Past and future

No battle plans survive contact with the enemy, or in my case, no gaming plans survive contact with the game. Shamelessly ripping off Andy over at the Creepy Corridor (actually, there's already a precedent so I'm safe!) I've decided to post about my past gaming year and where I see things going next year. That's to say, what I had planned gaming-wise for 2010 and how those plans turned out.

Heavy Gear

It just about a year ago that I got my first Heavy Gear minis and I managed to be rather productive during the first months of the year. I finished a recon squad and 3/5ths of a dragoon squad. And they were a lot of fun to paint as well! I never got started with the infantry though. Heavy Gear is still very much on my mind and I'll likely finish up my small force during the winter/spring. Problem is I have no opponents to play against, and for some reason it seems to be a hard sell in my circle of friends. I don't know why really, maybe I just need to arrange a VOTOMS marathon or something.

Naturally my first priority is to finish my Northern Guard, but I'd also like to make a small Southern companion force. That's quite far off though.

Firestorm: Armada

Just as I had finished painting not one, but two reasonably sized fleets for Full Thrust my friends (who'd only painted a couple of models each) decided to jump over to Firestorm: Armada. Mostly I think they were impressed by the models but they said the rules seemed good as well. I on the other hand didn't really like the models. To me they looked looked from lacklustre to downright off-putting (exception: Sorylians). However, rather than stick to Full Thrust and not have any opponents I decided to make my own fleet out of Space Battleship Yamato (Starblazers) models.

This little project is far from finished. I do have three cruisers and a battleship that are base coated, but I need to take some time and sit down and actually finish them. Shouldn't take too long. However, I also caved in and bought some official F:A models, namely the arachnid Relthoza. I've painted a few models but I've taken a little break. The battleship is starting to come together though. I want to finish my Relthoza and then kind of hang back and see the (40!) new models that are being released during 2011. So far they're looking good.

Ironically, my friends have still not painted any models for F:A and have now decided to get into Dystopian Wars as well (instead?). As you might imagine I've more or less given up playing any of these games with these guys. That's right! I hate you! :)

Diaspora

I got Diaspora early this year and fell in love almost instantly. I really want to play it, but haven't really had a chance to yet. The setting is right up my alley and the Fate mechanics looks awesome, but I think they require a group with the right mindset! As we finish up The Gathering Storm in a couple of months the plan is to hand the GM reins over to someone else which might give me the chance to run this as a one-off. We'll see...

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

The third edition intrigued me from the start as it has a bunch of mechanics that dovetails with me and my group's play style. And since we've become real board gamers over the last few years the extra components felt mostly natural to us. We started playing in July and have actually managed to keep a somewhat slow but steady pace. So far we like it, although I think there's still a lot of untapped potential within the system that we have yet to use. Especially the party sheet, the fate point economy and character development comes to mind.

From January onwards we've started scheduling our game days more regularely at two times a month (minimum) so I think we'll probably pick up the pace quite a bit from now on.

Mordheim

Another case of my evil friends "tricking" me into starting another project! Some guy was starting a Mordheim campaign and two of my friends started talking about how much fun it'd be to make a small warband and participate. Possible warbands were discussed and although I didn't hear from them for a week or so I decided to go ahead with a witch hunter warband. And then when we spoke again they told me that they weren't really interested anymore. By that time I'd already made a couple of special orders and most important of all, Andy had challenged me to an arms race!

Although I've only finished a warrior priest and five war hounds so far this is a project I'm quite optimistic about. Since the minis will be usable for WFRP (already using the priest!) as well I have double incentives to keep going. They're also fun to paint!

Dystopian Wars

As I mentioned earlier it seems like my friends might abandon Firestorm: Armada for this game. Initially I told them that I won't get into it until they've each painted a fieldable fleet or army for it. But I actually like the models so much that I've modified it to: I won't get into it until I've finished my Relthoza fleet. The models for Dystopian Wars are beautiful enough to paint merely for enjoyment and if my friends actually get a playable force together I'll simply consider it a bonus.

I like all four of the main powers but I'm planning to do Empire of the Blazing Sun (Japan). I'm not too keen on their naval vessels, but their ground and air stuff is reall cool; very Nausicaa/Laputa/Miyazaki style to them. Probably I'll simply go for the airborne models for now and wait for the ground stuff to arrive. What I'm secretly dreaming of though is a combined flottilla of EotBS and French airborne models. Just look at this upcoming French flying battleship:

Being a great Yamato fan I simply cannot resist that!

Board games

There's been quite a bit of board gaming for me since moving back to Sweden. If I had to pick some stand-out games of this year (that I played in 2010, not necessarily that were published in 2010) I'd probably pick Runewars, Claustrophobia and Alien Frontiers. With Cyclades, Ad Astra and Horus Heresy as runner-ups.

Runewars simply because it manages to take the essence of Twilight Imperium (which is one of my favourite games) and condense it into a smooth running four player affair that can be finished in a couple of hours but still make you feel like you've played a great epic where you accomplished a lot of things. Oh, and it looks absolutely gorgeous! Definetly a candidate for pimping!

Claustrophobia is also a game that kind of reminds me of another game that I love (in this case Space Hulk) but somehow manage to make it more immersive, better balanced and yet keep setup to a minimum and playtime to less than an hour. Great game and I'm glad it's slowly climing the top 100 on Board Game Geek (currently 76).

I first came across Alien Frontiers on BGG as I was searching around for upcoming science fiction games (a search that also yielded the must-play game High Frontier) and it immediately caught my attention. Mostly because I loved the theme and it seemed like a cool game, but also because it was produced through Kickstarter. I've only got to play it once so far, but it was a tons of fun with a lot of screwage and interesting strategies. Definitely need to play this more!

Cyclades reminds me of Chaos in the Old World. If I had to choose between the two I'd have to pick the latter but Cyclades is a great area control game with the same kind of knife-fight-in-a-phone-booth feel that CitOW has. Check it out!

Ad Astra is a light space exploration/colonization themed game with euro mechanics. I've been on the lookout for something kind of Catanish but better and with a more interesting theme. Ad Astra absolutely fits the bill!

Horus Heresy was released about the same time as Runewars and also has production value out the wazoo! I think it perfectly captures the grand feel of the battle for Terra and the forward planning you have to do makes it quite a thinker. I talked a bit more in-depth about it here.

Special mention: Earth Reborn. I haven't played this yet as my copy is currently in transit but I have a feeling that this will make this list next year. :)

Other upcoming or new(ish) board and miniature games that I'm keeping an eye on are: Mansions of Madness, Dust Tactics, The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, Battlestar Galactica: Exodus Expansion, Outpost (remake), Target Earth, Merchants & Marauders, Attack Vector: Tactical/Squadron Strike/Voidstriker, Battles of Westeros, Jovian Chronicles Blitz (I can dream!).


Now, I know I've left things out of this post but I think I covered all the major players. However I do have one other project planned for next year that I'll be keeping under wraps until I have some substantial stuff to show you. More on that later.

Happy New Year everybody! See you in 2011!

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Into the Oberslecht...

Finally, I'm back writing about some actual gaming stuff. This month has been insanely busy with visits from Japan (twice!), trips to the absolute north of Sweden, lots of birthdays and me being bedridden for a week. Anyway now it's time to catch up with our boys in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. This time with some added out of character comments!

SPOILERS below!

After some investigations in and around Stromdorf our band of merry men are getting ready to enter the marshland called the Oberslecht in search of the so called Lightning Stone. According to a mysterious individual named Foaldeath it is what gives the current beastman chieftan, Izka Madtooth, his power and if he's allowed to keep it Izka will soon wage war upon the settlements nearby and eventually Stromdorf itself!

According to Foaldeath the Lightning Stone is fairly big and although one man can lift it they might be better off bringing a cart. Fortunately the Holtz family has just aquired one and are willing to help the heroes by lending it to them. Foaldeath tells them that he has some preparing to do, but that they should try and enter the marshlands at first light next morning, then he disappears back into the mists.

It is already late so they decide to simply try to rest a few hours and then head out. Heinrich asked about Tristan but only got some mumblings as answers so he let it go. No use antagonizing their hosts at this delicate time...

It was hard to tell when dawn actually came. The heavy rains contiues so the difference was minimal. Upon entering the Oberslecht it was even worse. Old gnarled trees and a thick mist obscured the miniscule sunlight even more, it might as well have been night time! The group quickly fell into a routine with Dieter scouting ahead making sure they weren't ambushed, Heinrich acting as a guide since he had a fair (although academic) knowledge about swamps, and Mannfred and Snorri worked the actual wagon, being the two with any actual muscle. [Basically Dieter made Stealth checks, Heinrich made Nature Lore checks while Mannfred and Snorri made strength checks. Racing a marker representing the beastmen they had to accumulate enough successes not to get discovered and/or reach the encampment.] This worked rather well and they found themselves nearing a large open area in what they deemed was the middle of the swamp without too much trouble.

Sneaking closer they could see groups of beastmen scattered around a large area with a large monolith in the middle. It was decorated with all kinds of unholy symbols as well as bones and pieces of armor - a beastman Herdstone! Suddenly a giant thunderbolt struck the stone and the heroes realized that the lightning stone was actually tied ontop of the herdstone. Beneath it a giant of a beastman clad in heavy armour and carrying an axe seemed to pray to it. He raised his arms to the monolith and another lightning bolt struck from the heavens! This was obviously Izka Madtooth, leader of the Oberslecht beastmen tribe.

Izka Madtooth! Not happy about being disturbed. Art by freejimmy at Deviant Art.

There were groups of other beastmen here and there around the stone, but it seemed like they were sleeping. And after Heinrich noticed a few barrels of Thunderwater Ale lying empty around the encampment the explanation was clear. After some quick (and hushed!) discussion the group decided to simply make a break for the stone while the tribe was mostly sleeping and try to hold of Izka while one of them cut down the lightning stone. 

Dieter, tried to sneak ahead while Snorri and Mannfred approached behind him, and then Heinrich behind them. When Snorri and Mannfred were about halfway to the stone Izka raised his massive head, sniffed and turned around slowly. Although it didn't seem like he'd noticed Dieter the wizard and the two warriors were caught in the open. Izka raised his axe and bellowed a challenge and the Trollslayer was not late to respond, charging ahead and screaming at the top of his lungs. Mannfred, momentarily stunned by the size of the chieftan, was slightly behind and the three crashed together just below the great monolith!

At the same time Dieter ran around to the stone and started cutting the ropes with his knife. Heinrich summoned a bolt of shadow energy that he flung at Izka but when it merely scorched his armour a little he decided it might be a better idea to help out Dieter with the rope cutting. Although being two against one (or three counting Rex!) Snorri and Mannfred found themselves hard pressed by the bestigor. His giant axe fell again and again and Mannfred soon found his armour bucked and his shield in splinters! Snorri had blood running into his eyes from a cut in his forehead and no matter how many times they hit Izka he simply refused to go down. [With a soak of 9 and plenty of ACE dice to throw at defence Izka is a tough nut to crack. And he can dish out a lot of damage too!]

As Dieter frantically worked on the ropes he could see some of the beastmen in the clearing start to stir and look around. Obviously the commotion had woken them from their drunken slumber. One of the groups were even standing up and pointing towards the fight. Time was starting to run out! Suddenly a giant blow from Izka smashed Mannfred off his feet and Dieter decided to join the fray, leaving the last couple of ropes for Heinrich to cut. Although Mannfred made it to his feet again things were starting to go pear-shaped. The quick raid to get the stone was turning into a major melee! 

[As the adventure is written there should actually be a group of two regular gors and three ungor henchmen per player more or less ready to join the fight. Naturally not all at the same time, but still. Had I even had one group like that attack the party there'd been a total party kill! So be careful to gauge this part of the adventure when you run  it so you don't simply steamroll your players.]

The Grey Wizard finally managed to cut the last strands of rope and heaved the lightning stone down. It was heavy, but not too heavy for him to carry it alone. A short distance in any case. Seeing as Izka was focused on the fight he decided to try and sneak back to the cart with the stone. A fatal mistake. 

Izka quickly noticed that his source of power had been removed and looked around. Seeing the wizard moving away ponderously he let out another roar. Bowling over Snorri and pushing Mannfred away with his axe the giant beastman levelled his head charged! Heinrich barely had time to turn his head to see what was bearing down on him before Izka slammed into him full force. Heinrich found himself cradling two horns that was coming out of his ribcage. "This feels... strange" he thought, and died.

For a moment everyone just stared in disbelief but then Snorri let out a ferocious roar and buried his two axes deep in the neck of Izka. After two more quick chops the chieftan's head came completely off. By this time several gors and ungors were closing in on the party but the death of Izka had an interesting effect on them. Two of the closest gors seemed to suddenly loose all interest in the humans and started fighting each other! It seemed like the fight for leadership of the tribe had already started.

Realizing that this was their only chance the group quickly moved towards the cart, carrying both the lightning stone and the body of Heinrich. The confusion among the beastmen was not total and they saw a group coming their way quickly. Their only chance was to try and loose the beastmen in the swamp. The cart hampered their progress but they decided it was better than trying to carry the stone and the body. Another lightning bolt struck, but this time not the stone itself but rather behind them, for a moment scattering the pursuing beastmen.

Although pushing hard through the marshes the group could still see the beastmen not far behind them! Suddenly arrows flew through the air, cutting down two ungors and forcing the others to take cover. A voice that they'd heard somewhere before called out, "This way! Continue past me and to the north and you'll get out!". It turned out to be Franz Bieber, the hunter and woodsman whose guidance the group had decided was too costly. Franz continued to pelt the beastmen with arrows from his longbow as Snorri, Mannfred and Dieter pushed the cart ahead.

Soon after they reached the borders and left the Oberslecht behind. After a couple of minutes Franz came up to them, quiver gaping empty, and said the beastmen won't follow them further, not with the tribe leaderless in this way. They should be safe for the moment. Now... what to do with that stone...

So... our first character death! And I've got to say it was quite spectacular, and... fitting in a way. It also demonstrates how this edition of WFRP differs from the others in the way damage works. In first and second edition you could go into a fight with full health and still know that a good critical hit would still kill you. In third edition a critical hit is usually not that debilitating. It's definitely something you want to avoid, but it's not the almost-death sentence that it used to be. However! Critical hits stay with you and even with plenty of rest and medical assistance you can't be sure when you'll actually get rid of it.

And this is what happened to Heinrich. He had one critical hit since the fight at Grünewald Lodge (wich was a fairly long time ago!) and another one from the fight with the cultists. Then he got two more from Izka's charge and well... that was that. Basically, there are a lof of things in third edition that sticks with you; critical hits, insanities, corruption, disease... and if you're not careful it slowly grinds you down until you're only a single critical wound from a too early death. I like it!

Our next session is scheaduled for January 8th. So expect another update somewhere around that time. EDIT: And here it is!

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"I am sort of in semi-shock. I wish I could be more articulate at moments like this"

This picture is actually from the Falcon 9 maiden launch on June 4th, but you get the idea. :)

Those were the words of Elon Musk, CEO and co-founder of SpaceX after his company was the first ever non-government entity to launch a spacecraft into orbit on December 8th. Everything went exactly according to plan and the Dragon Capsule splashed down precisely on time after completing two orbits around the Earth. On the next planned launch the Dragon will make a flyby of ISS and after that an actual docking will take place.

There's a HD version of the video here, but it's missing the onboard camera.

It might not seem like such a big thing, after all, Russia and the US have been doing this since the sixties, but that's just it; this is a commercial company, not a nation. I'm sure this date will be remembered in the future as the day commercial space operations proved itself ready and capable enough to shoulder much of what today is exclusive to just a few governments. I think NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said it best: "The historic significance of today's achievement by SpaceX should not be lost. These new explorers are to spaceflight what Lindbergh was to commercial aviation."

And I think he's exactly right. Spaceflight is still in it's infancy but with commercial companies starting serious work in the field it'll open up space to more people than ever before. Dare I dream of a future where spaceflight is as commonplace as a transatlantic flight is today? :)

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