase Spiders

One thing I have to mention is that these conversions are always rough, they are being hammered from a freeform creation of the old school into a modular system of the OSR.

Void Strider XP 25 (Beast) 
Close Defense: 12
Ranged Defense: 12
Armour: 1d4
Hit Dice: 3 (14hp)
Initiative: +1
Movement: 10m
Attacks: 1/+1
Damage 1d4+poison
Saves: 5
Skills: Stealth 1, Climb 1
Traits:
Selective Intangibility (see below)
Venomous (1d4)
Chitinous Shell (1d4 armor)

This was a Phase Spider

Selective Intangibility: The Void Strider can escape become intangible as an action, allowing it to attack, and escape quite easily.


Shadow Hunter XP 150 (Beast) 
Close Defense: 12
Ranged Defense: 14
Armour:None
Hit Dice: 6 (27hp)
Initiative: +1
Movement: 10m
Attacks: 2/+1
Damage 1d8 Natural
Saves: 5
Skills: Stealth 2
Traits:
Predator Natural Weapons (1d8)
Stealth
Pounce (15m leap)
Tentacles

This was the Displacer Beast Effectively I took the 'displacement' ability and translated it to a ranged defense increase.

Machinations of the Space Princess - S3 conversion Part 2

A Couple more baddies converted from S3. (Updated the SIF after I found the engulf trait)


Screamer XP 25 (Beast) 
Close Defense: 12
Ranged Defense: 12
Armour: 0
Hit Dice: 2 (4hp)
Initiative: 0
Movement: none
Attacks: 1/+1
Damage 1d6
Saves: 5, Toughness: 7
Skills: none
Traits:
Sessile (Can Not Move)
Fungal (No Vitals) Half Hit Points, only 1 pt of damage from physical attacks, normal from energy.
Exotic Attack (Sonic Scream) 1d4 Cone Effect

This was a Shrieker The exotic attack is based on 2 advances of Sonic Boom instead of making it 1d6, I made it 1d4 and  added an area of effect; just like upgrading a weapon...this is fun!

SIF (Sky is Falling) XP 75 (Beast)
Close Defense: 12
Ranged Defense: 12
Armour: 1d6 (exterior)
Hit Dice: 4 (18hp)
Initiative: +1
Movement: 10m ground
Attacks: 1/+1
Damage 1d6
Saves: 5
Skills: Ambush: 1, Stealth: 3
Traits:
Engulf
Camouflage (+2 Stealth)
Echolocation
Shell
This was a Lurker Above. The SIF is a pure ambush predator, it hangs from high places, camouflaged, then drops its 500lb body on top of any opponents below, crushing them, and then constricting. While it's heavy armored hide protects it from outer attacks. This is a young version. The SIF can continue to grow, with many reaching 40 feet in width, the largest on record was 75 feet in width, weighing over 3000 pounds.

DCC RPG WORLDTOUR #6

So, I got over to Pair-a-Dice Games to play the first part of the conversion of my favorite old-school module: The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. Now having had architectural training, I looked at the original map and thought, wow...fireplaces going up into the floor and stopping...so I updated it in AutoCAD, quite a lot.

How these Floorplans aren't perfect, as I rushed them the first day I tried to run the adventure, but they're close. There should be a door between the scullery and the kitchen, and there's a bit of overlapping hatching...but not too bad.

Here's some pictures of us actually playing

My next door neightbor was at the store, and he brought his almost 5 year old over to watch!!

Before Sean and Ian actually made it inside, they waited for morning outside the walls of the garden...and we best by goblins at 4AM, the fight ended with back to back crits from Ian's halfling, and a critical hit from Sean's wizard as well!!!

The two mighty level 1 heroes stand over the poor goblins, slain before they could give insult or injury (3 crits in 2 turns will do that.)

Machinations of the Space Princess - S3 Conversion Part 1

So a couple weeks ago I posted that it would be fun to run a Machinations of the Space Princess game as a n exploration mission to recover a lost science vessel. This excursion would be to the downed spacecraft on a backwater planet that had a high psion population, however, they think it's 'MAGIC'...

So instead of a lost science vessel, the sleazy gits will find info on an Exo vessel...the cargo could be priceless. First they're going to have to locate the exact location and then brave the vessel....encountering all the nasty critters onboard.

So I will be creating an entire adventure over time, INSPIRED by S3, but not fully S3, I will recreate the maps in AutoCAD and eventually have a complete adventure. But in the meantime, I need to start slow...so here's the first Monster for ES3 - Excursion to the Broken Peaks


Fungusfiends (These would take the place of the vegepygmies from S3.)
First I will start off by analyzing the original creature.

Plant creature that is a meat eating hunter and scavengers. Piercing weapons only do half damage. Electrical attacks do no damage. OK that's a bit odd for Machinations mobs...so I'm going to use the following traits to represent them. Their coloration allows them to surprise 50% of the time

Fungal (No Vitals) Half Hit Points, only 1 pt of damage from physical attacks, normal from energy.
Hunter (Warrior) +1 close and ranged attacks.
Scavenger (Tough) Increase Toughness Save score by +2

They range in Hit Dice from 1-6. As hunters we will consider them 'trained' so 3 hit dice

Fungusfiend XP 50 (Goon)
Close Defense: 13
Ranged Defense: 12
Armour: 0
Hit Dice: 3 (7hp)
Initiative: 0
Movement: 10m ground
Attacks: 1/+2
Damage 1d6
Saves: 5, Toughness: 7
Skills: Sneak Attack: 1

Fungusfiend XP 10 (Fodder)
Close Defense: 11
Ranged Defense: 10
Armour: 0
Hit Dice: 3 (2hp)
Initiative: 0
Movement: 10m ground
Attacks: 1/+2
Damage 1d6
Saves: 5, Toughness: 7
Skills: Sneak Attack: 1

Fungusfiend  Sub-Leader XP 100 (Hard Bastard)
Close Defense: 15
Ranged Defense: 14
Armour: 0
Hit Dice: 3 (12hp)
Initiative: 0
Movement: 10m ground
Attacks: 1/+3
Damage 1d6
Saves: 6, Toughness: 8
Skills: Sneak Attack: 1

New DCCRPG Houserule

So after playing through the entrance to my modification of Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, the boys and I were talking on the way home, and through that discussion, I came up with a modification to the non-proficient weapon rules. (Though I re-read the rules and realized half of the rule was already done...too many funnels without penalty.)

Alternate Improvised Weapons/Non-proficiency Rules
Attacks with improvised weapons do not use a lower die on the dice chain but still may not score a critical however, they so fumble on a 1 OR 2, and increase the die used in the dice chain, so the fumble die is a bit more spectacular.

I haven't play tested these rules yet, let me know if you try them and they work for you.

Kickstarter - Advanced Bestiary by Green Ronin Games

Green Ronin Games is bringing back the ADVANCED BESTIARY updated to the Pathfinder RPG Rulese with the Advanced Bestiary Kickstarter 

While I'm not actively playing Pathfinder, I'm backing it because it is the BEST book of the d20 era. I own all three of the books that Chris mentions below...great books one and all.

In 2005 Green Ronin Published the Advanced Bestiary for the d20 System. It was a monster book that took the idea of templates and ran with it. The Advanced Bestiary featured over 100 new templates and sample monsters built using them. It was a terrific toolkit and added value to every monster book GMs already owned. For years people have been asking us to do a Pathfinder version of the Advanced Bestiary and with your help, we are going to do it!  

The rules revisions are already well under way. The question is, what will the book’s final format be? We are starting with the assumption that the book will be a 264-page hardback with a black and white interior like the original, and that we’ll keep the book’s existing art. Really though, we want to give you a full color hardback with all new art! That’s built into the stretch goals of this Kickstarter, so the final format is up to you all!

You Can’t Eat Accolades! 

The Advanced Bestiary got great reviews as soon as it was released. This was in the later days of the d20 era, when it was harder to impress people and much harder to have a hit book. The critics loved it and sales were solid. Mission accomplished, right? Well, no, as it turned out. The Advanced Bestiary and two other titles (The Black Company and Egyptian Adventures: Hamunaptra) had the misfortune of coming out when our fulfillment company (Osseum Entertainment) was dying and stealing money from our sales to stay afloat. Those three big, expensive-to-print products all sold pretty well—and we saw not a dime of that money. We were, of course, still on the hook for all the associated bills: writing, editing, printing, art, etc. What should have been a triumph thus turned into a disaster. I remember figuring out at one point that for every dollar we paid the designer, Green Ronin lost three dollars. The “Osseum Debacle,” as we came to call it, nearly killed Green Ronin Publishing. We managed to survive though and slowly paid down all of our associated debts. 
The fact that the Advanced Bestiary became a cornerstone book for Pathfinder development has thus always been bitter sweet. We were certainly flattered that Paizo used the Advanced Bestiary in so many of its own books and we were glad players and GMs got so much use out of it. You can’t eat accolades though, so for years I had hoped we could bring this book back and actually turn a profit on it. 
Earlier this year we did a highly successful Pathfinder Kickstarter for our Freeport city setting. Last month I hired Owen K.C. Stephens to be our Pathfinder developer for Freeport and more. I believe now that the Stars are Right for the return of the Advanced Bestiary! Let’s make it happen, Pathfinder fans! 

The Stretch Goals 

As I mentioned, we want this book to be full color and featuring all new art. We’ve baked that into the stretch goals and we are revealing them all so you can see what we ultimately hope to achieve with this campaign. We are also keeping expansion of the book fairly limited by design because we want to have the finished product out to backers next July. The more we might add, the longer this would take, so we are capping the new material at 32 pages. Note, however, that there were originally five web enhancements to the Advanced Bestiary and we’ll be including all of those in the new book. 
$25,000: We will commission a new piece of cover art for the book. 
$30,000: We will add 16 pages of new content to the book. More templates! More monsters! 
$37,500: We will print the book in full color. 
$45,000: We will commission all new interior art for the book. 
$50,000: We will add another 16 pages of new content to the book.

Kickstarter - Corporia

Kickstarter for CORPORIA 

Knights in Shining Armani...Knights of the Round CONFERENCE Table.



This is a pretty unique concept, and it does have a low-end buy-in at $15 for the PDF. But upgrading to Hacker gets you into the playtest as well as additional digital rewards.

What is CORPORIA?

Corporia will be a limited edition, graphic novel-sized, 208-page, full color, signed & numbered hardcover, urban fantasy role-playing game set in the near future. It’s not based directly on any existing property or rules set, but if I had to compare it to other themes you might recognize, it’s what happens when you mix reincarnated Knights of the Round Table with a spoonful of Torchwood, add a pinch of cyberpunk, a dash of Joss Whedon's Angel season 5, and a sprinkling of a corporate-focused Shadowrun. If you enjoy these, you're going to love Corporia.

• "Fascinating, and a breath of originality in a space where it seems like you've seen everything. The mix of ideas is exciting and intriguing, and I genuinely look forward to seeing where it goes!" ~ Sean Patrick Fannon, Creator of Shaintar, Writer/Designer and Publisher, Evil Beagle Games 

In the near future, corporations control the world, and Order is the rule of the day. New technologies clean the environment and raise glittering skyscrapers in outwardly utopian cities, but at the cost of personal freedoms and liberties. Humans toil in wage-slavery to powerful mega-corporations, pacified by drugs, cheap food, and free internet access. It is surely the time foretold in legend, when the Knights of the Round Table would return in the hour of mankind’s greatest need.

Yet the knights are scattered, their memories fragmented, and King Arthur nowhere to be found. Worse, the return of the knights breached the barriers of reality and opened portals to the extra-dimensional realms of Chaos. Now every day brings new horrors as magical anomalies bestow either superhuman abilities or horrible mutations on the populace, monsters lurk in alleys and underground malls, spirits return as electronic geists, and software becomes self-aware. The mega-corporations outwardly dismiss these outbreaks as effects of cosmic 'Flux' radiation (supposedly caused by the former government's meddling with the ozone layer), even while they wage secret wars to master this new energy source. Only you and your allies stand for justice in the struggle between corporate Order and magical Chaos.

Fortunately, you have powerful benefactors: Sir Lancelot (awakened as a megacorp CEO) and his allies Sir Percival, the sorceress Nimue, and the artificial intelligence known as M.E.R.L.I.N.  As a member of the Knightwatch, Lancelot’s secret special operations team, you battle magical monstrosities and augmented humans, dive into living computer networks, infiltrate rival mega-corporations, and more. The only limit is your imagination!

Paizo Sale - Judge Dredd minis.

Paizo is having a sale...Including some Judge Dredd minis...pretty big sale... 50% off the OLD box prices. The new box sets are $10-15 more per box set!!!

Judge Dredd Miniatures

Angel Gang... $12.49!!!! That's half off the old price
Sky Surfer Gang $14.99
Ape Gang $14.99
Fattie Stampede $19.99
Holocaust Judges Box Set $19.99 (that's a little more than the HS/2 unit costs now!!!)
Cursed Earth Desperadoes $14.99

Another Exciting Week!!!

Well over the last week, I've had 10 hours of overtime. Combine this with playing catch-up with around the house things last week, and the hours just slip away.

This week I have to finish the Roman Empire Chapter, I have around 2,000 words written for the 3-6,000 needed; though I could probably write 10-20,000 for a comprehensive Roman Empire chapter during 801 AD; there's just so much information out there.

That's the plan of attack this week, in addition to working out.

Judge Dredd Miniature Game rulebook released!

The new rulebook, a result of the teaming up with Warlord Games has been released. Physical Rulebook from Mongoose it runs $45 US, but, it is over 200 pages, and considering the rulebook for a certain other game runs almost $100...

The Full rulebook is Full color.

The FREE Primer is now available as well. The Primer includes all the basic rules and quick reference information you need to run a game of Judge Dredd minis. Miniatures however are not included. The layers are not accessible so you can't turn off the background, so print it at a copy place to save your black ink. The PDF contains Quick Justice Department Rules, Gamer Rules and a scenario.

Inside the Primer you will find my name and Sean & Ian's names as playtesters...=D















If you want a more in depth look at the system, check out the old rulebook still available on Drivethru...for free...get it before it's pulled.

Gam3Day at the 10th on 11/10/2013

Mario Torres will be running Haunting of Larvik Island.

The theme for this event is: SUPER HEROES!

If I can make the time to go, I think the Judges might be trying to take down a Vigilante and his Misguided sidekick.

Earthdawn Appreciation Day 2014

So I think for Earthdawn Appreciation day this coming year, I'm going to set some more in depth constraints to the contest.

Perhaps an Circle 4 adventure, featuring a new Horror, a New Legendary Item, and a Cool location with map.

My only problem is with entrants, if I make it too harsh, then no one will want to participate for a few PDFs and a little banner. I wonder if I could get FASA Games to sweeten the deal...

Pair-a-Dice Halloween Event

Pair-a-Dice will once again be hosting their Halloween event, run by Fanatical Gamer's Society.

Where?
Pair-a-Dice Games
2020 Hacienda Dr
Vista, CA
pairadicegames.com

When?
26 October 2013 from Noon to 9pm 

I will be there running some fun games.

Conan-Cthulhu Munchkin (with some prize support)
Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft were friends and contemporaries, therefore the Conan and Cthulhu sets are perfect mixture.

Join Sean, Ian, and I; we will be running Munchkin, Zombie Dice, Munchkin Zombies etc. 

MegaCity One Zom-Pocalypse - Judge Dredd Miniatures Game
Judge Dredd is occupied with the Dark Judges so it's up to Judge Giant and some cadets to take on a Sabbat wannabe, dozens of citizens have been killed already, a execution order has been given for the psychic Sabbat wannabe, kill or be killed. Oh, these zombies are infectious as well...

Dungeon Crawl Classics - Mystery of Greyshield Manor.
Revisit a classic adventure, with Dungeon Crawl Classics, a new take on my personal favorite adventure, Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh.

One page Dungeons link

So this is a page I never knew existed, since 2009, there have been numerous 1-page Dungeon Contest going on annually...

This is good stuff for game masters!!! I have been looking at some of them, and there are some really neat ideas...i will definitely be entering next year...and I'll try to get the boys to enter as well.

http://campaignwiki.org/wiki/DungeonMaps/One_Page_Dungeon_Contest

FASA Games posts about 1879

So the first developer's (Andrew Ragland) post about 1879 is up on FASA Games blog.

If you've been interested in this game, check it out.

"Like any steampunk-genre game, we're using an alternate history, a timeline that diverges from our own at key points so that things go a bit differently. In 1879, Prince Albert survived the coach crash and the subsequent infections, thanks to a massive assemblage of medical and scientific expertise by a Queen determined not to lose her beloved consort. Confined to a wheelchair, Prince Albert continued pushing forward the science and technology that had saved his life, resulting in a Silver Exhibition, 25 years after the famous Crystal Exhibition."

More on their blog.

Gam3Day in review

We had a very small turnout for the Gam3day, but we all still had fun. Ran a FRAG/ZOMBIES!!! crossover game, FRAG is typically pretty fast (unless people are playing VERY cautious.) ZOMBIES doesn't run very quickly.

 Look HERE for the basic rules.

We made the following tweaks to it.

FRAG ZOMBIES!!!

1. Zombies move into a player's square to attack, not adjacent. (This was a mistake on my part at first, but makes more sense.)

2. Ranged weapons damage dice can be split against multiple targets.
In a normal game of Zombies, each time you move you can kill a zombie in every square you move into.
We modded this for the FRAG rules by allowing splitting damage dice from FRAG weapons, since it's pretty silly to unload an entire Heavy Assault Cannon on a single zombie. Example: Take your 7D, and split them against 3 zombies within range, less likely to kill each but, not overkill.

3.  Zombies attack as a horde at the end of a phase.

If more than one zombie is in a player's square at the end of the turn, add an additional die for each zombie.
ex: 2 zombies: 3 dice, 3 zombies: 4 dice, 4 zombies: 5 dice, and so on.

4. Weapons which affect adjacent creatures. Adjacent in this case; means all the zombies in that square, not adjacent squares.

 additional rules I will try next time.


5. Zombies sense living creatures, they will not move away from players in the same tile.

6. If a player's health roll doubles a zombie attack, they kill those attacking zombies.
Not play tested, but makes sense.

7. Movement Speedx2 (moving 1-3 squares is ludicrous). Move 2 squares per point of speed.

Ran 2 hours of Judge Dredd, Zombies fall really quickly under the hail of Lawgiver execution rounds at 3 per shot, but the Zombie Master with Animate Dead is REALLY fun to raise the fallen minions, as new zombies. The opening advantage goes to the Justice Department, but as long as the Zombie Master isn't killed (which is harder to do with Shroud of Death.)


Played in Mario's Tomb of Horrors, we didn't finish, but man that was an extremely fun adventure. Playing at 7th level is insanely different. The spells typically get the upper results. I think I will convert the White Plume Mountain adventure to DCC and run it soon.

Gam3 Day Sunday October 13th

I will be doing a Judge Dredd Miniature Game Justice Department vs. Zombies demo on Sunday at the Gam3Day at the 10th. A Bunch of Cadets will attempt to hold off a Zombie Horde led by a Necromancer.

I will also be running a bit of Munchkin Zombies and Zombie Dice.

Mario Torres will be running a Dungeon Crawl Classics version of Tomb of Horrors, Level 7!!!

Should be Epic!!!

Still here

Hey been 6 days, Epic RPG Blog is still here, been an insanely busy week, culminating in the Game Truck birthday party for the Epic Twins...



Lots of items have been released recently, but I took the plunge on Malifaux 2e. I know there's a lot of upset players, but so far from what I've seen I like. Yeah, I'm missing a lot of cards for figures I want to use, but I know that they'll most likely be in the Wave 2 arsenal cards, Sue, and Vanessa, and the Guild Riflemen are ones I really want to get their cards for.

Dreadball is another game I'm absolutely loving, it's fast, it's fun and it is becoming more popular. Also, Sean and Ian like it as well. So far we're playing with just the Orx/Goblins and the Humans, but my MegaCity Headbreakers have been ordered. I came up with a special rule that the boys think is fair to represent the Judge's team. We are the Law - The Justice Department team will never commit a foul. The team may never commit a foul action in other words. Ever Vigilant - As Judges, they are always on the lookout for danger, and highly trained. If another team attempts to cheap shot a Judge, they can automatically turn one face. (this can actually be used against the Judges to turn them away from goals, so it is quite balanced.)

I finally got my copy of Machinations of the Space Princess from Lulu. I'm REALLY impressed how fast the order was taken care of, as it was my Lulu print on demand order. It was printed within 24 hours and I received it 2 days after that. In addition; I received it in absolutely perfect condition, it was packed on bubble wrap, at an angle in the box, providing maximum corner protection. Truly impressed. I love this game.

In other news, there will be a Gam3rCon Gam3day coming up on Sunday from noon to 9

ZOMBIE DAY! 
It's that time again, Gam3days have arrived!!!  October 13th is Zombie Day! We need local GMs to host zombie themed campaigns in addition to having our Game Library present.  On top of that there will be Demos throughout the event of the Necrons from Warhammer 40k.  The event will run from Noon to 9pm. 

What: 9 HOURS OF ZOMBIFIED HORRORS
When: October 13th 12pm - 9pm
Where: At the 10th Avenue Theatre, San Diego
Why: Because you're made of awesome.

Kickstarter - Mr. Bones II

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1513061270/reaper-miniatures-bones-ii-the-return-of-mr-bones

I'll let the pictures talk.

What's up in Epic Land?

Gaming wise, not as much as I'd like. School is back in session for the boys, I'm working out and they turn 14 this weekend...so upcoming birthday party has us running around doing stuff. Working out is of course taking up a lot of time. But well worth it.

We playtested the Judge Dredd Miniature Game's new rulebook, which is always fun, we are in the Playtest section, all three of us!!! Excellent. I'm also going to be preparing my most excellent Halloween event, unfortunately the demons haven't come in just yet, so it will be Sabbat commanding a legion of zombies, and a few werewolves might make an appearance.

I'm going over the playtest rules for another game which is in development.

I'm also mid-research on the Holy Roman Empire.

Games Wise, I'm looking to run some SJG soon.

I'll be doing a lot of JDMG painting in the coming weeks as well.

At Ease Games' big news

I was talking with Ron Kent at AT EASE GAMES,  and it seems he might be getting a new location....which would be the LARGEST in San Diego at a whopping 4800 square feet!! In addition it will be just outside of Miramar Air Base...talk about location, location,  location!!

We had a great conversation, he was telling me some of the plans, bar-b-ques, a bar, etc, lots of possibilities. and enough space to hold Magic tournaments AND role-playing events on Friday Nights perhaps...

Go Out and Play with your kids!!!

NICKELODEON TO CELEBRATE 10^TH ANNUAL WORLDWIDE DAY OF PLAY

WITH FLAGSHIP EVENT IN BROOKLYN’S PROSPECT PARK ON SEPT. 21

Network Partners with the City of New York and More than 30 National Organizations

For Week-Long City-Wide Health and Wellness-Themed Celebration

Featuring Activities and Games for Kids and Families

NEW YORK–Aug. 20, 2013–Nickelodeon today announced plans to celebrate its 10^th annual Worldwide Day of Play (WWDoP) health and wellness initiative with a signature event on the Nethermead in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on Saturday, Sept. 21.   This year’s WWDoP event will feature more than 30 national and local partner organizations, including, the NFL, NBA, USTA, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and YMCA of Greater NY, among others.  Leading up to WWDoP, Nickelodeon will also partner with NYC & Company to host health and wellness-themed public events across the city in iconic locations, beginning Monday, Sept. 16.  Locations include the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum and Union Square.  The full details and locations of all events will be updated regularly in the coming weeks on www.nick.com/play. 

“We are incredibly excited to commemorate our milestone, 10^th anniversary Worldwide Day of Play celebration in New York City, one of the greatest cities in the world and home to our corporate offices,” said Marva Smalls, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Administration, Nickelodeon Group. “Over the past 10 years, Nickelodeon has been at the forefront of addressing health and wellness issues with our audience. With our Worldwide Day of Play signature event, kids around the globe will connect to activities and organizations that will aid them in adopting healthy and active lifestyles.” 

Nickelodeon’s WWDoP in Prospect Park will be a free, ticketed event offering an entire day of activities and games for kids and their families, including football and tennis drills, dance, stepping and double dutch, as well as arts and entertainment to encourage active and healthy lifestyles.  The network and its prosocial partner organizations*— including, Girl Scouts, National Parks Foundation and Police Athletic League, — along with the New York Road Runners, the ASPCA®, Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC, Association of Children’s Museums, will be at the Nethermead in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on Sept. 21 from 10:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. (ET).  Additional partners will be announced on www.nick.com/play.

In the week leading up to WWDoP, Nickelodeon and NYC & Company--the city’s official marketing, tourism and partnership organization--will host public events in iconic locations across the city.  For example, Nickelodeon and Zumba Fitness will host a “Bring Your Kids to Workout” event at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.   Also, Nickelodeon will partner with Art of Stepping, JumpLife,   National Double Dutch League, Afterschool Alliance and others, to help kids warm up for WWDoP in Union Square Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park.   In addition, Nickelodeon’s non-profit and educational partners will also host activities and events at dozens of grassroots locations such as schools, recreation centers and parks in all five boroughs.

For information on ticketing, kids and families can visit www.nick.com/play. Tickets are required and will be available on a first come first serve basis beginning Aug. 26.  The www.nick.com/play site also will include specifics about the WWDoP event in New York City, such as location information, activity schedules, additional partner events and resources to help families plan their own day of play.  A mobile version of the WWDoP site will also be available, through m.worldwidedayofplay.com.  For real-time updates on WWDoP activities, parents can visit www.facebook.com/NickBigHelp or follow @NickTheBigHelp and @NickelodeonTV on Twitter.  

As it has since 2004, Nickelodeon will suspend programming on WWDoP across all of its TV channels–Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Nicktoons and TeenNick– and websites from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. (ET/PT). urging kids to “get up, go outside and play.”  Millions of kids and families across the U.S. and worldwide are expected to participate in thousands of events in dozens of countries.

Worldwide Day of Play is part of Nickelodeon’s The Big Help health and wellness efforts and continues the network’s legacy of promoting positive health and wellness messages to its viewers. The Big Help includes grants programs that help fund fitness and nutrition programs in local communities across the U.S., public service announcements, a dedicated website that provide kids with more information on ways they can get healthy, games and more.  Through Nick’s health and wellness efforts over the past 10 years, millions of kids have pledged to get healthy. 

Members of the media seeking more information about Nickelodeon’s 10th annual Worldwide Day of Play can visit www.nickpress-worldwidedayofplay.com.

Nickelodeon’s 10^th annual Worldwide Day of Play is nationally sponsored by Birds Eye®, Burlington, United States Tennis Association and Visit California. 

Nickelodeon, now in its 34^th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 18 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com.  Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B).  

International Talk like a Pirate Day - And Freebooter

So it do be International Talk like a Pirate Day it do, and I got the scuttlebutt from the landlubbers at Green Ronin, that I were accepted into the Freebooter Program. YARRRRR.

So now that the ITLaPD stuff is done, that means I'll be able to get to running some cool new Games for them.

First on the Agenda will be FREEPORT FATE!!!

Mega-City Headbreakers - My future Dreadball Team

So I think I might be taking the dive into Dreadball. However, I think for my personal team I'm going to run a DREDD team, the Mega-City Headbreakers.(Now, if I had to pay for this team, it would run me around $75, which is slightly more than a normal team...well like a LOT more than a normal team, but...hey I love Dredd!!!)

I think I'll use Street Judges as Guards (The ones with the daystick)
 

I'll use Psi-Judges as Jacks
 

and Judge Jimps  as Strikers (after removing the guns)


Judge Dredd Keeper

Gam3Day Sept 15th was GREAT

So Gam3rCon Gam3Day was great, Sundays work well for me, but not so well for the first slot for RPGs...as usual; because you know...church and people like to sleep in, etc. So I had 3 players for my DCCRPG game; but since two of them were pretty young, when it got to the puzzles, they got bored, and decided they want to do other stuff. So I only got the introduction and two full combats taken care of, of course, I wracked up THREE kills in those two combats, MWUAHAHAHAH. They did enjoy the combats however, they wanted MORE combats, not realizing that combats or peasants is DEATH.

Well after the DCCRPG game went south, we played a bit of Munchkin Zombies, and some Zombie Dice.

After the Zombie Dice it was time for what I had been waiting for...The Doctor Who game run by Chris Czerniak, who stepped down from organizing the events at Gam3rCon, which is GREAT to me, since now he's GMing at the Gam3days!!! WOOHOO!!
+Chris Czerniaks game was GREAT, and Chris is a great GM, keeping even the youngest player on track, and mostly in check. We we all playing Timelords, Sol played The Doctor, I played Romana, Diz played Susan and her brother played Corrillius. We started off in a Modern TARDIS, towing the Doctor's Bluebox, We then get stuck in a Time Vortex Trap, so I had to use Romana's Boffin ability to make something to get out of the trap...We had a blast, the kids totally got into it, with Chris' narrative style working to help the kids play better, and be creative...did we save Olympus from the Daleks? Maybe...only Time will tell.

I'm not going to spoil the entire adventure, cuz maybe you will get the chance to play in Chris' adventure.

Finished off the night with +david blood teaching me how to play DREAD BALL!!! Course now i want to make a Dredd team to play Dread Ball, Psions could be the strikers. Dread Ball was very fun, and much faster than Bloodbowl....I need to really look at the Campaign rules to see how good they are. 

DCCRPG at the 10th!

So here's what I'm cooking up for the Gam3Day at the 10th on Sunday.

Before the Light from Below...there was

Vanished Under the Harbinger Moon
It was well past day break when you woke, the sun climbing beaming through your window, when the Town Bell began its keening wail. The rapidly ringing bell calling everyone to the town hall for an emergency meeting...you rose to wake the children, but they were gone...Vanished under the Harbinger Moon, the portent of doom, the Murderer's Moon, the Sacrificial Moon...

So A Blue Moon is the 2nd Full Moon in a month, I figured the second New Moon in a month would be the Harbinger Moon...

DREDD Sequel

So I had signed the Dredd Sequel petition a couple months ago...and it made them sit up and take notice, with 80,000 signatures...

So check this out!!

Thank you - you're one of more than 80,000 people have now signed the petition calling for a sequel to DREDD! The response to the petition has been just incredible and the endorsement of the owners of Judge Dredd, 2000 AD and Rebellion, has seen the numbers surpass everyone's expectations.

But we still need your help!

On 18th September, we're encouraging everyone to take part in a massive DREDD SEQUEL DAY OF ACTION - we've already made the moneymen who could get behind a sequel sit up and take notice by consistently keeping the DVD and Blu-Ray in the charts on Amazon and now on Netflix.

We're asking everyone who's signed the petition to come together next Wednesday and drive DREDD back up the charts - if everyone who's signed the petition bought an extra DVD or Blu-Ray (either for themselves or as a present for a friend) or rented/bought it on iTunes and Netflix it will send the loudest signal yet that WE WANT MORE DREDD!

So spread the word that on Wednesday 18th September, you're going to bring DREDD back into the public eye! Plus, it's the day that the new comic book sequel comes out, with lots of media attention planned for this and the campaign.

Thanks to Rebellion for helping put this newsletter together - we're also really pleased to reveal that the official T-shirt for the campaign is now available, so you can wear your support with pride!

So, you ready?


 So join together if you're a geek, watch Dredd on Netflix if you haven't already watched it, watch it again, I'll be watching it this weekend...maybe twice!!! I'm also going to go buy it somewhere! Jump in and help out!
 

Gameday at the 10th - Sunday Sept 15th

Come on down to  the Tenth Avenue Theatre for a Gam3Day this SUNDAY!!! I will be running some DCCRPG.

10th Avenue Theatre
930 10th Avenue, San Diego, Ca

 It is time for another Game Day and I can't wait. There will be card, board and role-playing games. It will be $5 and made of awesome!

What: A whole day of gaming
When: Sunday, September 15th from 12-9pm
Where: At the 10th Ave Theatre
Why: Because you're awesome!
Note: It is $5 if you RSVP through the Gam3rcon website or pay at the door. Prereg through the gam3rcon website and paypal to receive free raffle.

http://www.gam3rcon.com/sept-gam3day.html

COME ON DOWN!!!!

Numenera, Short Order Heroes and 2d10

Numenera,

d20 Hate
Well if you follow this blog, you know that I HATE the d20 linear probability. Looking at the rules for Numenera I think I can easily drop the d20 for my favored 2d10. The easy target number 3 with a d20 is a 10% chance of failure(not that easy)...Easy Target number 3 with 2d10 equals a 99% chance of success...a true easy skill check...

Short Order Heroes and Numenera
As Numenera uses 3 stats and Short Order Heroes uses 3 personality cards there's a real easy way to utilize SHO cards in Numenera. 1 card per stat.

Choose your Class
Draw your cards and add the numbers to your stats. Pull three cards, the three cards will have stats from 0 to 7. But only 1 card of 108 is a 0, so most are going to be between 1 and 6.

For Example:
Gullible 1
Enthusiastic 4
Well-armed 4



Add them to your Jack in the order you want
Might 10 + 4 Well-Armed
Speed 10 + 4 Enthusiastic
Intellect 10 + 1 Gullible

Or
Expendable 2
Cute 5
Glum 4

Add them to your Glaive in the order you want
Might 11 + 5 = 16 Cute
Speed 10 + 4 = 14 Glum
Intellect 7 + 2 = 9  Expendable

Now you have a set of traits for your personality. Pretty cool. Of course this gets away from the standard point buy, but if you really want to utilize the point buy, then just use the SHO cards for personalities.

Edit: After thinking about it for a little bit at lunch, I think I would drop all the starting scores by 1 or 2, remove the 0 and the 7 cards from the deck. This will give an average of 2-3 added to the stats, which would be closer to the intended stats.

Add them to your Glaive in the order you want
Might 10 + 5 = 15 Cute
Speed 9 + 4 = 13 Glum
Intellect 6 + 2 = 8  Expendable

JDMG playtesting

So this weekend has been about play testing the new Dredd rules, so we've played 3 fun Famous Fights so far. The rules themselves are pretty much the same, I've noticed some tweaks in point values and some numbers changed (most notably the RoboDogs, which dropped from +7 armor to +2 armor, and the werewolf templated went from +50 creds to +75 creds, which is a good change.)

We played Cheap Punk; a Dredd versus Gestapo Bob and his 30 gangers scenario. It ended up fantastically, with Dredd surviving by his "Die Hard/Die Harder" ability keeping him alive when he finally took down Gestapo Bob.

We played the Robot Uprising twice, Both times the Judges held the line, taking down the Demolition Droids. That scenario was pretty fun, the boys each played the Robots.

Today we're going to play the Dekker's Last Stand scenario, 30 zombies versus 5 judges. This scenario is awesome, since it uses the "Click, oh Grud" rules, aka, roll a 1 and end up out of ammo for that weapon; and the zombies just keep coming, each turn more zombies hit the field.

So off to Playtest some Dredd!!!

Con Report - Gateway 2013 Saturday (Ron)

The boys will be having their own con reports from Gateway 2013, the last of the Strategicon 2013 events. This is my personal experience.

Not being able to go to the Con on Friday really locks out the most popular RPG events. Even though we made it to the con at 8:30, got our badges (Strategicon is the best badge for media I've come across so far, took all of 2 minutes!! NICE.), and headed up, only to find out that nearly every game we REALLY wanted to play in were already full. So we signed up for alt spots, but weirdly enough, people showed up for those games anyway.

I was really looking forward to playing in Chris Czerniak's Doctor Who Time War game, but since it was full, I headed down to play some miniature games.

   I had Seen SAGA being played at At Ease, so when I saw Octave Vilare (sorry if that's misspelled Octave), doing demos for it, I had to give it a try. He had Welsh and Anglo-Danes as the two options, me being Welsh in descent it was a no-brainer, Welsh it was. Welsh in saga are very good at throwing pointy sticks...as in they all have javelins. The system used in Saga is VERY interesting, no tracking wounds, and you need to plan out your attacks using the battle board, and the Saga dice (sold separately, and quite expensive, though you can use normal d6...1-3, 4-5, 6 equalling the standard rolls.). The game was no going in my favor at first, I lost 2 elite hearth guard units, and his warlord ended up attacking me, however he lost and I ended up driving him back from me. Where during my third turn I used 8 warriors t launch a fusillade of javelins at him with "deadly precision" ending up in 4 hits, he immediately absorbed on of those hits, sacrificed the last warrior with him, and promptly failed both armor rolls resulting in a pincushioned Warlord, which Octave said was the first time he'd seen a Warlord die to a ranged attack...very nice.

   I had gotten Rezolution by Aberrant, last year at Kingdom Con, with the premade battlebox. I have this issue with reading and comprehension, unless I've seen it in action, sometimes, I get confused, so I decided to give the Rezolution demo a try with none other than Tony Knealy himself. . It was a 2 turn game, turn 1 I lost initiative, and so Tony went first. He moved up his troopers, I moved my psyker, and tornadoed his troops, killing two and severely injuring the other 2...this was my downfall, I didn't get him close enough for cover.But yes, normal troopers, have a hit track...making this game quite interesting for the less casual wargamer. It is skirmish based but incorporates some RPG style feats into the game, giving it more depth. Tony moved his hero up, missed my hero, but when initiative came up for the 2nd round, he didn't miss...he killed my hero, and EVERY SINGLE one of my other units Failed their Command roll, and fled the battle. I definitely need to play this some more.

  While I was playing the Rezolution demo; Sean and Ian came back down...Ian REALLY wanted to play Warlands, so he and I faced off in a car+buggy on car+buggy match that resulted in a 4 car pile up, where my buggy ACTUALLY bumped both of Ian's cars twice (each!!!) since he was pretty much pinned in there....hilarious...until my car cruised out of there, and whipped a Bootlegger reverse, and shattered both of Ian's vehicles, the buggy exploding and crashing backwards a full 6 inches. As always, a fun fun game.

  We went and cruised the dealer hall for 30 or so minutes before we went up and did the Short Order Heroes RPG demo...let's just say "Gonzo" was the order of the day. So with the GM free-forming, we decided on a Post-apocalyptic Steampunk game...Ok..My character was dealt Complicated, Nosy and Sneaky, so I instantly formulated a plan, I was on the train incognito as an agent, So I started out as the lady Josie James, but in reality I was REX HANDCANNON (it's complicated...), the nosy Pinkerton agent, and master of disguise. We were on the train with a merchant protecting a priceless piece of Romantic art, which I promptly steered the game toward calling it the "Velvet Elvis", hilarity ensued as the entire party started maneuvering to their own agendas...probably the most Gonzo hilarious game this side of Paranoia....I'll let Sean and Ian describe their experience with "SOH"

Anyway, to bed with me...more on this later.

New Judge Dredd mini rules playtesting...

Looks like after Strategicon, we're going to be doing some playtesting for the New Warlord's produced Judge Dredd Miniature Games rulebook (Probably mostly ironing out costs for some of the vehicles.)

I've been looking through the playtest copy (xtra low res images), and the layout is pretty slick...

Not going to Gateway 2013?

If you're not going to be at Strategicon, here's something interesting to do tomorrow. If you're in San Diego and want to get out of the heat...head on over to Pair-a-Dice Games for:

 Local Game Designer Showcase
Saturday August 31st
Not going out of town this weekend? Looking for something fun and unique to do? Come by Pair A Dice Games this Saturday for our Local Game Designer Showcase. Play some great games with their designers. See and play prototypes of unreleased games.

Meet Jeff Bellinger, creator of Killer Bunnies and play his newest game.

Or Alex Bagosy, creator of Divided Republic and see his latest prototype. 

Play Joe Gabbard's Skyminers before it hits Kickstarter.

Plus other game creators like John White and his game Powerbotdice.

We will also have our library of other great locally created games for you to play, plus some fun door prizes.

So like I said, a very fun and unique day. Something new and as cool as the AC in our game room.


Saturday - Event August 31st
Start: 12PM - 4PM
Cost: Free


Pair A Dice Games
2020 Hacienda Dr., Suite A
Vista, CA 92081
1 (760) 940-0139
www.pairadicegames.com
Pair A Dice Games

Store Hours:
Saturday 10AM - 9PM

Moving Ahead - Strategicon Incoming!!!

Alright, things seemed to have stabilized, I'm fully recovered from Gam3rCon and fully into working out again. We have Strategicon coming up this weekend, and let me tell you I'll be very happy to just play in games rather than run them. I love running games, but sometimes, you just need to play!!!

So there's a couple of games I'm really looking forward to at Strategicon. Chris Czerniak is running a Doctor Who Time War game, and Mike Olson is running an Atomic Robo game, if you were reading this blog last year, you know that Sean Ian and I got to playtest the Alpha version of Atomic Robo, we had a blast. I'm curious to see what was changed in the final version, and the boys are nearly 14 now, man time flies.

The boys also played Doctor Who for the first time with Chris, at Kingdom Con, hopefully they will rise the role-playing challenge and really shine this time.

Store Spotlight - Sky High Comics - San Marcos, CA

Sky High Comics

625 S. Rancho Santa Fe Rd
San Marcos, CA 92078
(760) 471-0649

Sky High Comics, a long time San Marcos Comic Book shop, was recently bought by the owner of Thou Shalt Game in Temecula. Friendly atmosphere and staff. I'm hoping to set-up some demos here, as this is pretty much on my way home.

Not huge, but not cluttered either.

Steve Jackson, Dominion, and more.

Pathfinder and other RPG Display

Some of the various games above the comic back issues

A lonely boardgame shelf, (though I understand many of the employees bring in their personal stock on occasion.)

Pop Art and Comics Books....mmmmm