2017 Games Played Overview [draft]

see https://boardgamegeek.com/plays/bygame/user/zorcon/subtype/All/start/2017-01-01/end/2017-12-31

maybe do a 2016 post retroactive or later in january?

PaintRack App [draft]

D&D 5e Test Run

I played a game of Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition!

My buddy Lord Grimskull ran a session of D&D 5e about a month ago. There were 4 PCs, although one player couldn't make it.

We started with some experience. Since 3rd level is a big power boost and there is a career path choice, the DM decided we would be 2nd level.

As soon as we started "rolling" up characters I was taken aback... point... buy... abilities... !?!?! Yep, the standard in 5e is stat buy... no rolling 3d6 for your abilities. This was different. I know 3rd and 4th edition had optional point buy rules, but in some way it felt wrong. 

The basic stat block is 15/14/13/12/10/10. I think everyone else took that. I chose to take the extreme of 15/15/15/8/8/8. With my racial bonus, I ended up with 17/15/15/10/8/8. The game is designed so you CAN NOT have a starting character with an ability over 17. In fact you would have to take the extreme starting stat block like I did and put two of the 15s in your racial prime stats to end up with two 17s (17/17/15/8/8/8).

It took about 2 hours to get 4 2nd-level characters rolled-up created. We were an adventuring group that had been together for at least 2 missions. The most recent was simple goblin extermination. Our party consisted of a Dragonborn Rogue (me), a Human Wizard, a Gnome Cleric (NPC), and an Elf Paladin. The game starts as we arrive back at the small logging village that hired us to hunt gobbos.

After a night of kicking back and spending our recently acquired coin, things started going awry late that night: Weird sounds, a dead body, missing grave stones, and a dense wall of fog surrounding the village. We survived the night. The next day, the fog spoke to us, threatening our lives. We dug here the missing grave stones were to find there were no bodies at all. Mid-day, the leader of the village guards went into the fog and never came back. We rallied the villagers to build up defenses.

Before night-fall we built a roof-bridge between the watch tower, the temple and the barracks. We put all of the food and supplies in the temple, and anyone who couldn't fight went in the barracks. we tried digging pits between buildings and boarding up windows, but we only managed to get the south face finished before the second night.

We were attacked by strange undead. I lost track of how many varieties, but it was at least 3--The "grunts", a long legged fast type, and ones with a 20' tongue attack that grabbed you like a lasso. The night did not end well.

The map shows were we left things. The figures laying down in buildings are actually on the roof (and alive). The one figure in the upper right laying down in the street was a prominent figure. We lost over half the fighting villagers (most of them were guard-types). If things go the same the next night, Im not sure we will make it through! 

This was supposed to be a one-night test drive of 5e, but things ran long. Everyone had fun and thants the point of all this anyway, right! We are planning to finish up in the near future.

DC Universe Online Review

This is posted on behalf of Laertes...

Image taken off interwebs without permission.

Character Creation:

This can be the heart of a superhero MMO and this one is adequate.  You've quite a variety to choose from, and at this stage you choose not only your appearance, but your faction (Villain or Hero), your power set, your starting Weapon skill, your movement skill (Flight, Superspeed, or Acrobatics), and your starting mentor (there are 3 for each faction, and it impacts your quest lines).  While you have a great deal of items to choose from, you character is still going to basically be human(oid), so no crab people or centaurs or mermaids.  Likewise there’s three basic body types and three basic sizes within those types, so you cannot go too crazy with sliders for eyebrow shape or distance or things like that.  You can really get in to different types of skins and costumes for your character as well, but do not be too caught up in that at the moment, because DCUO does something a little differently.

When it comes to your superhero “looks” most games do not have the same feature of WYSIWYG like a fantasy MMO does.  That is, if your character has a cape, he ALWAYS has a cape.  DCUO just combined that.  So the gear you pick up and are wearing will be reflected on your character . . . if you wish it to be.  By default, if you pick up a helmet, and put it on, your character will now appear with that helmet.  But you also have a Style tab and you can lock changes out.  Gear also comes in two forms:  the regular form (which adds stats, etc.) and a “style” form, which does nothing aside from change the appearance.  But regardless of the appearance, if you’re wearing a cape that adds abilities, even if you've selected a different style from the Style tab, you’re still getting the benefit of those abilities.  You are still wearing that cape.  But that does mean that, by default, by the time your character is level 10 it likely doesn't look like what you created to begin the game . . . except for one aspect.  Your color scheme is ALWAYS your color scheme.  So if you chose an Iron Man red/gold scheme, even if you later are wearing an ancient Greek helmet . . . it will be in that red/gold scheme you picked out initially.


Control Scheme:

I admit that this took some getting used to, and initially I did not think I would like it.  Clearly it was designed to accommodate console game pads and I thought that this might not be a good translation to the PC.  Surprisingly it works though.  Mouse look is always “on”, but unlike some other games (which still have quite a few menus or mouse interactions on the screen) the keyboard in DCUO is minimized.  I think where they really succeeded though is with targeting.  The targeting system is quite fluid:  you mouse over it and it is targeted.  You can “lock” your target with the Tab key but there is no specific need.  This makes combats quite free flowing, and especially works well with movement powers like flight.  You hit number keys for your powers, which might seem like something of a handicap, but you don’t have that many powers or toolbars compared to most games.  You have 6 power slots (1-6) total, with a slot for consumables and a slot for an activated item (Trinket).  That’s it.

The game also has no auto-attack:  you want to hit someone, you need to click the mouse.  Left-clicks are melee attacks and right-clicks are ranged attacks.  There is also blocking and block breaking.  Indeed combat is basically a game in to itself, as there are numerous combos you will need skill to perform – but it can feel like a bit like combat is nothing but button mashing.  It does not feel like your standard MMO where you go in, hit auto attack, and then use various powers for the rest of the combat.  It’s almost the opposite – you need to use various Skills and then use your powers in between.

Powers:

This is what really can make or break a superhero RPG.  In DCUO the power sets are divided in to three primary groups based on the Role the character will play:  Controller, Healer, Defender.  If this sounds like the “holy trinity” from back in the days of EQ, it is, but there are a couple of additional twists thrown in.  First off, every character will always have at least two “loadouts”, gained at level 10:  a “damage” role and a role based on your power style (Controller, Healer, Defender).  You can flip back and forth (but not in combat) and it essentially gives everyone character a “solo” mode (usually Damage) and a “group” mode (usually the other).  It should also be noted that the individual powers themselves are NOT simple and have quick descriptions.  That Ice blast that just does damage, for example, may be modified by the role that the character is in or stack with other effects the character has.  In some cases the power can change completely:  someone with a base Sorcery power casts Circle of Protection in Healer mode and Circle of Destruction in Damage mode (it is the same power).

That being said, the power sets are therefore not “pure”.  A Controller power set like Gadgets can suit a DPS role quite well, as can some of the Healer power sets.  It is going to come down to your individual play style and what you can control and what works for YOU:  there is no one BEST power set for each role.  Really – they’re just different.  Any or all of them can have melee attacks, or ranged attacks, or knock backs, or stuns, or AoE attacks.  About the only thing that is given is that ONLY a Healer power set will heal, for example.  In addition, each power set is going to have two power trees within it that you are not going to be able to completely fill, so everyone with a Fire set is not going to necessarily have the same powers.

There is a rock/paper/scissors aspect to it.  Each Role has an advantage over, and is vulnerable to, one of the other roles.  If the Defender is the rock, for example, then the Healer is the paper and the Controller is the scissors.  This primarily comes up in PvP (more on that later).

A note on the Controller:  while that power set does indeed have crowd control abilities, the primary focus is Power restoration.  A good group needs all three types because the Defender will hold aggro, the Healer will keep the Defender alive, and the Controller will keep everyone supplied with Power to keep all of their abilities going.

Skills:

In addition to choosing a power set, at character creation you will also choose your initial weapon skill set.  I say “initial” because unlike your power set, at level 10 (and beyond) you can choose to invest in another set of weapons later.  Each weapon style has both melee and ranged aspects to it, although the special moves for each are different (and can be purchased by you).  It is mainly a matter of choice, as is a power set:  the ranged weapons are perhaps a bit better for Healers and Controllers but again you do not have to be that way, as you can select Martial Arts or Dual Wield and still have ranged attacks.  If you have more than one weapon skill you switch them by just equipping the correct weapon.  There is no ammunition or the like to worry about.

Your Speed skill is set at character creation.  Of the three, I’m somewhat disappointed that teleporting (like in Champions Online) is not an option.  They all work in somewhat similar fashion:  you turn on the ability (you can leave it on all the time if you’d like, although you will slow down in combat), and then move around.  Superspeed and Acrobatics get a super “leap” when they jump, but you need not worry as I don’t think you can die from falling damage at all (you can land with a satisfying crunch though).  With Flight, you really are moving in three dimensions, and you can move up and over and through things.  It can be handy for engaging certain NPCs who don’t have very good ranged weapons . . . just fly above them and let loose.  They can knock you down but they have to get a special attack off.  The other two powers don’t have as much advantage in combat, as it’s harder to run/climb up a wall and then be facing the right direction to attack.  But rarely do you get kind of stuck like you can with Flight . . . that being said though, I still think Flight has a clear advantage, although perhaps some later skills help the other Speed skills.

Leveling:

After going through an introductory tutorial adventure (which you cannot skip, unfortunately), you start in Metropolis or Gotham City.  From there you have the standard variety of quests to go through, a few of which are exploratory, but more are along story lines based primarily upon which mentor you have.  What is interesting is that in many cases both Heroes and Villains will have quests in the same area, usually with different objectives – so the Gorilla troopers are not hostile to the villains, for example.  Many of the quests will conclude a section with entering in to an instanced zone, usually with one or more bosses at the end.  These can usually be done solo, although some of the opponents can be particularly difficult because of their special abilities (they almost all do something different) or the special objectives, and it is sometimes advisable to wait to gain a level or two before attempting some of the more difficult instances.

In addition to quests for knocking out the opposition, there are a series of exploratory quests and there are a series of collection quests.  The latter can be easy to overlook as the spawns for these locations are not fixed and it is easy to miss them when flying overhead.

A note on the PvP server:  it’s not that fun.  Remember where I said that your newbie quests sometimes cause you to go to the same areas?  That doesn't change in PvP, and so leveling is very hard on the PvP server, especially as a villain.  You WILL be attacked by level 30 players at every opportunity.  Seriously, why do it?  You can play on the PvE server and still level and PvP when you want to.

Which brings us the queuing system.  We've seen other games where you enter a queue for PvP battles.  DCUO has that also (two types, more on that later) but brings in a queue system for a number of instances.  You queue up for a story line with 2-4 other players (you don’t have to be in a group) and it loads it up and runs you through that instance together.  I really like this concept, although I can see how it might get perhaps a bit repetitive – but it’s a good way to get experience.  At every level that the instances open up (they start at level 5 and go through level 20) it will give you a quest that encourages you to compete in it (just once).

There are two additional types of PvP instances.  “Arena”, where you use your main character, and “Legends”, where you use a special unlocked character.  You only start with one, but can buy additional Legends characters with currency earned in game or with real money (Station Cash).  This gives you the opportunity to play Two Face or Future Batman, and there are a series of different games (Iike Capture the Flag, etc) you can play.  It’s quite interesting and makes it feel “lower risk” since everyone is kind of on the same playing field.

The level cap is 30, and leveling up to that cap is not particularly strenuous.  Each time you level you will get either a Skill Point or a Power Point (very rarely both).  Power points can be spent in either of your two power trees or, after level 10, a special “Iconic Power” section that lets you take certain power boosts or abilities from famous DC characters.  Skill points are spent either in Weapon skill trees or in Speed skill trees.  The Speed skill trees either give additional Speed abilities or possibly additional Powers that derive specifically from that Speed ability.  Someone with Flight, for example, could take a Dive Bomb attack ability that would do damage out of the Speed tree.

You don’t need to group for most of your leveling, although doing so speeds up the process considerably.  The quest system is quite generous – if you and I are on the same quest, and not grouped, and we end up attacking an NPC that we both need, we’ll both get credit.  So when you do group, you can blow through the quests fairly quickly.  Groups are really only necessary for the Bounties and some of the PvP events, as otherwise the queue system will create them for you.  You can easily solo your way to level 30.

There is the standard looking for group system and channel, although one thing that is somewhat innovative is the use of the Combat Rating (CR).  This is an aggregate of both your level AND the gear that you have, so most groups will not ask for a “level 30 healer” . . . there are a ton of those, after all.  They will ask for a Healer with a “CR 93+” or something like that.

Free to Play:

As it is a Sony game, anyone with any SOE account likely has some Station Cash in the balance.  There are three levels of players:  a basic Free player, a Premium player, and a Legends player.  The Free player is what you start with, and is limited to a certain amount of cash and only 2 characters slots.  That’s about it.  A Premium player is someone who has purchased something with Station Cash at some point – the cash limit is still there but the character limit changes to 6.  If you exceed the cash limit you will see cash in “escrow” . . . meaning that you cannot buy really expensive stuff without being a Legends player.  A Legends player is someone who pays a monthly subscription fee.

What you end up buying with Station Cash is small things like special gear (mainly cosmetic), special items for your Base, re-spec tokens, or keys for these Promethium lockboxes you sometimes can loot.  But primarily what you can buy are Downloadable Content Packs (DLCs).  These content packs contain extra content (duh) but each of them contains one or more new power sets.  If you are a standard Free player you will only have access to a certain subset of the available power sets – the others come from DLCs.  So if you want to be a Light Controller (like the Green Lantern) you’ll need to get a DLC.  These are basically $10 worth of Station Cash.  Other than that, there’s not really much to buy.

The cash limit is likely what you will notice the most.  Because of the limitations of the crafting system (see below), you won’t have many times you will want to go to the auction house to grab some gear.  But when you do check it out . . . you can’t afford it.  The market is driven by level 30 players who have a LOT of cash (as you've little to spend it on before then) so expect some pretty serious inflation.  How serious?  Well you may have a cash limit of $2000 and be looking at gear for auction at a minimum of $30000.

Crafting:

Crafting is . . . odd.  The trend in many games is to have a robust crafting system that encourages a massive secondary market for player built items.  That is not DCUO.  There is a crafting system yes, and it is primarily used to create item enhancements (your more advanced gear can have different “sockets” for these improvements).  And like many games it relies on gathered resources to use as raw materials for these items.  These are various “bits” which you need 8 of to make a “byte” (yes, clever, I know).  But they are basically random spawn, and they are RARE.  My highest level character has not managed to gather 8 of ANY raw material.  This really discourages crafting until you are much higher in level or can run more instances to get loot.

Other details:

There are numerous other details.  You get a Base too (Player housing) that you can furnish and have them in different sections of the city.  There are Bounties that can be collected (special NPC bosses that spawn . . . bring friends and watch out for them).  There are Leagues (guild of heroes).  I didn't go in to the practice areas at your headquarters or the mechanics of some of the powers.  Or the races that each Speed skill can engage in.   But there’s a lot there – you can tell they wanted you to pay for this game at some point.

Replay:

This might be the weakness in DCUO.  While it might seem fun to go out and create a bunch of characters, they’re going to start out in a very similar manner.  You start with the same tutorial which gets you the first 3 levels.  After that it depends on your mentor, but the quest lines basically are in the same areas, and after a while they begin to intersect with one another.  So you might start with a Circe magic-related quest line but still get a Lex Luthor or Joker quest line later.  Because there is also no one “best” power set, and it takes you a while to gain significantly different powers, it feels like your first 10 levels are very similar regardless of the character you have created.  It helps if you change factions and mentors, but still if you’d like to level up several characters at the same time I really don’t recommend it.  Play one for a while, then play some others . . . but eventually you’re going to likely want to invest in those DLC packs simply to get some variety interjected.  I do hear that there *is* still quite a bit to do at level 30, so it is not like there is no end game.

Conclusion:

This has to be one of the more robust, “casual style” of MMO games.  The solid mechanics and stable controls mean that it is an easy game to get in to with limited time and feel like you are really making progress.  While at the same time if you really want to put some time in to it you can make a lot of progress, but this is one game where the casual gamer can make it to the level cap in a pretty reasonable amount of time.

Nine is Devine

Games of Zorcon turns 9!

Nine years ago today, I started an online adventure. My humble beginnings were to simply share ideas and creations plus offer resources to my favorite games. But alas, it has been left adrift in the warp for the last 4 years while my attention has been on this blog. I had always intended of going back to the website, but after such a long "hiatus" I am now left with a feeling it is time to let it go.

Home Page

I will spend this next week mulling over what will be the fate of Games of Zorcon:

• Simply keep it as is
• Keep it and begin adding new material
• Redesign it, making it easier to update
• Fold the material in to this blog

There is a ton of stuff on this site! Here is a breakdown of the major categories...

Resources for my favorite games

The Gamography section is a depository of links, resources, images, product indexes, and (my) fan art. I became very prolific making wallpapers and virtual trading cards plus other fan art for the video game Bikini Karate Babes. I designed over 150 images!

A list of sites selling game accessories

Back in the day, I was obsessed with game accessories! I suppose I still am, but at the time, this was all that was out there (that I could find) that sold unique items. Most are still around!!

Image Library for Battle Planner

Probably the second largest resource project on the site is an extensive image library of the most popular miniature games. The images were to be used in Battle Planner--A collection manager and army builder. I have complete image galleries for almost 100 sets/expansions, spanning 7 different collectible miniature games, totaling thousands of images.

I still use Battle Planner to this day as it is a great resource for CMG (and CCG too)!

A living project cataloging D&D 3.x

The big daddy of projects was a project I dubbed the d20 Directory. This Excel file covered over 200 books, over 33,000 indexed rules, in over 21 categories such as: Race, Class, Spells, Weapons, Magic Items, Monsters, Locations, and many more.  I found this tool to be invaluable while running by D&D campaigns.

A similar project that predates the d20 Directory is my gaming magazine index. Its aim was to categorize and index articles. There are over 1000 entries to date. The periodicals that I started with were: White Dwarf, Dragon, and Inquest Gamer, among a few others.

More recently I began work on a another indexing project for the WH40K Roleplay system.

The beginnings of an image gallery

The rest of Games of Zorcon is a collection of images, mostly miniatures and fan art, focused on D&D and Iron Man. Overall I am very proud of the site and the material I created. But unfortunately the site eventually became too unwieldy to update and add material.

What do you think I should do?

New Paint Bottles

Looking in the bag of now empty bottles.
(click on image to enlarge)

Over the last month I have been slowly converting my paint from pots/flip-tops to dropper bottles. About a year ago, I bought 30 empty Vallejo bottles. They cost me about 80¢ each, and at the time I decided that it was cost prohibitive to swap all my paints. Fast forward to about a month ago... I found these on eBay. I bought enough (including the 30 Vallejo bottles I already had) to switch from pots to droppers.

From L to R: eBay bottle and Vallejo bottle.
(click on image to enlarge)

I am organizing my colors into groups of four. This gives me the option to paint a dark or a light triad (depending on weather I choose the 3 darkest colors or the 3 lightest colors of a group, or to use all four colors for a more detailed model. In some cases, I already had all four colors to make a group. In other cases, I either mixed a color to bridge a large shade gap between 2 colors, or I simply added white to make a new light color.

There were no issues pouring paints directly out of the pot and into the dropper bottle. However, the inks and washes were very problematic. It was so difficult not to get more on the table than in the bottle, I attached a small bit of tubing to the end of a large syringe. It worked perfectly with all of the inks, but was a total mess with the more viscous paints.

Using a syringe and small bit of tube made filling the bottles
with ink very easy.

I'm almost done-- I still have about 20+ bottles to finish. I took some "in progress" pics, and will show those as well as a "completed" pic in a later post.

Admittedly, this was a very tedious task to complete. Another factor is cost-- I spent about $45 on empty bottles. However, I think it was worth it.

Resin Bases Review Redux

BioTech Bases-- There are 12 sculpts in the range.
(click on image to enlarge)

These are 25mm BioTech Bases from Micro Art Studio's vast range of bases and figures. I picked them up in late January along with some Iron Brotherhood miniatures. I only picked up the 10 bases and 8 figures-- not enough to make a squad in 40K or a gang in Necromunda. These will be used as future NPC encounters in our Dark Heresy campaign.

Micro Art Studio is a boutique company in Poland. They have a nice looking website, but I found it a little difficult to navigate at first. Once I got my order processed, shipping took 23 day-- more that I expected, but in hind site, it was acceptable.

The bases themselves are great! The bottoms are sanded flat, and there is no flashing. I have not found air bubbles anywhere-- a top notch product all around!! I highly recommend you check out what these guys offer!

I tend to prefer a more flat texture/detail to my bases, but I love the look of these bases. I will be using these bases with the Iron Brotherhood figures. So with 2 extra bases, I should be able to match figure to base without too much hassle.

[3-D] Print on Demand

I first heard about this little company, shapeways.com from the Daily Illuminator over at Steve Jackson Games. As Paul Chapman said, the dice are very inciting.

After looking through their site for a couple of hours, I decided to order a few of things-- 3 dice and a sci-fi wall detail.

Pinwheel Die 10 (item on shapeways.com)
(click on image to enlarge)

These dice are amassing!! I ordered the White Strong & Flexible material. They can easily be inked and/or painted. However they are a little light in the hand for my taste for game use. If I were to decide to use the pinwheel dice in a game, I would prefer to get another set in metal-- Yes! You can have these babies printed up in stainless steel, antique bronze, or other metals. Some items can be printed in glass!!

Tocrax Ten-Sided Die  (item on shapeways.com)
(click on image to enlarge)

This is another design marvel. However, as a die it is a little too out there for my taste... it will have to settle for residing on my "interesting dice" shelf.

Wall Computer
(click on image to enlarge)

The last item I ordered is a computer console/wall section. It was only available in the transparent detail material. Unfortunately, I can also no longer find it on their site. I don't know if this had anything to do with it, but the original image showed the piece on top of what appeared to be a GW wall section.

Resin Bases

I have never used resin bases before, but decided to take the plunge! Recently, I received 2 shipments of resin bases to add to my existing Necromunda gangs. I wound up shopping at 2 different companies to get the styles of bases I was looking for-- Tech-Deck from The Dragon Forge (for my Goliaths) and Scrap Yard from resinfx (for my Scaavys). About a year ago, I also purchased some Swamp resin bases from Kerr & King for a Warmachine Cryx force that Laertes bought me.

On a side note, both The Dragon Forge and resinfx shipped their products relatively quickly (for crossing the pond)-- they arrived in about 11 business days. When I opened the packages, I was pleasantly surprised as both companies sent extra bases (a 60mm base from The Dragon Forge, and five 25mm bases from resinfx).

The Dragon Forge bases are crisp and free of bubbles. The bottom of the bases have not been sanded, but it will be unnecessary as they are already smooth and flat. There is a little bit of very thin "flashing" that easily flakes off with my finger. Overall, these are an excellent product!

A few of the 25mm & 40mm bases from The Dragon Forge

The 60mm "freebie"

The resinfx bases need a little bit of clean up. While the bottoms are sanded flat, the base edge has some "over cast" along the ring that needs to be sanded and/or scraped off. I noticed a few bubbles, but they are very minor. I am very pleased with these bases.

A few of the 25mm & 40mm bases from resinfx

The 25mm "freebies"

The Kerr & King need the most clean-up. The bottoms aren't flat, and will need a fair bit of sanding, and there are multiple bubbles on nearly every base. Also, there is a fair amount of "over cast" on a number of bases. I want to be clear that I do not think these are an inferior product-- they are perfect for my Cryx warband, but in comparison to the other two companies' products, these bases can't be used as-is..

A few of the 30/40/50mm bases from Kerr & King

I also ordered a pair of wreck markers from Kerr & King. They have a selection of large and small wreck markers for all (most?) Warmachine factions.

Blood Bowl Legendary Edition (Part 2)

Screen-Cap of team after adding a lineman.

 (click on image to enlarge)

OK, I started playing a campaign and I'm 7 games in (part way through the second tier/period). Here is my team as it was initially built.

Greenskin Packers (Starting Line-up)
1x Troll
4x Black Orcs
4x Blitzers
1x Thrower
2x Goblin
1x Re-roll

I wanted to ground and pound with the Orcs, but sheesh, I cant get a break and play vs. any soft teams!! While you could say the Dwarves are the "weakest" team I've played against in regards to strength (# of STR 4 & 5 players), the team I played vs. had a Death Roller (STR 7)!!

Throughout Period 1 (including playoffs) I received between 200-300k in pre-match inducements as I had the lower team value. Once I hit the second period, I am much closer in team value to my opponents.

Period 1:
Win vs. Dwarf 2-0
Win vs. Ogre 2-1
Win vs. Undead 1-1

Period 1 Playoffs:
Win vs. Dwarf 2-0
Win vs. Ogre 1-0 (sustained 1 serious injury)

Period 2:
Win vs. Undead 2-0 (sustained 1 death and 1 injury)
Win vs. Khemri 1-0 (sustained 1 injury)

The last game I played was unbelievable! I received the kick-off, and started trudging slowly up field in my typical wedge along the sideline. The Khemri coach managed to squeeze someone through, after a blitz from a Blitz-ra Star Player. On my next turn, I had to move the ball carrier out of a tackle zone and failed the dodge roll. The fans threw the ball into the middle of the pitch, but I did manage to scramble and we exchanged possession twice with no movement on the pitch throughout 5-6 turns. I finally broke away on the 8th turn and fell one square short of a TD, pushed it once, and failed. First half ended 0-0.

In the next half, I kicked off deep, almost landing in his end-zone, and rushed up field. I managed to create a big jumbled up mess he couldn't get around or through. I was able to knock over the ball carrier on the 15th turn, scooped up the ball, and was just able to run it in for a TD on turn 16!! That was a close one!

So far, there have been 4 pitch invasions (out of about 16 kickoffs)... those SUCK!!! However, I think my opponents have taken the brunt of the results.

I really wish you could export/save/keep game stats, even if it was only a w/l record vs. what races. It keeps a good set of player stats by season and by career, but I'd like to be able to reference a team's past games.

While I've kept up with the Blood Bowl Living Rules Editions over the years, there are some teams that I never played or played against. I typically need to see teams (or fleets, gangs, or squads) "in action" to really understand what their capabilities are... uhm... my first enfcounter with Kemri... 4x STR 5 Tomb Mummies!! (while this is not as good as 6x STR 5 Ogres, the Ogre teams have snotlings!! :P ...which actually aren't that bad any more-- 3 snotlings taking down an orc blitzer is a little humiliating)

Kemri have reinforced my opinion from all the way back to second edition Blood Bowl-- I still hate with a passion, playing against Undead!!! Plus, I think Kemri are worse!! I've never played with/vs. a Vampire or Necromantic team, so I'm not sure how I feel about the later two undead teams.

Oh... BTW, the team that is missing in the video game is the Chaos Dwarves. (Laertes main team in the board game)

Blood Bowl Legendary Edition (Part 1)

The latest edition of the Blood Bowl video game is a MUST BUY for any fan of the game. I had been watching the progress of the game on their website very early on in development, and was extremely excited to get the game. However, I was disappointed in only 9 playable races in the initial release. I decided to bide my time until an expansion came out to include all (or most) of the races found in the board game.

So far, I have only played a couple of games in the "classic" mode (turn-based), but it is amazing how well they captured the feel of playing the board game. There are 20 playable races, lots of customization, dirty tricks/weapons, and all the pre/post game campaign rules.

The "classic" mode was enough to sell me, but there is also a "blitz" mode (real-time) that I haven't even looked at. I bought Laertes a copy for Xmas, so we will be testing out the online "blitz" mode in the near future.

Pulp Figures Order

I recently placed an order with Pulp Figures and the package arrived the other day. We needed some NPC's for our Dark Heresy campaign, so I picked up a pack of Gasmask Cultists Troops 1 and Weird Villains 1.

This was my first order from the company and I was quite pleased with the items received. I was really surprised that one figure in each pack came with 2 hand/gun options. Very light mold lines/flashing are present on only a few pieces. The metal is hard and does not bend easily (I consider that a plus, but for any conversion work it would be undesirable).

I wasn't too concerned with the figures looking smallwith the larger heroic-scale minis commonly produced today -- 1) Much of my collection pre-dates 3rd edition WH40K and 2) its OK (IMO) that NPC's are smaller/less-dramatic than our PC's. Well, it turns out the Pulp Figures line are right to scale in height next to other figures I had on hand. However, the head and hands are more realistically scaled than most GW/Citadel figures, and that is what is more apparent to me in a side-by-side comparison.

Pictured lect to right:

1. Gasmask Cultists 1, Pulp Figures
2. Imperial  Catachan, Citadel Miniatures
3. Rogue Trader era Pirate, Citadel Miniatures
4. Necromunda Redemptionist Leader, Citadel Miniatures
5. Necromunda Orlock Juve, Citadel Miniatures
6. The Crimson Scorpion, Pulp Figures