CHA: New Thaumatology

Hello, humans!

It's time to test out some new Chrome Hammer rules!

Chrome Hammer: Ascension - R&D

Hello, Humans!

Sorry about the blog lag (blag?)  It's been a while since I've made a post, and even longer since I've done one about minis gaming.  Sometimes hobbies just get "used up" for me and I struggle to find an angle to get back into it.  I'm also in a bit of a creative slump.  But enough about me!

Today, I'm eating my own (soy) dog food and trying out some rules changes that I'm batting around.

Today's Job is what I'm going to call "Smash and Grab".

Squad Hammer: Mech vs. Mech!

 

Hello, Humans!

It's still NovHammer, so here's more NWG stuff.

Today I'm trying out some clever (but still in development) rules for stompy giant robot combat using Squad Hammer Core.  I didn't write this one.  I'm just testing out some test rules that I have access to.

Time to get excited!

Ion Hammer!

 

Hello, humans!

It's November now, which means it's time for Nordic Weasel Games' "NovHammer" event.  What does that entail?  Playing Squad Hammer and it's variants!  That's it!  Pretty easy, right?

To start it off, my first go at it is some good old Squad Hammer Core with my Ion Age minis.  The scenario I've envisioned is several Prydian units trying to defend a war-torn area of a city from Khanate (mostly Malig) forces.

Chrome Hammer: Ascension - Campaign Turns 2 & 3 (Rescue & Astral Pain)

 

Hoi, Humans (and Meta-Humans)!

Last mission was successful, but Sarge (the Ork Shadow) was captured by the Corporation!  Technically, Sarge can sit in limbo until I get around to trying to set up a rescue, but I'm impatient and want my cool Ork back, so despite not getting paid, I'm setting out to rescue our captured Crew member!

There's also a follow up Astral Pain mission.  We'll see how Shuffle does on his own.

So let's get to it!

Chrome Hammer: Ascension - Campaign Turn 1 (Wetwork)

Hoi, Humans (and Meta-Humans)!

It's time to start a Chrome Hammer: Ascension campaign!

I've been building this thing and testing it and laying it out, but I haven't had a chance to approach it like a player, starting from scratch.  Well, no more waiting!  It's time to eat my own (soy-)dog-food.

I've already got the table set up, so let's go!

Five Parsecs: Bug Hunt

 

Hello humans!

An entity on the NWG Discord offered to host a cooperative Five Parsecs: Bug Hunt campaign, and I thought it would be a good way to force myself to actually play a game.  So far, it's working!

Lock and load, Marines!  It's time for a Bug Hunt!

Five Parsecs from Home 3E!

Hol-lee crap!  Five Parsecs from Home got the nod from Modiphius and has come out with a shiny new third edition!  So obviously I had to give it a go.  Maybe this will even be a running thing.

I made a new crew, all Human except for the lone Engineer alien.  The had a pretty good start, too.  Most of my guys had a Reaction score of 2 or 3, which is nice for a starting crew.  The team consisted of Verdun the Captain, Bloo, Flavio, Spiegel, Riek, and the alien Döbler.

Verdun has a sweet Glare Sword and a Hand Laser.  Bloo has a devastating Shatter Axe.

Our ship, the "Profit Margin" is cobbled together out of salvage, but still put us in debt of 25 credits.

Time for adventure!

Chrome Hammer: Ascension Beta (Severance Package)

 

Weasel-Hammer: White Scars vs. Orks!

 Hello, Humans!

This September is Weasel-Hammer month!  What does that mean?  It's a loosey-goosey campaign set in a lost corner of the Warhammer 40k universe, but mostly played with Nordic Weasel Games games.

In the fractious and war-torn Mustelida sector, some kind of Warp disturbance has cut off that region of space from outside communication and travel while dark forces begin pouring in.  Whatever Imperial elements that happen to be trapped there are the only hope for Humanity!

"In the grim derpness of the far future, there is only w... weasel!"

Knyghte, Pyke & Sworde: Objective Battle

 Hey!  It's minis time again!  Finally!

I asked some folks what I should play next, and they said KPS again, so don't blame me.  Unfortunately, the short notice prevented me from painting up new guys, which really is a shame, but I decided instead to mix it up by playing an "Objective" battle this time.

I'm playing both sides, as usual, Blue vs. Red again.  To get objectives, each side rolls twice on a table, in the open, but then secretly chooses one of the two objectives.  The objectives are then revealed, and both sides roll for deployment type.  Blue ended up with "Find the Loot" (secure one of three random tokens) and Red got "Slay the Leader" (kill best opposing Captain), and for deployment I rolled the relatively boring "All Forward", which is just a normal "everybody starts on their side" setup.  The game will only last 4 turns.  That doesn't sound like a lot, but man, there was so much blood in so few turns!

Knyghte, Pyke and Sworde

Mud and Blood!

Nordic Weasel Games came out with Knyghte, Pyke & Sworde a few months ago(?) (Has it been months?  Stupid Eternal Thursday Virus!) But I hadn't gotten around to playing it because I couldn't get to a printer to print it out, and honestly, my collection of "historical" type minis is sparse.

Eventually, though, I painted up barely enough guys to get a tiny little game going, and just took things slow so I could read the game from my phone.

And of course I'm glad I did.  I'm more of a sci-fi gi, but I'll bet a big game of this would be fun.  Maybe one of my friends will have a couple of good-sized era-appropriate armies to bash together.  (Or I'll just have to paint a lot more guys.)

Chrome•Hammer: //Grid Lock

Another Chrome•Hammer playtest!  This time it's a VR mission, with the goal of controlling all four Stacks on the table.  Forgive me for not being particularly clever here.  I'm just trying to log this for posterity. :)

Chrome•Hammer: //Virus Upload

This weekend I had a chance to playtest some cyberpunk minis beta rules.  Welcome to:

In the first mission, FOZ Pictures Corporation fought Meyerdyne Corporation over a resource extraction site.  Despite Meyerdyne's ED-2099 droid turning more than once on its own units, the pharmaceutical corporation came out on top, dropping FOZ's stock.

Usurper: Claim to Power (The God in the Well)

Okay, then.  Time to take this system for a spin.  I've got a little hamlet with a problem, and Sukeribi right there in the middle of it.  Let's find out what happens.

While travelling about, searching for resources, Sukeribi stayed a few nights in a tiny hamlet near the woods, named "Ranu".  The people were weird, but that's small towns for you.  Then, just as he was getting ready to leave, Sukeribi thought he heard a cry for help coming from the old well at the center of town.  Suddenly, a couple of the nearby villagers got really loud, and another came to talk to Sukeribi, drawing him away from the well.

Renegade Scout - Crash Landing

Great Mountain Mercs vs. Stinging Willow Precursors

Usurper: Claim to Power (Building a World)

Despite my attempts to ignore it, I've become fascinated by this indie RPG, "Usurper: Claim to Power".  I've already made a character, an outlaw scribe from a fallen family, seeking revenge, and this tells me a little about the place he's from, but what about the larger world?  Conveniently, Usurper has a "World Builder", which is what I'm going to go through here.

(Sukeribi's character creation, if you missed it.)

Usurper: Claim to Power (Sukeribi's Revenge)

A few years ago, I stumbled  across the little indie RPG title, "Usurper", but I honestly was not impressed. However, recently it has received some praise on the internets, so I thought I would give it a second look.

How can I describe this? The core system is a sort of minimalist thing. Encounter a problem? Say what you're trying to do and then roll on this table. That's it. No modifiers. No penalties. Just roll and deal with the consequences (or rewards). But that table, and its many variable results, and context, make for a game where the story can really go anywhere, and even the GM doesn't know exactly what's going to happen next. And that's exactly the kind of game I like.

Unity Field Agent: Unity Field Agents vs. Fringe Spacers

UNITY FIELD AGENT

This is one of my favorite games, though I might be biased as involved as I was in the play-testing.  The system is simple enough, but robust, and the card-activation system keeps you on your toes and offers interesting choices.

This is one of those "warband" sort of games, like Frostgrave or Kill Team, where you can track XP and such if you want to.  Or you can just work up a points-limit worth of figures and have a one-off game.

Blast Pistol: Attack on Malproksima Colony

Hi!  Until I have time to set up something new, here's another battle "report" from the pile of stuff underneath my desk.  This time, it's Nordic Weasel Games "Blast Pistol" (a "pay what you want" bundle at the time of writing).  It was originally planned as a "living ruleset", but I don't know how that turned out.  The game was pretty fun, though.

I apologize for some of my half-painted terrain.  I was still new at this at the time.  (Not that I don't have half-painted terrain now, I just try to hide it better.)

Fun fact: "Bloo" is a lady here.  I think I've got my first transgender character.  Huh!

Anyway, here's what happened: