 |
| Front! Back! Unpainted! |
Expect to see this young lady as an important part of my next Five Leagues From The Borderlands campaign!
Saturday, January 25, 2020
The "Old Lead" Project: Female Cleric
Once upon a time, I was a bit fascinated with amazon mystique, and went about buying every female warrior miniature I could get my hands on. Sometime in the late '80s or early '90s, I acquired the Ral Partha "Armored Female Cleric With Mace." And, much like the Elf Swordsman shown previously, is still available. In any event, this particular model kicked around unpainted in one box or another within my vast collection of unfinished hobby stuff for the better part of thirty years before she surfaced in my consciousness again. As I have started mentally planning what I want on the table for my "medieval fantasy" Five Leagues campaign, a young woman in plate armor seems like she will fit my aesthetic nicely.
I trimmed the integral base and put her on a 1" plastic stand instead. I primed her in black gesso and added sand to the stand. The armor is black drybrushed with steel and highlighted with a steel/silver blend. The cape is done with a honey color, highlighted by adding white to the base color. The shield was one half linen and one half true blue, both highlighted by adding white to the base color.
Expect to see this young lady as an important part of my next Five Leagues From The Borderlands campaign!
Expect to see this young lady as an important part of my next Five Leagues From The Borderlands campaign!
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Interlude: Showdown At Zeenat Farmstead
And so it came to pass that I played my first game of "Gangs Of Tatooine" using Five Parsecs: Gang Warfare. As regular readers of this column are no doubt aware, I have played a few games of the fantasy companion game to Five Parsecs, titled Five Leagues From The Borderlands. And while the games are certainly similar, there are some very important differences between them of which I would have to be on the lookout.
During the campaign turn, there was no Upkeep for the gang as it was the first turn. Kruha Lachu did some training and gained 1 Experience Point. Ten-Ten Amanha went out Bartering, got a lead on a good deal, and would have the opportunity to pick between two deals if the Krayt Crew won the encounter. The other four managed to scrape up a total of 3 Credits between them, and also tapped their Limited Resource for a further five credits. There was a bit of a disease breakout in Gamos, so the gang to decided to get out of town and hole up at the Zeenat Farmstead. On the way, they met a ne'er-do-well named Kednota Ahenmeti, whom they took along with them. As the disease ran it's course, the authorities (as much as there were) began to purge everyone who seemed like a carrier. Kruha Lachu stayed behind to settle some business, and was almost caught in the purging, learning some important tactical movement in his escape (+0.5 Toughness.) As they approached the Zeenat Farmstead, they realized they were not the only gang to seek shelter with the Zeenats. Knowing the resources here were limited, there was only one thing to do, and that was to try to drive off the other gang. Guns were drawn and both sides moved towards the farmstead.
The opposition rolled up was six average gang members. I haven't made a lot of my Tatooine terrain yet, so I decided that the encounter would be set at Zeenat farmstead, a small moisture farm on the outskirts of Gamos. There were three Notable Objects that I represented with pennies. Again, I haven't quite finished making everything I need for this.I set up both gangs on opposite table edges because, for the life of me, I couldn't find the passage on page 40 of the Five Parsecs: Gang Warfare rules stating that models must be at least 12" away from any enemies. I guess at 34" apart, I certainly achieved that! So, the first several turns were spent getting within shooting distance and line of sight of the opposition. The Krayt Crew split into three groups, while the other gang split into two groups.
Kebnota Ahenmeti drew first blood, killing an opponent with his first shot. In turn, he was gunned down shortly afterwards. Rudo Bastra shot down another enemy, but too was dropped by return fire.
And then the Gamos Krayt Crew had a very successful turn, with Kruha Lachu, HK0-13X, and Thena Rosado all killing rival gang members. The droid was disabled by return, however.
The last enemy took a shot at Ten-Ten Amanha but missed, and when the dug returned fire he found his mark and killed the last adversary
The Krayt Crew was victorious, but had three downed members that had to be attended to. Rudo Bastra suffered a head wound from falling to the ground (reducing reaction by 0.5,) HK0-13X would require a campaign turn to repair, and Kebnota Ahenmeti was killed out right. Easy come, easy go for the guy! During the course of the game, Ten-Ten Amanha revealed one of the Notable Objects as scrap that could be sold for credit, HK0-13X revealed another to be worthless, and after the game was over Kruha Lachu showed the third to be a venomous lizard which didn't quite hurt her.
The gang received 1 Rep for winning the encounter, and a further 1 Rep for killing the leader of the rival gang. In addition to the 1 Credit received for the scrap, they received an additional 1 Credit for the opportunity encounter. Finally, they switched their Intel for another Doc resource because of Ten-Ten's Bartering.
Some fun things happened in this game. The pre-encounter campaign stuff set up the fight nicely. The back and forth shooting made it seem like either side could win until the last two turns. And while both sides continued to make Morale rolls as they saw their friends go down, neither side actually suffered any Morale failures. It was a bit of a bummer to lose the new guy right away, but I guess it's better to have lost Kebnota than one of the OG.
Five Parsecs From Home and the supplements are available here.
During the campaign turn, there was no Upkeep for the gang as it was the first turn. Kruha Lachu did some training and gained 1 Experience Point. Ten-Ten Amanha went out Bartering, got a lead on a good deal, and would have the opportunity to pick between two deals if the Krayt Crew won the encounter. The other four managed to scrape up a total of 3 Credits between them, and also tapped their Limited Resource for a further five credits. There was a bit of a disease breakout in Gamos, so the gang to decided to get out of town and hole up at the Zeenat Farmstead. On the way, they met a ne'er-do-well named Kednota Ahenmeti, whom they took along with them. As the disease ran it's course, the authorities (as much as there were) began to purge everyone who seemed like a carrier. Kruha Lachu stayed behind to settle some business, and was almost caught in the purging, learning some important tactical movement in his escape (+0.5 Toughness.) As they approached the Zeenat Farmstead, they realized they were not the only gang to seek shelter with the Zeenats. Knowing the resources here were limited, there was only one thing to do, and that was to try to drive off the other gang. Guns were drawn and both sides moved towards the farmstead.
 |
| The end of the first turn that started with the rival gangs about 12" apart |
The opposition rolled up was six average gang members. I haven't made a lot of my Tatooine terrain yet, so I decided that the encounter would be set at Zeenat farmstead, a small moisture farm on the outskirts of Gamos. There were three Notable Objects that I represented with pennies. Again, I haven't quite finished making everything I need for this.I set up both gangs on opposite table edges because, for the life of me, I couldn't find the passage on page 40 of the Five Parsecs: Gang Warfare rules stating that models must be at least 12" away from any enemies. I guess at 34" apart, I certainly achieved that! So, the first several turns were spent getting within shooting distance and line of sight of the opposition. The Krayt Crew split into three groups, while the other gang split into two groups.
Kebnota Ahenmeti drew first blood, killing an opponent with his first shot. In turn, he was gunned down shortly afterwards. Rudo Bastra shot down another enemy, but too was dropped by return fire.
And then the Gamos Krayt Crew had a very successful turn, with Kruha Lachu, HK0-13X, and Thena Rosado all killing rival gang members. The droid was disabled by return, however.
The last enemy took a shot at Ten-Ten Amanha but missed, and when the dug returned fire he found his mark and killed the last adversary
The Krayt Crew was victorious, but had three downed members that had to be attended to. Rudo Bastra suffered a head wound from falling to the ground (reducing reaction by 0.5,) HK0-13X would require a campaign turn to repair, and Kebnota Ahenmeti was killed out right. Easy come, easy go for the guy! During the course of the game, Ten-Ten Amanha revealed one of the Notable Objects as scrap that could be sold for credit, HK0-13X revealed another to be worthless, and after the game was over Kruha Lachu showed the third to be a venomous lizard which didn't quite hurt her.
 |
| The Krayt Crew victorious! |
The gang received 1 Rep for winning the encounter, and a further 1 Rep for killing the leader of the rival gang. In addition to the 1 Credit received for the scrap, they received an additional 1 Credit for the opportunity encounter. Finally, they switched their Intel for another Doc resource because of Ten-Ten's Bartering.
Some fun things happened in this game. The pre-encounter campaign stuff set up the fight nicely. The back and forth shooting made it seem like either side could win until the last two turns. And while both sides continued to make Morale rolls as they saw their friends go down, neither side actually suffered any Morale failures. It was a bit of a bummer to lose the new guy right away, but I guess it's better to have lost Kebnota than one of the OG.
Five Parsecs From Home and the supplements are available here.
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Interlude: Meet The Gamos Krayt Crew
As I mentioned a few entries ago, Gangs Of Tatooine is another interest of mine. As I am slowly preparing to play this side project, I figured it is time to introduce the Gamos Krayt Crew. Some of these people are more fleshed out than others, so there will be varying degrees of exposition as we meet the members.
That is the only picture of the crew so far. Front row from the left is Kruha Lachu, HK0-13X, Thena Rosado, and Rudo Bastra. The back row, from the left, is Kebnota Ahenmeti, Naarm, and Ten-Ten Amanha.
Kruha Lachu is a yarkora, and the brains behind this whole operation. The model is only temporary, there will be a nice conversion as befits a gang leader before I get too far into this. Once upon a time, I read that George Lucas had a formula for generating the names of minor background characters. It was to take the first three letters of your last name, then the first two letters of your first name, and put them together for the first name (in this case, "Kru" and "Ha" becomes Kruha.) For the last name, you take the first two letters of your mother's maiden name, and then the first three letters of the place you were born, and put them together similarly (thus, "Lachu.") So Kruha Lachu is essentially my personal Star Wars name. Kruha was raised by gangers on the mean streets of Mos Espa, is motivated by personal power, and has a knach for tech. Somewhere along the line, Kruha acquired an old Trade Federation battledroid and replaced the mental processors with better equipment from another salvaged droid.
HK0-13X is that droid. Built by Kruha Lachu from an old Trade Federation battle droid with better menatl processors, this droid is fiercely loyal to it's creator. HK0-13X really just wants freedom for everyone, and is particularly opposed to slavery. As an aside, hk013x is my public ID at work. Which I think is pretty cool, because it involves both a "13" and a "x."
Thena Rosado is a klatooinian who was raised by outcasts right here in Gamos. Thena is always looking for ways to increase personal influence, and has a history of racketeering.
Rudo Bastra is a rodian, also from Gamos. Rudo is from a struggling working class family, and fell in with Thena Rosado at a young age. Like Thena, Rudo is pursuing personal influence with a history of racketeering. Rudo has had the painting started, and is red because in the last iteration of "Five Parsecs From Home," the background indicated brightly colored skin, so I went with red.
Kebnota Ahenmeti, a twi'lek, isn't really a full part of the crew yet. The rest of them literally found him by the side of the road and invited him along for mischief during the first scenario. So far, we know he was raised by addicts and just wants to get by in life, and has a talent for fixing things.
Naarm is a wookie who has lost her faith in pretty much everything. Abandoned as a baby and raised by gutter scum in Gamos, she is nihilistic in the extreme but still has a lot of personal charm.
Ten-Ten Amanha is a dug who is distantly related to famous pod racer Sebulba. He has left his working class roots in a quest for personal power. He likes climbing thing, as being higher compensates for his small size.
As the reader have been guessed already, this game is going to be set in the small town of Gamos on Tatooine. In game context, this is a Settlement, and 4 Rep (determined by a 2d3 roll) must be earned to become Top Dog. The gang hideout is disguised as a (yet undetermined) legitimate business. The whole crew came together for mutual protection. Around Gamos, they have a reputation for being strange.
Regarding the miniatures, I am using the old prepainted Star Wars collectible prepaints from Wizards Of The Coast. I have enough of them to run this campaign for quite a while, including stormtroopers, rebel scouts, everything I need to hassle a small gang on Tatooine. Every model used for a gang member will be repainted eventually. The figures for Kruha Lachu and Kebnota Ahenmeti are only temporary, until I finish the conversions for the permanent models. I am undecided whether I will keep the black plastic bases the figures on which the figures are mounted. If I change them, I will feel a compulsion to match them with every random figure I use as an opponent for these guys.
Five Parsecs From Home and the supplements are available here.
That is the only picture of the crew so far. Front row from the left is Kruha Lachu, HK0-13X, Thena Rosado, and Rudo Bastra. The back row, from the left, is Kebnota Ahenmeti, Naarm, and Ten-Ten Amanha.
Kruha Lachu is a yarkora, and the brains behind this whole operation. The model is only temporary, there will be a nice conversion as befits a gang leader before I get too far into this. Once upon a time, I read that George Lucas had a formula for generating the names of minor background characters. It was to take the first three letters of your last name, then the first two letters of your first name, and put them together for the first name (in this case, "Kru" and "Ha" becomes Kruha.) For the last name, you take the first two letters of your mother's maiden name, and then the first three letters of the place you were born, and put them together similarly (thus, "Lachu.") So Kruha Lachu is essentially my personal Star Wars name. Kruha was raised by gangers on the mean streets of Mos Espa, is motivated by personal power, and has a knach for tech. Somewhere along the line, Kruha acquired an old Trade Federation battledroid and replaced the mental processors with better equipment from another salvaged droid.
HK0-13X is that droid. Built by Kruha Lachu from an old Trade Federation battle droid with better menatl processors, this droid is fiercely loyal to it's creator. HK0-13X really just wants freedom for everyone, and is particularly opposed to slavery. As an aside, hk013x is my public ID at work. Which I think is pretty cool, because it involves both a "13" and a "x."
Thena Rosado is a klatooinian who was raised by outcasts right here in Gamos. Thena is always looking for ways to increase personal influence, and has a history of racketeering.
Rudo Bastra is a rodian, also from Gamos. Rudo is from a struggling working class family, and fell in with Thena Rosado at a young age. Like Thena, Rudo is pursuing personal influence with a history of racketeering. Rudo has had the painting started, and is red because in the last iteration of "Five Parsecs From Home," the background indicated brightly colored skin, so I went with red.
Kebnota Ahenmeti, a twi'lek, isn't really a full part of the crew yet. The rest of them literally found him by the side of the road and invited him along for mischief during the first scenario. So far, we know he was raised by addicts and just wants to get by in life, and has a talent for fixing things.
Naarm is a wookie who has lost her faith in pretty much everything. Abandoned as a baby and raised by gutter scum in Gamos, she is nihilistic in the extreme but still has a lot of personal charm.
Ten-Ten Amanha is a dug who is distantly related to famous pod racer Sebulba. He has left his working class roots in a quest for personal power. He likes climbing thing, as being higher compensates for his small size.
As the reader have been guessed already, this game is going to be set in the small town of Gamos on Tatooine. In game context, this is a Settlement, and 4 Rep (determined by a 2d3 roll) must be earned to become Top Dog. The gang hideout is disguised as a (yet undetermined) legitimate business. The whole crew came together for mutual protection. Around Gamos, they have a reputation for being strange.
Regarding the miniatures, I am using the old prepainted Star Wars collectible prepaints from Wizards Of The Coast. I have enough of them to run this campaign for quite a while, including stormtroopers, rebel scouts, everything I need to hassle a small gang on Tatooine. Every model used for a gang member will be repainted eventually. The figures for Kruha Lachu and Kebnota Ahenmeti are only temporary, until I finish the conversions for the permanent models. I am undecided whether I will keep the black plastic bases the figures on which the figures are mounted. If I change them, I will feel a compulsion to match them with every random figure I use as an opponent for these guys.
Five Parsecs From Home and the supplements are available here.
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Interlude: Star Fleet Grammas
Not only am I am avid miniature painter, but I also enjoy papercrafting for terrain and occasionally figure flats. Cardstock miniatures have never been more useful to me than in my quest for Star Trek gaming; the offerings out there for traditional miniatures simply don't meet my needs, and the customization frequently required is past my model conversion skills. But I can knock out a right job of someone else's work with the mods I need in GIMP, which is similar to Photoshop but free.
I am also an avid reader of the Cardboard Warriors forum. Really, it's where I get all of my flat Star Trek people. And, as is the case with all things Star Trek, Star Fleet Grammas started as a really bad idea. Really, it was a bad idea piggy-backed on another bad idea. Dave Okum, the artist responsible for most of the Star Trek people I use, once read a typo referring to the Gamma World game as "Gramma World" instead. And that led to an actual Gramma World game and the required set of paper Gramma World miniatures.
Which somehow led to Star Fleet Grammas. I did a little fiddling with my existing Star Fleet gals, mixed and matched with the Grammas, and before I knew it, I had a Star Fleet Gramma Command Team.
The problem, of course, is that it is no fun having a bunch of Star Fleet Grammas and nothing to do with them. I put together a nice little set of other Star Trek paper miniatures to go with them (but somehow didn't take pictures of them) and I also put together a set of Dave Okum's Space Octopods as an opposition force. Just right for all of your hentai granny tentacle fantasies!
The only thing I was lacking was rules! And that's where Nordic Weasel Games comes into to picture. In addition to Five Leagues From The Borderlands, there is also the Five Parsecs family of games using the same engine and as delightfully designed for solo play. The "Salvage Crew" expansion was almost what I was looking for, but the idea of a Star Fleet ship acting as an itinerant trading craft seemed somehow wrong. "Bug Hunt" had more of a military feel, but was very focussed on killing scary alien creatures, which is a much more narrow theme than I wanted for my Star Fleet Gramma games.
Five Parsecs From Home and the supplements are available here.
I am also an avid reader of the Cardboard Warriors forum. Really, it's where I get all of my flat Star Trek people. And, as is the case with all things Star Trek, Star Fleet Grammas started as a really bad idea. Really, it was a bad idea piggy-backed on another bad idea. Dave Okum, the artist responsible for most of the Star Trek people I use, once read a typo referring to the Gamma World game as "Gramma World" instead. And that led to an actual Gramma World game and the required set of paper Gramma World miniatures.
Which somehow led to Star Fleet Grammas. I did a little fiddling with my existing Star Fleet gals, mixed and matched with the Grammas, and before I knew it, I had a Star Fleet Gramma Command Team.
The problem, of course, is that it is no fun having a bunch of Star Fleet Grammas and nothing to do with them. I put together a nice little set of other Star Trek paper miniatures to go with them (but somehow didn't take pictures of them) and I also put together a set of Dave Okum's Space Octopods as an opposition force. Just right for all of your hentai granny tentacle fantasies!
The only thing I was lacking was rules! And that's where Nordic Weasel Games comes into to picture. In addition to Five Leagues From The Borderlands, there is also the Five Parsecs family of games using the same engine and as delightfully designed for solo play. The "Salvage Crew" expansion was almost what I was looking for, but the idea of a Star Fleet ship acting as an itinerant trading craft seemed somehow wrong. "Bug Hunt" had more of a military feel, but was very focussed on killing scary alien creatures, which is a much more narrow theme than I wanted for my Star Fleet Gramma games.
Five Parsecs From Home and the supplements are available here.
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Onward To Oraskat
Our Heroes, the nine brave adventurers of Anasdiazi's Raft, have returned to Garakt and received a hero's welcome. They have fought the invaders to a standstill, they have driven the outlaws from the land, and they purge the insidious Chaos cult that has been plaguing the townsfolk. The blacksmith was so relieved, he gifted them with a fine sword. Of course, Our Heroes are no slackers and so they still spent their coin where it was needed for their upkeep. A few went foraging for herbs, but nothing was found. Oasasya became annoyed at this, and went to the local herbalist to study about foraging better. Puddles went fishing again, and found a sweet spot. He caught two fish worth three gold crowns in total. Anasdiazi was offered a suit of full armor made just for ducks by the blacksmith, for 15 gold crowns. Anasdiazi quickly bought it, as the blacksmith had clearly been working on it for quite some time. Quackmore tried it on, and it fit well.
After a few days of rest and recuperation, Anasdiazi decided it was time to move on. Oraskat, a nearby village, had been heard to have some problems that needed addressing in much the same as those of Garakt. And so the Raft packed their belongings and began their journey.
On their trip, they met an entertainer, a jovial and friendly girl from Oraskat. They stayed by the roadside and chatted for quite a while before going their separate ways. A day later, as they approached the gates of Oraskat, they came up behind a Humble Priest returning to the village. He had heard of the great service they had rendered to Garakt, and said he would put in a good word for them in town.
Observant readers may notice there are no pictures in this post. Because of the random nature of encounters in Five Leagues From The Borderlands, there was no combat encounter this game turn, only the roadside encounter. When travelling from one village to the next, there is an additional roadside encounter as you arrive at the new town. So, there were two roadside encounters and no combat encounters.
I am also going to be taking a bit of a break from playing "Five Leagues In Glorantha" to get some more opposition miniatures painted, I feel like I am using the same three groups of models as the bad guys over and over again, and I would like to see more variety. I have two more groups of bad guys ready to paint, I just need to take the time to do it. A;so, some of my scenery is in dire need of repair as well. Trees keep falling out of the bases! Mayhap some new scenery as well? But I do plan to play a game or three of "Gangs Of Tatooine" in the meantime, as well as post more Old Lead, musings, and perhaps some other Five Leagues or Five Parsecs related content.
Five Leagues From The Borderlands and the supplements are available here.
After a few days of rest and recuperation, Anasdiazi decided it was time to move on. Oraskat, a nearby village, had been heard to have some problems that needed addressing in much the same as those of Garakt. And so the Raft packed their belongings and began their journey.
On their trip, they met an entertainer, a jovial and friendly girl from Oraskat. They stayed by the roadside and chatted for quite a while before going their separate ways. A day later, as they approached the gates of Oraskat, they came up behind a Humble Priest returning to the village. He had heard of the great service they had rendered to Garakt, and said he would put in a good word for them in town.
Observant readers may notice there are no pictures in this post. Because of the random nature of encounters in Five Leagues From The Borderlands, there was no combat encounter this game turn, only the roadside encounter. When travelling from one village to the next, there is an additional roadside encounter as you arrive at the new town. So, there were two roadside encounters and no combat encounters.
I am also going to be taking a bit of a break from playing "Five Leagues In Glorantha" to get some more opposition miniatures painted, I feel like I am using the same three groups of models as the bad guys over and over again, and I would like to see more variety. I have two more groups of bad guys ready to paint, I just need to take the time to do it. A;so, some of my scenery is in dire need of repair as well. Trees keep falling out of the bases! Mayhap some new scenery as well? But I do plan to play a game or three of "Gangs Of Tatooine" in the meantime, as well as post more Old Lead, musings, and perhaps some other Five Leagues or Five Parsecs related content.
Five Leagues From The Borderlands and the supplements are available here.
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Chaos Cultists At The Coliseum!
It's been quite a ride for Anasdiazi's Raft. Over the course of five games, they have eliminated 2 points of Outlaw threat, 3 points of Border Tensions threat, and reduced the Dark Secrets threat from 4 to 2. And those Dark Secrets are all they have left to face in order to completely secure the vicinity around Garakt, the village that has been their haven up until now. During this time that have lost a few friends to the villains lurking in the wilderness, and gained new ones as their reputation has spread.
And now they have returned to Garakt after defeating some raiders from the invading army of the Lunar Empire. The first order of business was to bring Pariwan Keetslander to the town healer. As it turned out, the Wandering Healer was still in town, and between the two healers and Mawat's skill, Pariwan was back on his feet. At the same time, the Former Soldier was fully recovered. In order to facilitate their stay in town, the Raft's expenses came to about one gold crown, which they happily paid. Puddles went fishing again, and he caught three fish that were worth three gold crowns back in Garakt. Pariwan, feeling much better, went to work the fields of Garakt, and returned to the Raft three gold crowns richer. And it was a good thing too, because Anasdiazi had been offered a bottle of Red Duck and bought it for six gold crowns. And after a few days in town, the full-strength Raft went back out looking for trouble.
While still on the roadway, they were approached by a Venerable Hunter, who had heard of the Raft's exploits and was particularly impressed by what he had been told of Puddles' archery skill. He told Puddles that while his hunting days were over, he still had some finely fletched arrows he thought the duck could use in protecting the village. Puddles graciously accepted the gift, and the Raft moved on.
While exploring, they found the ruins of a coliseum, possibly dating back to the Second Age. And there, they saw a group of robe-clad figures. It looked like a half dozen or so Chaos Cultists were preparing to do something here, and the Raft decided to stop it. The Cultists did not notice Anasdiazi's little band of warriors before they were in engagment range, and then both groups faced off against each other...
The first turn was ineffectual for both sides. Distance was closed, but archery was ineffective and no one was within melee range.
The second turn was devastating for the Cultists. Puddles killed one with a well-placed arrow. Mataw dropped two more, once when she attacked and again when she was attacked. The Former Soldier killed a fourth, and Quackmore killed the fifth. The High Cultist had two Wounds, but survived them. The remaining Cultist failed his Morale check and promptly left the skirmish grounds.
The High Cultist now faced the entirety of the Raft while bleeding out from two Wounds. Mataw stepped forward and cleanly decapitated her. The battle was over.
No one in the Raft was injured. There was also no loot. Pariwan Keetslander leveled up, as did Mataw. The Former Soldier learned the Tracking skill.
By this time in the campaign, Garakt only had two points of Dark secrets threat remaining. A roll of "4" reduced the threat by one, and a second roll for the leader in this game of "6" reduced it again. This High Cultist was clearly the motivating force behind the Dark Secrets threat to Garakt. This means that the village is completely cleared of threats for the time being, and it will be safe to travel to another village in Heortland that is in need of protection.
As a result of removing all threat to Garakt, the Raft was allowed a loot roll and granted one additional Story Point. A balanced war spear was added to the inventory, and then given to the Former Soldier.
The Raft is getting quite strong. Puddles is dangerous with his bow, and Mawat is a melee powerhouse. I am, at the very least, planning on more monsters at the next village, to make things more challenging. I also want to see about more variety in opponents at settings, lookig back at my game pictures they all look pretty much the same.
Five Leagues From The Borderlands and the supplements are available here.
And now they have returned to Garakt after defeating some raiders from the invading army of the Lunar Empire. The first order of business was to bring Pariwan Keetslander to the town healer. As it turned out, the Wandering Healer was still in town, and between the two healers and Mawat's skill, Pariwan was back on his feet. At the same time, the Former Soldier was fully recovered. In order to facilitate their stay in town, the Raft's expenses came to about one gold crown, which they happily paid. Puddles went fishing again, and he caught three fish that were worth three gold crowns back in Garakt. Pariwan, feeling much better, went to work the fields of Garakt, and returned to the Raft three gold crowns richer. And it was a good thing too, because Anasdiazi had been offered a bottle of Red Duck and bought it for six gold crowns. And after a few days in town, the full-strength Raft went back out looking for trouble.
 |
| Top row: Pariwan Keetslander, Oasasya, the Former Soldier, and the Hired Guide Bottom row: Anasdiazi, Quackmore, Mataw, Nameless Priest of Humakt, Puddles |
While still on the roadway, they were approached by a Venerable Hunter, who had heard of the Raft's exploits and was particularly impressed by what he had been told of Puddles' archery skill. He told Puddles that while his hunting days were over, he still had some finely fletched arrows he thought the duck could use in protecting the village. Puddles graciously accepted the gift, and the Raft moved on.
 |
| The Raft advances upon the Cultists |
While exploring, they found the ruins of a coliseum, possibly dating back to the Second Age. And there, they saw a group of robe-clad figures. It looked like a half dozen or so Chaos Cultists were preparing to do something here, and the Raft decided to stop it. The Cultists did not notice Anasdiazi's little band of warriors before they were in engagment range, and then both groups faced off against each other...
 |
| Everyone gets closer, but no one gets hurt. Yet. |
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| The High Cultists stands alone. |
The second turn was devastating for the Cultists. Puddles killed one with a well-placed arrow. Mataw dropped two more, once when she attacked and again when she was attacked. The Former Soldier killed a fourth, and Quackmore killed the fifth. The High Cultist had two Wounds, but survived them. The remaining Cultist failed his Morale check and promptly left the skirmish grounds.
The High Cultist now faced the entirety of the Raft while bleeding out from two Wounds. Mataw stepped forward and cleanly decapitated her. The battle was over.
No one in the Raft was injured. There was also no loot. Pariwan Keetslander leveled up, as did Mataw. The Former Soldier learned the Tracking skill.
By this time in the campaign, Garakt only had two points of Dark secrets threat remaining. A roll of "4" reduced the threat by one, and a second roll for the leader in this game of "6" reduced it again. This High Cultist was clearly the motivating force behind the Dark Secrets threat to Garakt. This means that the village is completely cleared of threats for the time being, and it will be safe to travel to another village in Heortland that is in need of protection.
As a result of removing all threat to Garakt, the Raft was allowed a loot roll and granted one additional Story Point. A balanced war spear was added to the inventory, and then given to the Former Soldier.
The Raft is getting quite strong. Puddles is dangerous with his bow, and Mawat is a melee powerhouse. I am, at the very least, planning on more monsters at the next village, to make things more challenging. I also want to see about more variety in opponents at settings, lookig back at my game pictures they all look pretty much the same.
Five Leagues From The Borderlands and the supplements are available here.
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
The Lunar Empire Strikes!
To start things off right, there was a whole lot of healing going on! The Raft retired to Garakt in time for a Wandering Healer to attend to the Former Soldier, aiding him enough that he might be back on his feet soon. Anasdiazi and Mawat brought Pariwan Keetslander to the town healer, and between his talents and Mawat's help, the keet was back on his feet and ready to fight. Oasasya tried her hand at fishing again, as Puddles decided to do some training instead. Nothing worth anything was fished up, despite finding a nice secret spot. Back in town, Quackmore was offered some Vital Information in exchange for five gold crowns, but he elected to keep the money and go buy Mawat some partial armor instead.
And so eight out of nine members of Anasdiazi's Raft headed out into the hinterlands once again to ensure the safety of Garakt. They were not out for long when trouble found them, in the form of a small raiding party from the army of the Lunar Empire, that had of late invaded Heortland from the north. Lunars had a reputation for hating ducks. As the first arrows fell around them, the Raft drew weapons to face their foe...
Things started off well enough, with all three archers having a chance to shoot before the Lunars had a chance to anything. But only Puddles found his target, and even then he was unable to penetrate the armor. The soldiers then moved to attack the Raft. And while some distance was closed, there was no contact yet.
Puddles found his target again, and dropped one of the sabre-armed Lunar raiders. Mataw moved in and promptly dropped another. The Lunar Sergeant then mightily smote Pariwan Keetslander. Oasaya shot a raider archer dead in her tracks. The Priest of Humakt went in for the kill on the enemy leader, but to no avail. Quackmore and Anasdiazi had been as equally ineffective a moment before. Morale was checked, but the raiders held their ground!
Puddles missed his shot. Mataw then took her chance at the Lunar sergeant and fatally smashed him. Oasasya and the Hired Guide both took shots at the remaining archer, and they both failed to hit. The Priest of Humakt then charged that remaining raider, swung his staff and BAM! the battle was over.
There wasn't much loot to be had, but it was good loot: the Lunar raiders had a cache of weapons nearby consisting of two swords and a fine bastard sword. There was a scroll with the spell "Walk The Wind" contained therein.
Pariwan Keetslander was found to be moderately injured, and would require three campaign turns of recovery. The Priest of Humakt managed a Flash Of Insight and became a Hero of the Raft, instead of just a Follower. And a Story Point was spent to make him a Soothsayer, using the new game supplement of that name. The Walk The Wind scroll was assigned to Puddles, and the Sparrow's Flight scroll lurking in the Raft's inventory was handed to the Nameless Priest Of Humakt.
Compared to the last game, archery had much less impact on this game. Mawat is a melee powerhouse and seems to be rising quickly. Not bad for a free Aspiring Hero found on the side of the road! And it is nice to see the Nameless Priest Of Humakt come into his own as a character.
Five Leagues From The Borderlands and the supplements are available here.
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| Anasdiazi, Oasasya, Quackmore, Puddles, Mataw, the Hired Guide, the Priest of Humakt |
And so eight out of nine members of Anasdiazi's Raft headed out into the hinterlands once again to ensure the safety of Garakt. They were not out for long when trouble found them, in the form of a small raiding party from the army of the Lunar Empire, that had of late invaded Heortland from the north. Lunars had a reputation for hating ducks. As the first arrows fell around them, the Raft drew weapons to face their foe...
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| It started as a nice walk in the woods... |
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| I forgot to move Pariwan Keetslander before I took this picture! He ran up between Puddles and Anasdiazi. |
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| Two Lunars left, and holding strong! |
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| Dead! They're all dead! |
Pariwan Keetslander was found to be moderately injured, and would require three campaign turns of recovery. The Priest of Humakt managed a Flash Of Insight and became a Hero of the Raft, instead of just a Follower. And a Story Point was spent to make him a Soothsayer, using the new game supplement of that name. The Walk The Wind scroll was assigned to Puddles, and the Sparrow's Flight scroll lurking in the Raft's inventory was handed to the Nameless Priest Of Humakt.
Compared to the last game, archery had much less impact on this game. Mawat is a melee powerhouse and seems to be rising quickly. Not bad for a free Aspiring Hero found on the side of the road! And it is nice to see the Nameless Priest Of Humakt come into his own as a character.
Monday, January 6, 2020
The "Old Lead" Project: Elf Swordsman
This is the first in what will be an irregular feature here at Five Leagues In Glorantha: the "Old Lead" Project. As I go through my piles of miniatures looking for new and interesting things to use for various projects, I sometimes find a figure that I acquired MANY years ago and in desperate need of some modern painting.
I recently found one of my earliest miniature purchases, an old Ral Partha Elf sculpted by Tom Meier (and surprisingly still available) which was now in terrible condition. I bought him from Toycraft on Telegraph Canyon Road in Chula Vista, CA in the summer of 1980. He cost me $1.25 plus tax.
I had originally painted him with Testors enamel paint, and sometime in the late 80s or early 90s I had tried to strip the paint with no success (but it did have the effect of ruining the existing paint.) I know how to do things better now, and managed to get most of it off. His nose and dome if his hair had been a bit distorted by 40 years of abuse, but otherwise he is still a serviceable model.
I trimmed the integral base and mounted him on a plastic stand. I textured the top with sand and primed him with black gesso. The colors I used were inspired by both the Harlequins from the Warhamster 40,000 game and the Lord Of The Rings movies.
So there you have it. 1970s sculpting and modern finishing.
I recently found one of my earliest miniature purchases, an old Ral Partha Elf sculpted by Tom Meier (and surprisingly still available) which was now in terrible condition. I bought him from Toycraft on Telegraph Canyon Road in Chula Vista, CA in the summer of 1980. He cost me $1.25 plus tax.
I had originally painted him with Testors enamel paint, and sometime in the late 80s or early 90s I had tried to strip the paint with no success (but it did have the effect of ruining the existing paint.) I know how to do things better now, and managed to get most of it off. His nose and dome if his hair had been a bit distorted by 40 years of abuse, but otherwise he is still a serviceable model.
I trimmed the integral base and mounted him on a plastic stand. I textured the top with sand and primed him with black gesso. The colors I used were inspired by both the Harlequins from the Warhamster 40,000 game and the Lord Of The Rings movies.
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| The second miniature I ever bought, before and after |
So there you have it. 1970s sculpting and modern finishing.
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