Imperial Hobbies, Vancouver

 I just got back from a short trip to Vancouver, British Columbia. While there, I made a trip out to Imperial Hobbies. 

It's a bit out of the way... and it's moved locations since I was last here. 

The kids and I stopped in for an afternon a decade a go. It was a long ride on the Skytrain, but the old location was across the street from one of the stations. Now it's a 20 minute walk from the station. 

It's an old store that's been around a long time... and they just have SO MUCH STUFF!

Wall o'Minatures... It just went on forever!?

This isn't even ALL of the miniatures. This is just a wall of blister packs. Across from it, almost the entire length is shelves full of BOXES full of minitures and terrain and rules for all sorts of historical and fantastical miniature games... and then the next aisle over had even MORE!?

Some of the Bolt Action stuff... 

More Bolt Action stuff... 

I was taking pictures of Bolt Action stuff because I was texting them to Orion... I should have taken more pictures of ALL THE OTHER STUFF! I guess it was a little overwhelming! Lots of games and minis no one else I know of in Canada stocks. Lots of out of print miniatures and games.

They even had a couple of boxes of Great Escape Games minis - including these Hungarians... which I brought back for Orion (how could I NOT!? this box including two ten man rifle squads AND a six man command squad was the same price as a single squad from Warlord Games!?)

There were also SO MANY BOOKS....

This looked really interesting and I'm kind of kicking myself for not picking it up while I was there... 

I know what you're thinking... I spent a LOT of money here.... and... you're not wrong... but... There's a BIG BUT!!!

Amanda came along for the trip and we did buy almost $600 worth of stuff... The friendly staff pointed out that I could buy a membership for $25 and with that any purchases over $300 got 20% off... so we did that and ended up spending a little over $500 (with taxes and the membership...).

Here's the thing... most of it wasn't for me!

Beyond the Hungarians I picked up for Orion, we ended up buying a BUNCH of role-playing game books for Finnegan!! I was texting back and forth with him and there were a bunch of things here that he was interested in... and... he probably would have paid us back for them... But Amanda was feeling like we've done SO MUCH for Morgan (they got TWO trips paid for this year, including flights, accomodations, food... not to mention years of dance classes, all the while Finnegan has asked for NOTHING...) so we decided to just get it all for him... 

bunch of big books for D&D/fantasy role-playing and My Little Pony... 

smaller book of magic stuff for D&D5E that just didn't fit into the picture above... 

What did I get for myself...? Two books out of the half-price bin at the back... 

The older edition of Chain of Command (since SO MANY people have recommended it to me in the comments!) and a Skirmish Elite book of scenarios for WW2 - it was for Italians and Australians in North Africa - which I HAVE, so... Although, perusing it later, I realized I'd STILL need to get more things to play out a few of the scenarios... 

and that's it... there were a LOT of other things I was super tempted to buy... I could have EASILY spent over $500 on myself... Once I got going, I'd have found it hard to know where to draw the line... and I decided I could always just mail order some of it at a later date if, after getting home, I was feeling like I still REALLY needed it!!

While I was in Vancouver, I also picked up a couple other books by illustrators that I like the work of - Dave McKeen and Ralph Steadman. (not at Imperial Hobbies - at another used book store I went in while wandering around with Morgan).

Free RPG Day

Despite pouring rain, I rode my bicycle over to my FLGS - Dragon's Den Games - for Free RPG Day (Role-Playing Games! Not Rocket Propelled Grenades!). The kids and I used to go every year, it was great fun... but I feel like I haven't for a few years. It was cancelled in 2020, I think... another year the Den just never got their box. Another year I don't think they participated. Maybe I did go a couple years ago...? Free League might have had a Blade Runner quick-start or something...? The kids haven't gone with me since before the pandemic. Finnegan works on Saturdays now, and Morgan just isn't into role-playing games anymore... 

This year I picked up a deck of free cards from some world building system...? 

Ah, there are instructions on the tabs of this incredibly hard to open box... 

Different types of cards... 

Information on the cards... 

Oh... I guess if I'd opened the box/sleeve the RIGHT way, it would have been EASIER and I would have found all the instructions!? DOH!

I don't know... seems like the same could be accomplished with a few random tables and a pair of percentile dice... but I get it, it is fun to just flip cards and not have to look shit up on a table in a book... 

Did anyone else go out and pick up something for Free RPG Day? What did you get!? Let me know in the comments! 

Campaign for Ravensflight - Journey to the Vale of Ravensflight

I've been kind of wanting to run a different sort of role-playing game since the Soulbound campaign kind of fizzled... and was thinking of using Five Leagues from the Borderlands for generating the events of the campaign, but maybe using A Song of Blades and Heroes for combat resolution (and maybe elements of Tales of Blades and Heroes for non-combat task resolution...?) 

It has been almost a decade since I last played A Song of Blades and Heroes - the last catalogued play on Board Game Geek was in November of 2015. The following year I picked up ADVANCED Song of Blades and Heroes (ASOBH) when it was released... but then never really got around to playing it until NOW!? 

Tuesday evening Amanda, Finnegan, Orion and I got together to make up a warband/adventuring party and played out a quick encounter to learn the rules for ASOBH!

The basic background I had set out for the campaign was there has been a protracted period of instability caused by a war (and/or civil war) followed by a plague. Their retinue was journeying to a remote region of The Realm that has fallen into chaos. The knight or baron that used to oversee the region had marched off to war a few decades earlier and never returned. Whether appointed to do so by a higher authority (the king or queen him/herself, or maybe a Duke...?) to bring the region back under control and help protect the common people or even permanently take control of the region themselves... or they were just going there on their own thinking there could be money to be made and opportunity to begin carving out a kingdom by their own sword... 

It was up to them how their party was formed... They could be a knight and their retinue... They could be a wizard with apprentices and guards... They could be a anarcho-syndicalist commune that each take it in turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week but all the decisions of that officer have to be ratified at a special biweekly meeting...?

They chose the former option. Orion decided to play a Knight of the Realm - Largely as an excuse to finally paint her Emelda Braskov miniature from Warhammer Quest: cursed City! She is Lady Ismira - the daughter of the Knights that had left on campaign over two decades earlier, before their daughter was even born, and had never returned. Lady Ismira is leading a retinue to reclaim her ancestral lands! 

I said each could play about 100 points worth of stuff - which would make the warband/retinue about 300 points - the suggested size for an average game. Orion's Knight was just over 100 points. 

Amanda took an Assassin and a Veteran Archer. The Assassin, Megan, was trying to escape her life before it was ended prematurely by rivals or friends of victims bent of vengeance. Along the road she met up with Lady Ismira's retinue and offered up her services as a "scout". Amelia - the Veteran Archer - is the older sister of one of Finnegan's characters, who went off to serve in the army after her younger sister was conscripted - to protect her! 

Finnegan ended up with THREE characters! First was Ralores, an apprentice spellcaster, who'd spent almost all of his life living in the Capital serving the Grand Wizard of the Realm. At some point the Grand Wizard of the Realm decided Ralores was a little too "sheltered" and needed some "practical" experience of magic - and the world around them. So when a request for a wizard to accompany a Knight of the Realm on a quest to retake their ancestral homeland came up, Ralores was volunteered for the job! 

The others were Luciana, the younger of Amelia the Archer, a peasant who was conscripted to serve in the Realm's Army near the end of the long wars. She was trained with the Crossbow and fought in many battles alongside her sister under the command of Lady Ismira! And finally there was Yodrick, who had joined the Lady Isimira's Retinue after parting ways with a mercenary company he'd served with for many years during The Wars. 

They also decided they needed a pack animal and found on of my Dungeons and Doggies miniatures that fit the bill... and then a wee child they figured could be the "dog handler". 

I had determined that the Kingdom would be predominantly human. The society/technology level is very much early mediaeval-feudal. Dwarves and Halflings are common enough. Though halflings generally keep to their own in their own rural communities. Dwarves are often free tradesmen or miners. 

Elves are a bit less common. They very definitely prefer to keep to themselves in their own kingdoms deep in the forest or islands off in the sea. 

the adventure began with the group marching along a route they hoped would take them to Lady Ismira's ancestral homelands - a place she had never before visited! 

One afternoon they found their way blocked by a small group of shabby little ratlings, intent on robbing them! 

Lady Ismira's retinue held their ground! 

(I know... using unpainted miniatures... Finnegan insisted on wanting to use his own miniatures... which he has zero interest in painting... ever... and I didn't want to wait a week to play... so I allowed it just this ONCE)

(and now I have to paint his miniatures for him!?) 

Wow! Gregarious Ratlings with a leader can really move! in a turn or two they were upon them, swarming Lady Ismira and Megan the Assassin... er... SCOUT! 

Yodrick stepped in to aid Megan and knocked away one of the Ratlings, then moved to attack one that was swarming Lady Ismira, only to be stabbed in the side with one of their cruelly sharp rusty blades and topped over, blood pouring out of him... 

A ratling armed with a sling loosed a stone and hit Megan square in the forehead and she pitched down, quite unconscious! 

things were not looking great... the player were wondering if I was going to TPK the lot of them on THE FIRST GAME!? 

Eventually they got control of the situation, thanks in large part to Ralores, the Apprentice Spellcaster, who EVERYONE had expected very little from... but ended up being EXTREMELY helpful, being able to put hostile ratlings to sleep with his magiks! It didn't kill them or take them entirely out of the action... but it effectively removed them, if only temporarily, from the action and made them very easy to despatch! 

After the ratlings had been killed or driven off, they checked on Yodrick only to discover he'd bled out and died. Megan was in a very bad way as well - she'd been concussed very badly and in a coma-like-state. They draped her body over Hamlet the dog and hurried on their way hoping to come across a village that might have a healer! 

(she will miss the next encounter and the one after that will be at reduce Quality!) 

And thats where our story ended for the first session. Hopefully we'll be playing again next week and this will go a little better than the Soulbound campaign! 

I still have game reports from last week to do... but this was too much fun and I just would not have been able to concentrate on those until I got this out of my head!!

RPG-a-Day 2024 - Desirable Dice and Marvellous Miniatures Redux

I’d initially started thinking about this last month during RPG-a-Day but didn’t quite get to coalescing my thoughts into writing until just now... 

I didn’t post a lot of content here on the blog about RPG-a-Day this year. I had, for ONCE, remembered it was coming BEFORE August and had set up a page in Notes and transcribed all the dates and prompts and was going to be READY to post every day with thoughtful comments… but then... didn’t. I only had comments for the first few and… nothing for most of the rest. I did post each of the questions every day in a Facebook group for role-players in Saskatoon, for everyone to respond to… and I tried to respond to a few of them… but just missed a whole bunch. 

But two of the days near the end of the month got me thinking about some things. 

25th and 27th - Desirable Dice and Marvellous Miniature

Buckle in, this is a bit of a ramble… 

My dad was the first person I played Dungeons and Dragons with - which is where this whole hobby started - as one of the main things that drew me to Dungeons and Dragons was the MINIATURES! 

I think I was aware of the game’s existence because of advertisements in comic books and it being mentioned in a few movies I saw in the early 80s (Taps? E.T.?). I didn’t initially have any friends that played it, because, at that time, I did not have any friends. 

I’m absolutely sure it wasn’t HIS idea to play. At some point I must have articulated an interest in playing the game to my parents, and my mom probably browbeat him into going out and getting the game and playing it with his son. 

That’s not to say he did not want to or had any resentment about doing so. It’s just that, later in life, having observed the dynamic of my parents relationship and my dad’s relationship with the world, I don’t think it would have been thing my dad would have thought of or initiated on his own and definitely would have taken “encouragement” from my mother. But once he committed to a thing, he tried, in his own way, to make the best of it.  

I'd seen a display in the back of a toy store at a nearby mall. They had the red box Basic Dungeons & Dragons set and (I think..?) a handful of Ral Partha miniatures. He picked it up (and maybe a few of the miniatures) and we sat down one evening to try reading the rules. I had a hard time paying attention, I just wanted to PLAY… I’m sure by the second session, I’d taken over as Dungeon Master, with only the faintest grasp of the actual rules. I did NOT read through adventures before hand, just looked at the maps, drew those out and the Caverns were explored, and read the description of each room as they were entered… So I did not get much of the overarching story behind it all.

At some point, I found two fellows at the school that I went to in grade five. We must have played a few games…? But the next year one went to a different school for a special academic program, and the other moved away because his dad (a university professor) moved away for a sabbatical. I did not find anyone else to play D&D with until I changed schools in grade seven. 

I’m pretty sure it was from one of those two, however, that I learned of the Wizard’s Corner - Saskatoon’s first game store. It was on Broadway Avenue which was a LONG way from where we lived. I’m sure my dad must have taken me there the first few times, but later I must have figured out the bus route to get there (25¢ each way!), because I’m certain I spent many hours alone in there just marvelling at all the wonders in the store… later I would ride my bicycle there, which felt like an epic journey in itself - much like the ones my adventuring heroes went on. 

At one point, they had a wicker bowl near the till filled with a wild assortment of loose individual miniatures for $1. I think a lot of them came from multi-figure packs that weren’t selling, so they opened them up and dumped them into this bowl. I bought a LOT of those. Having done some searching recently (big shout out to Lost Minis Wiki!) and have figured out that a lot of them were Dungeon Adventurers from Asgard Miniatures and assorted miniatures from Heritage Miniatures. 

Around that time, my dad had bought two of them for miniatures he played in our games. 

Zadoc and Runka

I know they were painted at some point. I can’t remember if it was me or him that did it. Probably me… but who knows. I’m not sure about the colours. I feel like a lot of it might have been the bare paint-on, rust-coloured primer…? I think this was after I stopped using Testors enamel model paints…? 

Zadoc was a Cleric and Runka was a Thief. I know we played through adventure module B1 “In Search of the Unknown” and cleared out the Caverns of Quasqueton. Instead of wanting to move on to the next adventure, Zadoc and Runka wanted to rebuild the stronghold and use it as a base of operations for themselves?! I feel like there were maybe rules for this in AD&D, for higher level characters… but definitely not in Basic… so I had no idea how to deal with that, I think I basically said, “sure you do that… let’s move on to this next adventure now…” He wanted them to do a lot of things that weren’t covered in the rules, which kind of irritated ten-year-old-Tim. Later he made up a whole narrative of things they did - not played out in our games - which also irritated me. 

He later bought two other miniatures and made characters for them… but never used them in a game we played. One was a Ral Partha Elf archer he named Beowulf, I have zero recollection of that one… I just knew there was one… This was part of that whole narrative he was making up on his own!? 

So irritated by all of this, I had ninjas show up as we started to play the Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, and tried to assassinate Runka… Pretty sure that was the last game we played. This was about when I was in grade seven and I’d met a new friend that played D&D and I just started playing with him and never played with my dad again. 

Shortly after we’d started playing, my dad also bought a fancy set of dice for himself. Not going to lie, I coveted those dice for MANY years… they were sharp edged translucent dice that LOOKED like the sorts of gemstones that were often found as TREASURE!!! 

My dad’s Gemstone Dice…. As I remember them…. 

I don’t really remember the actual colours. I know they were all different. There was clear and green and red and blue ones… I’m not at all sure what the others were or which dice where which colours. 

Somehow he had those… and I had to use those gross orange dice from the box set like some kind of fucking peasant…. Ha-ha! 

I still have the d20 from that set… 

For years after we stopped playing he kept Zadoc and Runka sitting on the desk in his study. The dice were also kept in the desk drawer, I think in the plastic shell packaging they’d come in!? 

Today my dad would have been 79 years old. He died earlier this year. It wasn’t a huge shock - he’d had medical problems for years. Just over a year ago he ended up in hospital in the summer, and remained there for months… instead of going home, he was moved into a long-term care facility at which point my mother purged most of his belongings. 

(Before everyone starts in with the "I'm sorry for your loss..." comments, I did not feel a great loss or void in my life at his passing. We never really had all that close of a bond, for a variety of reasons (and that's a whole other looooong story...). I hadn’t spoken to him in months. Never visited him at the long-term care facility. I'm absolutely not saying that I didn't like him or he was a bad person or a terrible father. Not at all. He was a kind human that cared a lot about a lot of things. We just did not have a very strong connection)

Zadoc and Runka and the dice were not amongst those belongings that were so brutally disposed of a year ago during the PURGE, nor did I see them among the affects that were to go to the new place he was living at. There was a further discarding of the last few things he owned when he died because the facility he was in insisted that all of his things be removed THAT DAY and my mother and sister got over there before me and just threw everything out (don't... just... don't EVEN get me started...)…  

My parents moved around a LOT within the city over the last few decades. Seriously, I think they lived in over a dozen different places over the last three decades - all within Saskatoon. A few times were attempts to downsize. My father was terrible about getting rid of things, which irritated my mother to no end. They may have been discarded during one of those moves. I’ve been wondering at what point did he get rid of those dice and miniatures. 

I had kind of thought, since he’d held onto them for so long, he’d still have them and that they’d eventually have been passed on to me. Or maybe to Finnegan…? 

At what point WERE they discarded!? Where they purposefully discarded? If so, what was it that changed and shifted them from things to be held onto to things no longer needed?  

Or where they simply forgotten in the bottom of a box that was hastily filled during one of their moves and later thrown out  after opening it at looking at the contents at the top and deciding it was all stuff not needed anymore? 

So much of what they did discard was offered to me first - like EVERYTHING - boxes and boxes of decades old magazines and empty file folders (after the original contents were shredded). He’d kept a lot of odd little knick-nacks. I have a box full of assorted pocket knives (WTF am I going to do with those!? I just couldn’t throw them in the garbage as my mother was instructing, in the moment last summer!?). I have a few of his childhood toys… but not Zadoc and Runka or the dice…? 

Just to be clear... because I have posted things in the past that other people seemed to think I was deeply depressed about... I'm not really all that sad about this. I'm mostly just curious about what happened to them!? (I DO have my moments of DEEP DESPAIR... but this is not one of them!) 

They WERE Marvellous Miniature and Desirable Dice! 

RPG-a-Day 2024 - Day 3 Most Often Played RPG

Like THIS YEAR...? or of ALL TIME… !? I guess that’s up for us to interpret… 

I haven't done much role-playing this year. As mentioned yesterday we've started playing Warhammer Quest: Shadows Over Hammerhal. 

Earlier in the year I played a bit of Five Parsecs from Home. 

Neither are truly RPGs

Of ALL TIME...?! 

I don’t know… I played a LOT when I was a teen in the 80s. Like in high school we played daily at noon hours and/or after school . Before High School I played a LOT of D&D and Top Secret and Star Frontiers… By High School I was playing a lot of Twilight: 2000 and Revised Recon and the Palladium system (TMNT, Robotech, the Superhero one… Heroes Unlimited? and Palladium Fantasy) and Cyberpunk….  and later Role-Master and Space Master, Call of Cthulhu and Warhammer Fantasy Role-play and SO MANY other games.. we jumped around a LOT though, so I don’t know which one we’d played the MOST of or if it ended up being MORE than any of the ones I played later… 

There was a period I played a LOT Of GURPS… Like, noting but GURPS… 

But I’m pretty sure it was a MUCH LONGER PERIOD that I played exclusively Savage Worlds… 

I would have to guess that’s the SYSTEM that I’ve played the most, but in a bewildering amount of different campaigns and settings… 

RPG-a-Day 2024 - Day 2 Most Recently Played

Day 2 - Most recently played 

I mean, I guess it depends on what you consider a role-playing game… 

I’ve been playing Warhammer Quest this summer and it is frightfully similar to the D&D games I played in the 80s… Everyone had a character, you go through a dungeon and kill bad guys… Because we're playing Shadows Over Hammerhal, there's even a Game Master involved (most of the other Warhammer Quest games are solo/co-op games where the hostiles actions are dictated by a simple (analog) AI. 

If that doesn't count... well... Looking at RPGgeek, I made characters for two games in 2023 (Hellboy and Blade Runner) but never actually PLAYED either. The last logged play was in 2022 when I ran Wrath & Glory.

Anyone reading this actually playing RPGs these days? 

What have you been playing!?

RPG-a-Day 2024 - Day 1 First RPG Bought This Year!

Well, it's August again and that means it's time for RPG-a-Day! 

Every day this month I will be trying to post an answer to each of the questions/prompts below:

#1 - First RPG bought this year! 

I am fairly certain that I have not bought any completely new systems this year. 

I think the only RPG product I’ve bought (and thus, the first) is Ulfenkarn - a guide/setting book for Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Soulboud… or… Maybe… I also picked up Champions of Order and Champions of Death (for the same system)… which might have been this year… or might have been last year… It’s all a blur, really!?

I would LOVE to get a game of Warhammer, Age of Sigmar: Soulbound going at some point this year. Earlier I was super focused on painting stuff for and playing Warhammer Underworlds. This past month things started to shift towards getting stuff painted for three different Warhammer Quest games (which is kind of like an RPG - game feels very similar to D&D games I played in the 80s!) and then things shifted again with the release of the new edition of Age of Sigmar (like, the fantasy battle game!) 

At least the setting has stayed consistent!!! 

I’m currently playing through Warhammer Quest: Shadows over Hammerhead and I’m trying to finish up the miniatures for The Silver Tower and Cursed City so we can play those later in the year and I’m hoping by the time those have all been played through I’ll be able to morph that into playing the role-playing game. 

Which brings me back to Ulfenkarn, certainly my most recent RPG purchase (and possibly the ONLY one I’ve purchased this year?). The city of Ulfenkarn is the SAME CITY that Warhammer Quest: Cursed City takes place in!? 

(Also working on a LOT of other Soulblight Gravelords miniatures for Age of Sigmar - Spearhead/Vanguard Box and Fangs of the Blood Queen - which could all be used as hostiles in a campaign set in Ulfenkarn - or anywhere there happens to be Soulblight Gravelords...) 

What was the first RPG (or RPG-related product) you bought this year?!

Game Plan 2024 - Q3

We are halfway through the year! Where did the time go!?

As with the last few Quarterly Plans, I'm not here to make any hard and fast predictions of Plans... Just set some general intentions which I will look back in 3 months, without judgement, and see what I DID manage to do!

What DID I plan for this past quarter? What DID I end up doing? You can see the plan here:

Game Plan 2024 - Q2

As for what I did manage to get up to... 

GAMES

In the Q2 plan I broke things down into a few categories and will likely do the same for Q3 (though I'm changing the order). the categories were Miniature Games, Solo/Co-op Games, Board Games, Miniature Games, Warhammer Underworlds, and then Tournaments/Conventions.

There were no real Board Game Play Challenges set for this Quarter - for games, at least. (I did have one idea for a challenge in Q2 and maybe carrying on through the rest of the year! More on that in the Warhammer Underworlds section below!)

Here is what I got to playing in the last three months... 

• Warhammer Underworlds  x35
• Wingspan x2
• Castles of Mad King Ludwig x1
• Century: Golem Edition x1
• Lacuna x1
• Mysterium x1
• RoboRally x1
• Stone Age x1
• Tokaido x1
• Wyrmspan x1

Total: 45 games! 

Here's what we've played so far this year:

• Warhammer Underworlds x71
• Warhammer 40,000 x6
• Splendor x4
• Wingspan x2
• Abyss x1
• Castles of Mad King Ludwig x1
• Century: Golem Edition x1
• The Hanging Gardens x1
• Lacuna x1
• Mysterium x1
• RoboRally x1
• SET x1
• Stone Age x1
• Tokaido x1
• Wyrmspan x1

Total: 94 games! 

So... GAMES WERE PLAYED! YAY!

Role-Playing Games

I was STILL really hoping to get SOME kind of role-playing game going on... And... that didn't happen... Maybe next Quarter, or at least by the end of the year!? 

Solo/Co-op Games

I did not play any Solo games... but I did start paining minis for Warhammer Quest! 

Board Games

I did FINALLY, get a semi-regular Game Night going on this Quarter - on alternating Friday Nights! We played some games! Yay! 

The downside of alternating Fridays, is, if people bail on you one weekend, it's suddenly once a month... 

Miniature Games

I was still hoping I might get in a game or two of Warcry... That did not happen...

I briefly consider a few games like Dragon Rampant or similar... but that didn't happen either. 

The only miniature-like game I played in Q2 was Warhammer Underworlds... and that's got it's own category below.

Warhammer Underworlds

I'm still playing a LOT of Warhammer Underworlds! I've played 35 GAMES this past Quarter!? and 71 so far this year!? Which just blows everything else out of the water. By the end of this year, I'll have played more than all other previous years combined (If that hasn't already!?) 

The one challenge I considered setting out was to play five different warbands five different times - and maybe shoot for playing ten different warbands ten times by the end of the year. I has guessed that the five in Q2 could potentially be Thricefold Discord, Grinkrak's Looncourt, Mollog's Mob, Skabbik's Plaguepack, and... Maybe Ephilim's...? Or Hrothgorn...? Or the Dread Pageant!?

This past Quarter I played the following warbands:

• Skabbik’s Plague pack x13
• Zondara’s Gravebreakers x5
• Thundrick’s Profiteers x4
• Threefold Discord x3
• Grinkrack’s Looncourt x3
• Magore’s Fiends x2
• Wurmspat x2
• Sons of Velmorn x1
• Grombrindal x1
• Dread Pageant x1

Well... I did play Skabbik's Plaguepack a LOT ... and five games with Zondara's... but not a lot of any othee particular warbands. 

So far this year I've played:

• Wurmspat x16
• Skabbik's Plaguepack x15
• Thricefold Discord x9
• Grinkrak's Looncourt x6
• Zondara’s Gravebreakers x5
• Blackpowder's Buccaneers x4
• Thundrik’s Profiteers x4
• Magore's Fiends x3
• Mollog's Mob x2
• Dread Pageant x2
• Cyreni's Razors x1
• Hrothgorn's Mantrappers x1
• Ephilim's Pandemonium x1
• Sons of Velmorn x 1
• Grombrindal x1

I don't know if this PLAY TEN WARBANDS TEN TIMES thing is going to work out... I kind of want to play Wurmspat more - especially with some of the newer decks. I do want to try out more warbands - and play them each enough that I really feel like I'm getting to know them (Which is partly why I've slowed down on the painting of new warbands - see below) 

Another idea I'd had was to play each of the warbands I have painted at least once this year... but that seems at odds with the idea of playing a few and getting to know them and figure out how to play them... 

Tournaments/Conventions

Despite having sworn off conventions and miniatures and other larger public events... I went to a tournament earlier this year (the Strange Bedfellows Team Tournament in February) and more recently the much smaller event at the Warhammer Store. 

I also briefly considered going to one or two Warhammer Underworlds events in Calgary and/or Edmonton in May and June!? Neither of those happened though... There was just too much other stuff going on with Keiran finishing up high school and dance recitals and Musical performances... it just didn't work out... But I AM thinking maybe I could go to some of those next year (assuming I'm still playing Warhammer Underworlds)! There is even an event in Ottawa I might attend next year (because Amanda and I both have friends that live there and it would be an opportunity to just visit the city and friends!) 

MINIATURES

Painting

The Plan was to paint Warhammer Underworlds warbands. I did some of those. The plan was to paint ONE WARBAND PER WEEK and get them ALL done by September... that did NOT happen... but I did paint some other stuff as well!

Part of the reason I gave up on the idea of painting a warband each week was that every time I finish a warband I want to play it! Ideally I'd like to play it at least a few times, maybe four or five times! Painting one a week did not give me time to play each warband enough - let along have time to linger on ones that I was actually interested in or enjoying! So I tried mixing in the Warhammer Quest miniatures I had planned to paint later in the year - because that kept the focus on Age of Sigmar (and got me excited about playing Warhammer Quest and Soulbound - which might lead me to playing THOSE games earlier than I'd expected!) 

Here is what I DID get to painting this past Quarter:

• 5x Sons of Velmorn
• 1x Deathwing Knight
• 1x Radukar the Wolf
• 2x Kosargi Guard
• 5x The Skinnerkin
• 1x Ghoul (February FREE Miniature of the Month!)
• 1x Other random metal Ghoul
• 5x Zondara's Gravebreakers
• 6x Cursed City Bat Swarms
• 4x Warhammer Quest Heroes
• 1x Wizard/Painter
• 7x Kairic Acoloytes
• 1x Tzangor
• 4x Picts
• 1x Glaurio Ven Alten III
• 1x Grombrindal 
• 1x Chaos Sorcerer Lord
• 2x Familiars
• 4x Chosen Axes
• 5x Thudrik's Profiteers
• 1x Cado Ezechiar
• 11x Kairic Acolytes
• 3x Gryph-hounds
• 1x Chaos Sorcerer
• 2x Warhammer Quest Heroes
• 1x Heroscape Giant/Stand-In Chaos Gargant 
• 3x Soul Refractors
• 2x Mysterious Object models for Cursed City
• 1x Beastgrave Tentacle Terrain Bit

So... thar's Five Warhammer Underworlds warbands (totalling 24 minatures)... and a few other things for Warhammmer Underworlds (Grombrindal, Gargants, Terrain)... and 40 miniatures for assorted Warhammer Quest games

Miniature painting production definitely picked up this quarter! In the first quarter I only managed to paint 28x28mm Foot Figures (Mind you, I also painted five vehicles and a handful of tokens and terrain bits and bobs in Q1). This Quarter I managed to paint 76 x28mm Foot Minatures (and the Gargant, and a few bits and bobs for Warhammer Underworlds and Warhamer Quest games)!! The annual total so far is 114 x28mm Foot Minatures - which is more than I painted all of last year!!

Acquisitions

As planned most of the Aquisitions were for Warhammer Underworlds and a few Free Miniature-of-the-Month from the Warhammer Store... 

A few other  things, while still under the category of "Age of Sigmar Related", were NOT expected at the beginning of the Quarter (Grombrindal, Gargant, Chosen Axes, Cado Exechiar, Hedonites of Slaanesh Vanguard Box) 

In total I acquired:

• 1x Deathwing Knight (April FREE Miniature of the Month!)
• 5x Brethren of the Bolt 
• 5x The Skinnerkin
• 1x Steelhelm (May FREE Miniature of the Month!)
• 1x Grombrindal, the White Dwarf
• 4x Chosen Axes
• 1x Cado Ezechiar
• 2x Darkoath Warrior (June FREE Miniature of the Month!)
• 1x Shardspeaker of Slaanesh
• 3x Slaangor Fiendbloods
• 10x Blissbarb Archers
• 1x Blissbrew Homonculus
• 1x Sekhar, Fang of Nulahmia
• 3x Fell Bats
• 10x Dire Wolves

Total: 49 x28mm miniatures and one Big Beastie! So, less than I bought in Q1.... the pick up in painting hasn't entirely put me "in the black" (I was, briefly, for a week or two... but then I bought that Dawnbringers: Fangs of the Blood Queen box on Saturday.. 

Disposals

I actually got rid of a few things this past Quarter. First, Other Tim was looking for some elves for an Oathmark army he is building and I happily gave away a few old plastic Sea Guard and a handful of metal elf archers. Later I gave away the Old Karanak model and one of the copies of Garrek's Reavers I had! Finally, I decided to get rid of the pile of mantic Marines I picked up YEARS ago to use as stand-in guard or some kind of Generic Sci-Fi Troopers.

Kind of felt good to get rid of a few things. I'd like to get rid of more... but not sure where to start or how I'd even DO that... I have no desire to deal with listing things on ebay or other online market places and dealing with online sales and such... but I don't think there are that many people locally that will be interested in the stuff that I've got... 

GAME PLAN 2024 - Q3 

GAMES

Warhammer Underworlds

I don't forsee much slowing down of the Warhammer Underworlds. I like playing on Fridays at the Warhammer Store and will probably continue to do that. I really enjoy the Sunday games with Orion and Nic, I hope we continue to do that. I wouldn't mind playing an additional game or two a week if I could arrange it!

Unless I get a LOT of games of Warhammer Quest going on... 

Solo/Co-op Games 

I've kind of completely given up on the idea of playing Five Parsecs from Home (or similar) for now... Though I did BUY the hardcover rulebook a week or so ago (I'd only previously had the PDF!) because I definitely DO want to explore that game more in the future... maybe when the Age of Sigmar obsession runs its course! 

But I'm definitely hoping this Quarter we will start playing Warhammer Quest!

Initially I thought I'd like to play through Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower this summer and Warhammer Quest: Shadow Over Hammerhal through the fall... but then realized I was WAY CLOSER to finishing up the miniatures for Shadows Over Hammerhal, so I'll probably play that over the summer, while finishing up the last of the Silver Tower miniatures!

With any luck, by the end of Q3 we'll be starting Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower! 

Further off... (like in Q4) I'm hoping to finally play through Warhammer Quest: Cursed City. It might be fun to play over the Winter Holidaze at the end of the year! And then follow up with Night Wars...? Maybe in the new year?! 

Other Board Games

We have got a Board Game Night on alternating Fridays started... hopefully we can keep that going! Maybe we could just make it most Fridays, but know that Kevin and Shannon would only make it on the alternating Fridays...? 

Starting AFTER I get home from Skirmish "Night" at the Warhammer Store has worked out okay, so far... 

It'd be nice to get in some longer games on Saturday afternoons, as well... maybe once or twice a month...? 

Other Miniature Games

(Image ©2024 Games Workshop)

I have picked up a Hedonites of Slaanesh Vanguard box to play the new Warhammer: Age of Sigmar - in Spearhead format, at least... to start... will I get beyond that? Maybe...? Maybe not...? Probably not going to run out and start playing in tournaments... I am planning to play in the Spearhead League at the Warhammer store through the summer. 

I COULD see myself getting in on a Path to Glory campaign, if there were others interested - either amongst friends, or just players at the Warhammer Store after the Spearhead league wraps up!  

Role-Playing Games

Would STILL love to get a role-playing game going. Soulbound is really the only one I'm even thinking about at all... Maybe playing through the Warhammer Quest games will lead into some kind of role-playing campaign... So this might not happen THIS Quarter... maybe in the fall...? Or after we finish up Cursed City...?

There are SO MANY I'd love to play... someday... (the new Twilight: 2000, Bladerunner, Hellboy being the top of the list, still!) but I'm trying to keep focused on Age of Sigmar related games right now. 

Tournaments/Conventions

There aren't any conventions or tournaments on the horizon that I'm thinking about attending... Though John at the Warhammer Store has suggested about arranging a more smaller, one-day Warhammer Underworlds events at some point... so maybe there will be that!

Game Weekend 

The idea of hosting a game weekend has been floating around in my head again... but I haven't really done much planning or organizing for it... But as I'm getting these Warhammer Quest minis done, I thought I could host a weekend of Warhammer Quest. That might be more of a Fall thing - at the end of this Quarter (September) or into Q4 (October). 

MINIATURES

Painting

To kick off the Quarter, I really want to finish painting the Hedonites of Slaanesh Vanguard box, so I'm ready to start playing some Spearhead games when Warhammer: Age of Sigmar - Fourth Edition is released in two weeks! 

After that, the plan is to just carry on painting up Warhammer Underworlds warbands and Warhammer Quest stuff - and probably mix in some more of the other Warhammer Age of Sigmar models that I have (mostly the Daemons of Slaanesh... but also Daughters of Khaine and maybe a few Goblins and Ogors....?)

I would have LOVED to finish painting ALL the Warhammer Underworlds warbands by the end of the year, but I'm thinking that might be a bit unrealistic, given the aforementioned desire to play each at least a few times as I finish them... but I would still like to knock off at least  five or six in Q3 and at least a dozen by the end of the year... Which would leave me with only about six left to paint (not including the warbands that I have a second copy of!)... (This also doesn't include the 2-5 warbands that will probably be released this year that I could potentially end up buying...) 

I might need some TERRAIN for Warhammer: Age of Sigmar... 

I do have this old Temple of Skulls... which is maybe more apropos for Khorne Daemons, but could probably be used as a centrepiece for battles involving Hedonites of Slaanesh!!

I also have this Warscryer Citadel I could finally get around to assebling and painting as well... Could this be the lair of a Shardspeaker of Slaanesh...? Seems more Gothic Horror and appropriate for a Soulblight Vampire Lord!? 

Acquisitions

There will likely be a few new things for Warhammer Underworlds. If the pattern of the last few years is any indication, there should be two expansion warbands for Wintermaw and a pair of rivals decks this Quarter. I may or may not pick the warbands up. I will probably pick up the decks. 

The new starter box (which will be in a whole new setting - Mosscairn, in Gyran - if the rumours are to be believed!) is not likely to arrive until October (Q4).

(Image ©2024 Games Workshop)

I will be picking up Warhammer Age of Sigmar - Fourth Edition in two weeks... (and it seems like maybe there might be some cards needed to play Spearhead games...?) 

(Image ©2024 Games Workshop)

Possibly a board/terrain set assuming it's sold separately - so I have some scatter terrain and a board to play Spearhead Games on. 

(Image ©2024 Games Workshop)

I am tempted even to buy the Skaventide box... and sell off all the Stormcast and Skaven!? It would probably be a cheaper way to get the rules and cards and board...

(Image ©2024 Games Workshop)

IF I did get the Hedonites box painted and DID end up playing a LOT of AoS4E Spearhead, I could conceivably see myself picking up a second Vanguard Box (Soulblight Gravelords). But that would be later in the Quarter, or might not be until Q4 (if at all...) 

Also, at some point this year, I will probably pick up some of the minis needed to play Warhammer Quest: Cursed City - Night Wars... but that also probably won't be until Q4... 

Five Parsecs From Home - Solo Campaign - Round One

I played the first round of my solo Five Parsecs From Home campaign on Monday afternoon.

You can read about the crew on the previous post:

Five Parsecs From Home - Solo Campaign- The Crew

Having gathered a crew together, they decided to look for some work... As it turned out, Jordan Fafferd already HAD a job they could do, down on the frozen surface of Zzarvazdan. Some scientists that had some connection to his parents were looking for some help. They needed someone to protect a technician that had to venture into a deep cavern and replace a Power Cell on some remote sensing device that was failing. 

Vsssri also presented to the rest of the crew some information they had gathered about a "big score" and there was definitely something there... But the Job for the scientists had short timeframe, so they decided to go with that. 

Besides job for the scientists should be in and out with no trouble at all... but the region, and especially those caverns, were known to be inhabited my Mega-Ice-Lice! 

Before the job, Gdork and Vsssri decided to do some training, Renata Starchild and LRD-A55 went trading, and Jordan Fafferd and Nordin just went exploring the settlement on the planed. 

Renata Starchild managed to find an operations manual for the Scout Ship she'd recently obtained and spent some time reading it. LRD-A55 managed to sell some stuff they found in the back of the ship and had no need for. Fafferd managed to find a gambling den and managed to lose the spare colony rifle they had as a back-up weapon... but he swears he doesn't have a problem. Nordin managed to get lost and spent a long time wandering the streets and alleys of the settlement. It was so... open and... uncrowded... The total opposite of teh cramped and claustrophobic Mega City he'd grown up in... He almost started to think he could settle down here. He didn't owe these guys anything... 

The crew got back together and met up with the Technician. 

The Technician 

Only Nordin didn't show up on time!? The Technician was adamant that they needed to leave right away so they could get there before the sensors completely shut down and all the data was lost! So Starshild send Fafferd to go and find Nordin and catch up as soon as they could in the spare transport! 

It was a long distance to the remote caverns and Fafferd and before they arrived at the site, Fafferd had found Nordin and they were on their way. Upon arrival, the Technician, again, insisted there was no time to lose and they should enter the caverns immediately and could not wait for Fafferd and Nordin to arrive. Besides, she told them, they still had a few hours until dark, and they mostly came out at night... mostly... 

Approaching the sensor equipment. Renata Starchild led the way, to make sure it was clear of any dangers. 

Mega-Ice-Lice in their lair nearby. 

Looked like the coast was clear. 

The crew seized the initiative, catching the Mega-Ice-Lice off-guard and asleep. 

Almost there... 

When suddenly the cavern was swarming with the terrifying bugs! 

The team opened fire but the creatures were TOUGH. It took multiple hits to bring them down - which didn't even seem to outright kill them! 

Vsssri took up a firing position on the flank, to draw off some of the Mega-Ice-Lice. 

Gdork fighting off the Mega-Ice-Lice with their shatter axe. Even a weapon that brutal had a hard time breaking through the bugs hard carapace. Starchild slashed and stabbed and parried with her Glare Sword. 

Gdork roared with savage frustration as they kept beating the creatures back, only for them to get up and charge again!? 

Things looked bleak, but slowly they whittled down the bugs numbers. 

Finally, Fafferd and Nordin caught up! 

Even LRD-A55 had to fight off the Mega-Ice-Lice at close range. 

Even with Fafferd and Nordin's help, it was all they could do to keep them at bay. 

Gdork surged forward into what remained of the swarm as their numbers started to dwindle. 

LRD-A55 moved up to try and clear a Mega-Ice-Lice away from the sensor equipment. 

Gdork took down the last of the Mega-Ice-Lice with a mighty swing of their Shatter Axe! 

Having cleared the cavern, the crew formed up around the Technician and sensor equipment while the Technician did her thing. 

The scientists were very generous with their pay. Renata had been concerned that they might be annoyed by the unprofessionalism of Nordin being late and requiring Fafferd to stay behind and end up being late to the party, but as it all turned out well and it was clear the outcomes could have been much, much WORSE, they didn't even mention it. More jobs might be available, if the crew were to stick around... 

Renata wasn't quite sure WHAT to do... She was quite rattled by the savageness of the bugs. Though she'd been in a few scraps back on Shoshti Station, some of which ended up with people dying, NOTHING had prepared her for the brutality the greater universe had to offer. The two-bit thugs she'd fought in the past generally had given up and fled as soon as one of their number was seriously injured or killed. Every last one of these giant bugs had to be taken down! 

What will happen next... Will they take more work from the scientists...? Will they follow Vsssri's leads...? Will REnata Starchild just decide adventure and FAME were not worth the risk and sell off her newly aquired starship - without even taking it to another world - and go back to doing odd jobs on Shoshti Station for the rest of her life!? 

Tune in next time to find out! 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I don't know if I'll go through the whole pre/post game sequence for future games (if there are future games). I thought I would this time, though... I think a more narrative focused story (above) of the crews exploits will probably be more fun for me to write (and fun for you to read!?)... I thought I'd do this for any that might be interested in the guts of the game and how it plays out.  

(and if anyone is REALLY EXCITED about this part, let me know, I can include it in further game reports!) 

STEP 1: TRAVEL 

1. Flee Invasion (if applicable) 

No invasion/ Not Applicable. 

This is the first round, invasion is determined in the end sequence, so there cannot have been an invasion, this step is skipped... 

2. Decide whether to travel

The crew has a patron in their start location which isn't persistant, so if they want to use that patron and potentially gain a contact in the starting location, they have to stay and do the job... so... Despite their desperate desire to get out there and make a name for themselves and explore and have adventures... they're sticking around Shoshti Station, at the planet Zzarvazdan

3. Starship travel event (if applicable)

Nope.

4. New world arrival steps (if applicable)

Not really ARRIVING at a new world.... so... some of this doesn't apply. Don't need to see if Rivals have followed - they're HERE! Don't dismiss Patron - They're HERE (that's why the crew stayed!). 

I probably DO need to Check for Licensing Requirements... rolled a 4 - NOPE!

World Trait: Frozen (guess that must be referring to Zzarvazdan, it would be weird to have slippery ice all over the station!?) 

Any character making a Dash may opt to slide. They move 1D6” in a straight line, and must move the full distance. If they collide with anything, they – and any character they collide with – are knocked 1” in a random direction and become Stunned.

STEP 2: WORLD

1. Upkeep and Ship Repairs

First upkeep is paid for the crew (cheques, booze, food, etc) which is 1 Credit (for a crew of six, if more are recruited, it costs one extra credit per additional crew!) - bringing the total down to 5 Credits. 

Next payments can be made on the ship's debt, I decided to try and pay that shit down as quick as possible and paid the remaining 5 credits towards the ships debt... Lowering the Credits Owed to 18... but then every round that increases by one (interest) so it is now 19 Credits owed.

No repairs are needed at this point. 

2. Assign and resolve crew tasks

At this point each crew member can be assigned to a number of different tasks: Find a Patron, Train, Trade, Explore, Track, Recruit, Repait Kit, or Decoy

The crew already HAS a Patron, so no need to look for one.

There is only one rival, so I didn't think it was necessary to either Track them down to confront them, or send out any crew as Decoys to throw them off the trail. 

There was no damaged kit to Repair.

I can't really afford extra crew and don't need to replace any losses, so no need to Recruit.

So that leaves Train, Trade, and Explore.

As no one is in the sick bay, I decided to assign Gdork and Vsssri to train. Renata and LRD-A55 would go trade, and Norigort and Jordan would Explore. 

Gdork and Vsssr simply gained +1 XP each for training

Renata and LRD-A55 made two rolls on the trade table:

• Renata found an Instruction Book - A crew member of choice can read it and earn +1 XP. Single-use. I think that should be Renata reading the instruction manual on how to FLY her newly acquired Space Ship! 
• LRD-A55 was able to Sell some cargo and earn 2 credits.

Nordin and Jordan made two rolls on the Explore Table: 

• Nordin got  Completely lost - Rolling 1D6+Savvy, the scored a 5 - PHEW! Luckily they found their way back in time, otherwise they would have be unable to participate in a battle this campaign turn!? Either way, they got to roll again on this table to see what they find while wandering the streets. The result was "This place is rather nice, really...." When the crew is ready to leave this world, unless it is being Invaded, they must pay 1 story point or this crew member will decide to stay behind. If they do, you can keep their equipment, though.... Ugh... Norigort... 
• Jordan went gambling and despite swearing he "doesn’t have a gambling problem!"... the crew had to discard one item from the character’s equipment or crew Stash. (Good-bye Colony Rifle...) 

3. Determine Job Offers

Jordan Fafferd started the game with a Patron so rolling on the tables it was determined the Patron to be a Small Secretive Group that offered Danger Pay +1 Credit (No Benefits, Hazards, or Conditions), to do a job this turn or the following 2 campaign turns. 

4. Assign Equipment

So, this seems like a weird place to do this, BEFORE even deciding which job to do... but here we are... BAsed on the miniatures I rounded up, here's what everybody got (and will probably permanently keep, unless they find something better, that looks more or less the same!?):

Renata Starchild - Glare Sword, Military Rifle, Communicator, Hazard Suit

Jordan Faffard - Hunting Rifle, Stabilizer

Norigort - Shotgun, Blade

Gdork - Shatter Axe, Machine Pistol 

Vsssr - Needle Rifle 

LRD-A55 - Concealed Blade, Scrap Pistol with Shock Attachment

5. Resolve any Rumors

The Crew also started with some Rumours, so I rolled to see if they had a Quest... and they DO! 

6. Choose your battle

Rolling for the Rival, they did not succeed in tracking down the crew! Phew! 

So the crew had a choice of doing the job for the Patron or Embarking on the Quest. As the Patron job was somewhat time sensitive, they decided to do that and hopefully make some money to get off this station and follow wherever their Quest led them! 

STEP 3: TABLETOP BATTLE

Deployment Condition: Delayed: 2 random crew members won’t start on the table. At the end of each round, roll 1D6: If the roll is equal or below the round number, they may be placed at any point of your own battlefield edge.

Ha-ha! That will be Norigort, who got lost and Jordan who went looking for them! 

Notable Sights: Person of Interest: Gain +1 story point. (I ended up kind of ignoring this as it didn't really make sense for a person of interest just be hanging around in the cavern to talk to... I could have rolled again or something... but I just left it...) 

Objective: Protect

You will be accompanied by a VIP character (Reactions 1 / 4” / +0 / 3). They are unarmed and may never initiate a Brawl, but will defend normally. They cannot be given any equipment. The VIP must set up at least 12” from the center of the table. The enemy must set up 12” from the center on their side. Treat the VIP as another member of your crew.

If the VIP spends a full round within 3” of the center of the table, you Win. If you achieve this within the first 4 rounds of the game, you earn an additional 2 credits in pay.

THE ENEMY 

6 Roving Threats - No Unique Individuals 

ENEMY: Large Bugs

NUMBERS: +2 (= 8!?)

PANIC: 1

SPEED: 5”

COMBAT SKILL: +1 (Pack Leader is +2)

TOUGH NESS: 5

AI: R - RAMPAGE

WEAPONS: Mandibles (Damage +1)

Over-sized insects and other creepy-crawlies are a distressingly common sight throughout space.

Easy targets: +1 when firing at this enemy.

Stubborn: They ignore the first casualty of the battle when making a Morale check

With this number, there would normally be specialists and a Lieutenant, but because these are critters without specialist weapons, they just get a Pack Leader that is an additional +1 Combat Skill.

(one thing I wasn't sure of was DID THE MANDIBLES COUNT AS A MELEE WEAPON!? or were they considered unarmed and not get the bonus +2 to brawling for having a melee weapon. I kind of split the difference and gave them +1 - for a total of +2 to their roll) 

Set Up

I set up the bugs in one corner - it's not easy to set them all up in the rampage set up pattern, when they have to be 12" from the center of teh battlefield... but the battlefield is only 60cm x 60cm (slightly LESS than 24"x24"). The technician was in teh opposite corner - having to also be 12" away. The rest of the crew could be a bit closer as the only other set up stipulation I could find was they could not start within 18" of an opponent....? 

Before the battle I checked to see if the crew could Sieze the Initiative, and they did, so they each made a move before the first round. 

ROUND ONE

I rolled for reactions, but then decided not to bother and waited for all the bugs to move, which would hopefully bring them in line of sight. Then everyone started shooting. 

The bugs were TOUGH! They were super easy to HIT, but damn, to take them out their toughness had to be exceeded and their toughness was FIVE. So, needed a total of six and few of the weapons the crew had had any sort of damage bonus - except Gdork's Shatter Axe... But I coudlnt' seem to roll highter than THREE when they hit!? 

Few ended up being taken out by a single hit. Hits that don't cause an injury (knocking the target out of the game) pushes them back and gives them a STUN token. If a model receives THREE stun tokens, they are knocked out and removed from the game. So that is how the crew took most of them out!

Stunning also meant the bugs would not move into combat for a round - as models with stuns can EITHER move OR do a combat action and NO ONE ever STAYS in combat, because, along with the stun, the target is pushed back an inch. 

Renata shot first and hit and stunned the leader. Gdork shot second and got two shots with their machine pistol, which hit the leader twice dealing two more stuns and taking them out! That was a relief, as the leader was even nastier than the rest of the bugs. 

Ysssri also got off two shots with their needle rifle, dealing two stuns to another. 

At no point in the game did any of the bugs flee due to morale!

ROUND TWO

Renata got a quick action and took a shot at bug and missed! I burned one story point to re-roll and hit, dealing a stun... 

The Bugs surged forward, but did not have quite enough move to get into contact. 

Gdork charged and hit, but failed to wound, so stunned and pushed it back. 

Vsssri shot at a bug and stunned it. 

LRD-A55 moved up and shot a bug with the built-in pistol (and SHOCK ATTACHMENT - which turned out SUPER USEFUL!!! When hitting an enemy within 8", if the weapon it is attached to does not injure the tartget it deals a SECOND stun marker) - that extra stun took out one bug! 

ROUND THREE

Jordan and Nordin arrived... I coudln't remember if they got to act, and by this point I was tired of running up and down the stairs to look up rules on the computer (as I only have a pdf and don't have a tablet to read them on... I may have to break down and buy a print copy of these rules...) so I just decided that they didn't... 

I got THREE quick actions, so Gdork charged in and hit and stunned another bug. Renata shot and stunned one. And LRD-A55 shot and MISSED!? 

The bugs then charged - at least the ones that weren't stunned! One charged LRD-A55 and took two stuns for it's troubles. Renata was also attacked and rolled a tie, so BOTH were hit and stuned! Gdork got charged, and hit the bug and KILLED IT - I think this was the only time I took on down with a successful damage roll...? 

After the bugs charged Vsssri shot a stunned bug and finished it off. 

ROUND FOUR

Quick actions for LRD-A55, Gdork, and Jordan. 

LRD-A55 shot and stunned a bug (twice). 

Gdork charged a bug and... 

Oh, yikes this was nasty... the green die is Gdork's and the yellow die is one of the Mega-Ice-Lice they were fighting. In close combat, a natural six and additional hit is scored against the opponent. On a natural one, the roller takes an additional hit. Didn't even have to roll for damage as three hits would, at the very least, cause three stuns and that would take the bug out anyway... 

Jordan moved and fired and took out a bug.. I didn't make note if it finished off a stunned one or just took it out with a Damage roll of six, I'm guessing it was the former... 

All bugs remaining were stunned so, they cleared on stun each and moved for cover. 

 Vssri shot and missed...?! With both dice...?! I guess so!?

Nording moved and... that's all I noted...?

Renata shot and dealt a stun to a bug, and recovered her stun marker. 

ROUND FIVE

Quick actions for LRD-A55, Renata, and Gdork. 

LRD-A55 missed, but Renata and Gdork finished off the remaining bug. 

ROUND SIX

Technician moved into contact with sensor equipment

ROUND SEVEN

TEchnician spent full round in contact with sensor equipment

Game Won! Table Held!

STEP 4: POST-BATTLE SEQUENCE

1. Resolve Rival Status

Bugs cannot be Rivals... 

2. Resolve Patron Status

Having succeeded in this mission, the crew now has a Small Secretive Group Contact on Zzarvazdan! 

3. Determine Quest Progress

Wasn't a Quest job... so... no progress. 

4. Get Paid

Rolled a 6 (+1 from Patron) = 7 Credits!? 

5. Battlefield Finds

Curious data stick / Invasion Evidence: You obtain a Quest Rumor. 

Weren't even ON a Quest job and it's moving forward! 

6. Check for Invasion

No invasion! 

7. Gather the Loot

Rare Substance - found some shinies in those caverns and the Technician didn't care if the crew hauled it out... 

Roll 2D6. Receive credits equal to highest roll. ANOTHER SIX!

8. Determine Injuries and recovery

No injuries to roll for! 

9. Experience and Character Upgrades

Regina Starchild (+3 for surviving and winning, +1 for reading the starship instruction manual discovered in pre-game sequence = 4XP)

Jordan Fafferd (+3 for surviving and winning)

Nordin (+3 for surviving and winning)

Gdork (+3 for surviving and winning, +1 for being the first character to inflict a casualty, +1 for pre-battle training = 5XP)

Vsssri (+3 for surviving and winning, +1 for pre-battle training = 4XP)

Gdork has enough that they could increase Speed or Savvy... I think I might hold off on that for now... I feel like Gdork needs TOUGHNESS!! 

10. Invest in Advanced Training

Not going to do that just yet, not having nearly enough cash or experience... 

11. Purchase items

Purchased Pistol for Jordan Fafferd and a Blade for Vsssri

12. Roll for a Campaign Event

To celebrate their first success as a TEAM, the crew spends a night drinking, watching movies, and playing cards.

+1 story point. (which basically recovers the ONE I used...) 

13. Roll for a Character Event

Regina Starchild - All this endless violence is depressing her.

The character refuses to participate in any battle during the next campaign turn (except for an Invasion battle). Get +1 story point, as they get a new perspective on life. 

So... she CAN be used for pre-game assignments.. but will skip the battle... 

Uh-ohs.... 

14. Check for Galactic War progress

No current invasions going on, so... nope... 

WRAP UP

So... that's the game. 

I had a lot of fun putting this together... Though it seemed like a cake-walk - with ALL of the enemy being taken out and all of the crew getting out without an injury, it did seem pretty touch-and-go for a bit and a few more unlucky rolls could have made it go completely the other way. 

I have a feeling that a lot of the ohter potential opponents might be a bit harder to deal with and there could be some more protracted firefights against more tactical opponents - who may not be as tough... but definitely know how to use cover and can shoot back!!!

Looking forward to the next game!  

I started a PAGE to keep track of the current status of the crew and ship and post links to ALL the game reports. You can find that HERE:

Five Parsecs - Silver Slip (Solo Campaign)