Planet 28: Death in the Throne Room Campaign Part 2

 Hi!

I've managed to play out the first game from my Death in the Throne Room campaign which saw Inquisitor Fisher and co arriving on Neo Trantor in search of her nemesis Murdoch Foyle but as they disembarked from their shuttle, Fisher spotted a suspicious character and decided to follow him to see what he was up to...

I used the scenario generator from Rogue Stars which gave me the idea for the smuggling angle and it also resulted in several civilians milling around and generally getting in the way. Thus we find Fisher and co following one of the mad baron Thaddeus's gangers as he attempts to sneak some contraband through the starport controlled by General Shunt's goons.

Initially things seemed to go well for the smuggler as he nonchalantly bypassed the first guard who failed to notice he was up to no good before things went a bit pear shaped as a second guard panicked after a gardening robot bumped into him and started blasting.

In the ensuing chaos the smuggler drew a concealed pistol and opened fire on the first guard, wounding him and sending him running into the hanger while civilians screamed and ran around. Seeing the smuggler firing on Imperial citizens, Fisher opened fire at the fleeing ganger clipping him but failing to bring him down.

Shunts guards, seeing armed figures running around, mistook the Imperial agents as villains and a firefight ensued which allowed the smuggler to escape in a carjacked Tuk-Tuk.

To make matters worse, the guard who had started firing in the first place managed to catch Fisher a glancing blow with his suppressing fire and while Geralt beat some respect into the unfortunate, Fisher Fumed and Vash found himself under arrest.

All in all, a great start to a campaign and I've got part two ready for tomorrows update!

I must admit I had been a wee bit leery of using paper standees for all my figures but it still resulted in an enjoyable game and I'm looking forward to sharing more of Fishers exploits as well as the larger conflict that is rumbling on in the depths of Neo Trantor!

All the best!

Planet 28: Death in the Throne Room Campaign Part 1

 Hi!

I'm taking a quick break from my Colostle campaign as I'm awaiting some supplies but it got me to thinking about my Planet 28 stuff as I've been mooting playing through a campaign based on the Death in the Throne Room setting guide that came with the 2nd edition of the core rules.

Essentially the premise is that the Emperor is dying and different factions are gathering like vultures to await him popping his clogs so they can take over and I'm a real fan of the Planet 28 rules and love the idea of putting together a narrative campaign.

The problem I'm finding is that I'm finding myself decidedly short of time to do any wargaming stuff due to work but I still want to put something together as it looks like brilliant fun so with that in mind I think I'm going to try and combine a few different bits and bobs into something more akin to my Colostle campaign as a visual story that develops over the course of the coming months.

I know most of my blog followers are more interested in wargaming and miniatures but until work settles down I feel that I'm going to be more able to put together artwork, stories and a semi RPG like campaign as I just don't have the time to paint and sculpt figures and make terrain but I'm still really keen to get some gaming in so I figure this is a more manageable goal.

With that in mind, I've spent a bit of time today on a much needed day off to get some warbands done.

Inquisitor Fisher and Co.

My main characters are going to be Inquisitor Fisher and her retinue which will be expanding during the course of the campaign. Fisher will be following the trail of her nemesis Murdoch Foyle, a rogue Archeotechnologist who has been sighted in the company of the High Priest of the Convergence, one of the major factions fighting in the succession crisis that has struck Neo-Trantor.

Next up, I've started putting together some small gangs for some of the other factions that I'll need. 

 

Baron Thaddeus's Underlings

Baron Thaddeus is a lunatic multi billionaire nobleman who has collected a large following of equally unhinged, or greedy minions so I've given them a bit of a random mixture of outfits and will be taking part in the early scenarios of the campaign.

General Shunts Goon Squad

General Supreme Neville Shunt is a warmongering type who wants to claim the throne for himself so he can use his power to declare war on anyone he wants and whilst creating the first scenario, I realised that Fisher would have to navigate her way through the Spaceport which is firmly under Shunt's control so it seemed natural that I should put together a squad of bully boys for Fisher to beat up.

Civilians

Finally the scenario calls for a handful of civilians to run around screaming or act as human shields so I drew up a small selection.

Speaking of scenarios, I've rummaged out my old copy of Rogue Stars which I've had for ages after thinking it was going to be a sci-fi version of Song of Blades and finding it wasn't resulting in it languishing on a shelf for the last few years but my recent interest in RPG style games has got me looking through it and I must admit its got some really interesting concepts, not to mention tons of handy random scenario generators and other doodads that will come in really handy in my campaign.

Finally I've also got Notorious, a really interesting solo RPG that I saw on Youtube that looked like it could make for a great fun mini campaign within a campaign and extra interesting elements for my main game.

I still need to add some NPCs and the remaining warbands as well as a game board and 2d terrain to give me lots of options for layouts but I'm hoping to have everything ready within the next few weeks.

Once I've got everything done, I'll be able to get cracking but I'm also going to put together some scenario outlines and share them here!

In the meantime, All the best!

Colostle Season 2 Part 2: The Stairs to Bannervale

 Hi!

Here's the next five days worth of my Colostle campaign. 

Campaign Log Day 6

First thing the next morning, EM-RY5 sets off the short distance from his camp to the next cable car station. As he cautiously approaches, he sees a small figure huddling in the doorway. It is a young golem and after shrinking back in fear of his approach she is encouraged to speak after Liran, the heroes canine companion wags its tail and demands a fuss.

S1B-1L the Golem

She explains that her name is S1B-1L and she was created to be a companion to the local chiefs young daughter and the girl has ben captured by bandits and they are currently hanging around her village waiting for the chief to cough up a ransom. The bandits have also sabotaged the cable car station, tearing out several vital components.

Our hero agrees to help rescue the girl, mostly because the bandits are his foes, but also beneath the gruff exterior of weathered metal, is a good hearted being (the fact that there may be replacement components in the village to repair the cable car is also somewhat of a factor!). EM-RY5 instructs Liran to stay with S1B-1L while he goes to deal with the bandits. 

Liran the doggo

After climbing down the steep path leading to the village, the hero discerns a massive door in the wall of the roomland in which the village nestles in the shadow of and realises it is a doorway to an as yet unexplored roomland but it appears securely closed. Could this be the bandits real reason for kidnapping the chiefs daughter and if so why are they trying to get to another room?

Shrugging his shoulders and readying his mace, EM-RY5 enters the village and it appears abandoned but as he enters the village square he sees a Rook standing outside the chiefs house, obviously guarding something.

Unlike the previous encounter, this Rook is a wiry construction which wields a long copper rod which crackles with energy. 

The construct is surprisingly nimble and rushes our hero as soon as it sees him unleashing a bolt of lightning from its staff. EM-RY5 leaps out of the way but catches a glancing strike from the crackling energy. Bellowing in pain, he rushes forward swinging his heavy mace which catches the staff and sweeps it aside and before the Rook can react, he smashes it in the chest with a backhanded swing sending the construct flying back into a nearby building with a screech. 

The machine tries to lurch out of the rubble but before it can extricate itself, EM-RY5 is upon it and brings his mace down again and again on the things chest cracking and then caving in the heavy stone. The construct freezes as the glow from its eyes fades, the golem climbs down from his perch, limping as the damage he took from the initial blast makes itself felt.

The chief and the villagers appear soon after and are joyously reunited with their daughter as the hero rummages around in the rooks remains in search of parts to enact repairs on his damaged leg (I found a cortex in the salvage but instead of keeping it which would have given me a treasure, I decided that my resourceful hero would use it to repair his own fried circuitry).

Campaign Log Day 7

The the chief hears EM-RY5's story and shares his own, telling of a large group of bandits who sought access to the portal that his village lies next to. They were accompanied by several Rooks and didn't believe the chief's protestations that his people have no knowledge of how to open the door. The bandits left suddenly earlier in the morning but left the Rook to stand guard. 

Hiking back up to the cable car station, the hero, accompanied by the chief and his daughter as well as a group of villagers who carry the replacement components he needs to get the station running again sees S1B-1L and Liran running to meet the party. Overjoyed to be reunited with her friend, the two race around with Liran as work continues late into the afternoon and as evening draws in, EM-RY5 prepares to leave.

Before he departs he tells the two girls that his quest is dangerous and asks them to take care of Liran while he is away and clambers into the car as the small group of villagers wave on and wish him success.

Campaign Log Day 8

Not long after leaving the third station the next morning, EM-RY5 is suddenly jerked off his feet as a gargoyle seizes him up in its talons and soars up towards the ceiling. Furious that his quest is once again interrupted by the great stone menaces, the hero strikes at the gargoyle with his mace but it ignores him before dropping him off up in the rafters.

After some creative cursing, the hero looks about him. The rafters are shrouded in thick mist and the footing is treacherous as one false step and he will plunge back to the surface. Fortunately he seems to be on a path of some sort and follows it before a structure suddenly looms out of the mist. It appears to be an abandoned temple of some sort and EM-RY5 decides to explore it in hopes of finding a way back down to the surface that doesn't involve jumping.

The structure has obviously been abandoned for time untold, cobwebs and dust coat every surface but in the centre he finds a room bathed in pale blue light. The light seems to be emanating from a blue gemstone that pulses slowly and EM-RY5 carefully picks it up before stowing it in his pack. 

Further investigation reveals a staircase that winds round and round a massive pillar upon which the temple is built atop and sighing, EM-RY5 begins the long trek down to ground level.

When he eventually descends beneath the clouds the hero can see that he is entering a hidden valley which has a stream that burbles out from the pillars base. Following it, EM-RY5 finds himself emerging from the valley into a lightly wooded plain. Searching the surrounding landscape, he can see that a path has been trodden into the turf by massive stone feet. Could it be the bandits he's been tracking for some time now or just a random Rook? There is only one way to find out. EM-RY5 sets off into the gathering dusk to follow the trail.

Campaign Log Day 9

Emerging from the woods early the next morning, EM-RY5 begins to see signs of civilisation. As he crests a hill he sees a sprawling city that teems with life. While the tracks he has been following seems to skirt the city to the south, the hero realises that he needs to take the opportunity to visit the city and try to find answers to his many questions. 

Bannervale

While the guards at the gate look at him askance, he is allowed to enter the city and spend the day wandering its streets. It is far larger than his home of Granite Orchard but following perusing the Rookling Creche, Peering in the window of a house that is for sale and avoiding the Gourmet district, EM-RY5 happens across a dusty cartographers and spends some time speaking to the old man who sits behind the counter. While he doesn't know of the impossible tower the hero seeks, he is more than happy to pay in gold for a copy of EM-RY5's incomplete map of Lamporia.

With some coin now secured, EM-RY5 seeks out an in and as he settles in for the night at the bar, a robed figure approaches his table and sits without asking permission. He greets the golem as if he was expecting him and states he is from the Order of the White Tower, a society that seeks a way to live peacefully with the Rooks. He says he knows of his quest to find a weapon to protect his village and asks if EM-RY5 would be willing to aid him in a better way than destruction.

Mysterious Old Geezer

Somewhat grumpily, EM-RY5 states that all that matters to him is protecting his village and if it means killing Rooks, then so be it. Somewhat sadly, the elderly man takes his leave but as he rises, he pauses and tells the golem to beware the Black Tower. Somehow EM-RY5 knows he's going to meet the old coot again and he retreats to his room, mind whirling with unanswered questions. 

Campaign Log Day 10

Before leaving Bannervale, EM-RY5 visits the Hunters Guild. Maybe they've heard rumours of bandit attacks and unusual Rook Movements. The Guildmaster is unaware of the bandits but does say that he has heard from a village three days travel further downstairs whose inhabitants have all been dreaming of the same Rook. It hasn't appeared but they are desperate for a hunter to come and protect them from whatever impending doom they face. 

EM-RY5 accepts the job as maybe this mysterious Rook is the Black Tower that the old man mentioned the previous night. As he leaves the city, the hero wonders what the day will bring.

As he walks he approaches a broken landscape of massive ruined machinery, its purpose long forgotten. Obviously somehow connected with The Colossle, EM-RY5 picks his way through the scrap following what passes for the trail. The Rooks seem to have entered the scrapyard but the place is a literal maze so he plunges on.

Massive Rook - The Ogre of the Scrapyard

Suddenly a massive cog falls from above cutting off his retreat and in front of him the scrap stirs and shifts. From amongst the junk a massive rook shoulders its way free and blocks EM-RY5's path. Besides the rook a smaller figure appears, it is armoured but its wooden antlers and green hair marks it as a Dryad. 

Order of the Black Tower

The small figure gestures at EM-RY5 without saying a word and the massive Rook lumbers forward. 

As the Rook begins to move, the armoured figure raises her spear and fires a blast of green energy that crackles past the golems head before disappearing in the junk. Before he can make a move to follow, the Rook is upon EM-RY5, its club arching down and smashing the ground where the hero had been standing to rubble.

The beast then grabs a large piece of scrap in its other hand and hefts it at EM-RY5 who has to throw himself out of the way. The club swings down again but this time the hero is ready for it and nimbly scampers up the massive arm and onto its shoulder. Here he finds a reinforced wooden door that no doubt leads to the Rooks interior and without waiting for the construct to recover, EM-RY5 bashes the portal to kindling and dives in.

The Rook lumbers and shakes itself like a wet dog, trying to dislodge the golem but he hangs on grimly when a barbed spear suddenly telescopes out of the wall right next to him. Smashing the trap with a reflexive swing of his mace, EM-RY5 dives and rolls as more barbed spears emerge from walls, floors and ceiling but he somehow manages to avoid being impaled.

With a desperate twist, he avoids yet another of the Rooks automated defences and swings his mace in an arc that connects with the beasts cortex, shattering it like glass. The defences grind to a halt, mere inches from his face and the Rook stops moving. Somehow EM-RY5 has defeated the machine.

Scrambling out of the Rook, EM-RY5 surveys his surroundings. The ruined machinery has been reduced to so much scrap by the Rooks thrashings and the dark armoured figure has vanished. Who was she? How are they connected to the heroes quest? Are the Dwarven bandits their minions or a different faction entirely? Is this the Black Tower the old man warned him of or the Rook the villagers dreamed would bring destruction upon them?

As he scrambles down from the machine, his mind awhirl with unanswered questions a noise from the wreck makes him turn, weapon raised. A small Rookling floats out from the machine. It is ball shaped and doesn't appear threatening so EM-RY5 turns again, intent on getting to the village the Hunters Guild hired him to protect when something gently bumps into his elbow. Looking down, he frowns at the bobbing Rookling and sighs before gesturing for it to follow him. It makes small tooting and chirping noises before floating after him.

Whee! Things seem to be heating up a bit with the simple card based prompt system of Colostle being really engaging. Annoyingly I have realised that my mini deck of cards seems to be missing a few so I've invested in a new deck and the Colostle Roomlands expansion which hopefully will arrive soon.

Red Tribe Robot

While its not really wargaming and possibly doesn't really fit this blog, I am really enjoying the process and am wondering if it is possible to create an encounter table that would allow me to play out a similar sort of experience but set in my assorted sci-fi settings, either Inquisitor Fisher or my Rusty Robots.

Who knows! I've also been painting some cultist miniatures for my Planet 28 campaign but am once again finding myself distracted only three weeks into a new year, a year which I set myself some goals that seem to be getting forgotten about in a haze of RPG shenanigans!

I'll try and get back on track once I've got the next two sessions of Colostle out of the way which will hopefully complete the campaign, or at least get me to a point that I can take a break but it's proving to be such a compelling process that its hard to put down!

In the meantime, All the best!

Colostle Season 2 Part 1: An Unexpected Beginning

 Hi!

Whee, two posts in a single day! I managed to play the first five days of my Colostle Season 2 adventure so thought I'd post it up now!

My Character is a Golem called EM-RY5 Addercap. I rolled him up randomly using my character generator and then filled in the character sheet for Colostle.

EM-RY5 (note he's taken a bit of damage in a scrap as he should have 4 for his combat)

EM-RY5's class is The Armed, essentially giving him a grafted Rook limb to aid him in combat. He's currently armed with a heavy mace that releases a bolt of electricity when it strikes home, causing serious damage to anything he hits (rules wise, the weapon and its abilities don't actually do anything but are included to add detail to how he fights in combat).

Calling

EM-RY5 was a lowly horticultural golem before being abandoned by his master to roam the Roomlands. Fortunately he found a home amongst the hardy inhabitants of Granite Orchard, a walled settlement to the north west of the Roomland of Lamporia. 

Granite Orchard is built upon the remains of a massive Rook and has been well fortified to protect it from bandits and marauding Rooks and contains a hothouse orchard that grows remarkable fruit that provides much of the settlements income but of late marauding Rooks have been increasingly approaching the settlement and it has been under almost constant siege.

EM-RY5 has had a vision of a far off Roomland with an impossibly tall tower that contains a weapon that will ensure the safety of the settlement that welcomed him and has set off on a quest to recover it.

Because of his abandonment, EM-RY5 is impatient, quick to anger and rather grumpy but has a genuine love of the inhabitants of Granite Orchard and would quite happily die for them if it meant their continued wellbeing.

Campaign Log Day 1

EM-RY5 leaves the settlement of Granite Orchard to begin his quest, the gardeners assistant, Moss Willow tucks a flower into his hat as a good luck charm and while he grumbles about it, Moss Willow smiles and notes that he doesn't move to take it off.

Granite Orchard

No sooner does he leave the village behind than two Rooks burst out of a nearby valley. Cursing his fortunes the brave Golem hefts his mace and prepares to sell his life dearly but as the two Rooks bear down on him, weapons swinging, a Gargoyle swoops from the distant rafters and plucks up EM-RY5 in it's talons and bears him away.

Cursing and struggling, the last our hero sees is the two rooks lumbering up the valley towards his home but he cannot escape the grasp of the Gargoyle. Fortunately it doesn't carry him up into the rafters and instead deposits him in a chasm a considerable distance from his home.

Campaign Log Day 2 

The second day of his travels has EM-RY5 wake up to find himself perched on a ledge some distance from the surface. As he looks up he can see tiny figures moving around a gantry of some sort that spans the pit and they proceed to hurl a number of objects down into the hole, narrowly missing our adventurer.

Roomland of Lamporia thus far explored. 

Realising he cannot climb back to the surface, the Golem decides to continue down following a narrow and treacherous path when he sees something glittering in the gloom ahead. Approaching with care he realises it is a journal of some sort and while faded, it is still legible. Reading the scrawled text is challenging but appears to have belonged to someone from the Roomland below and it informs him that the room is called Balconia and it's inhabitants have been trying to communicate with his own Roomland of Lamponia. Initially they'd tried sending up climbers but it was too treacherous an ascent so they'd recently experimented with hot air balloons but the jagged sides of the hole had prevented any successful manoeuvres.

 

Campaign Log Day 3

Resting for the night on a narrow ledge, our hero continues to read the journal. It appears that the inhabitants below, or Balconians as they call themselves have set up a net to catch the stuff that those above throw down but have been getting raided by bandits who steal all that is recovered and are now seeking aid.

EM-RY5 eventually emerges from the ceiling and gazes down at an open grassland that stretches into the distance far below. Not being willing to take an old journals word of a net being in place to catch him, he looks about until he sees the remains of one of the balloons he read about previously caught on a nearby outcrop. With a bit of tinkering it makes a decent, if crude parachute that should get him to the ground safely.

With some trepidation, the hero launches himself out into the clouds and plummets towards his destiny. Much to his relief the parachute works and he glides down into the great net that the Balconians set up. 

When he lands he is surprised to see the surroundings seem abandoned and glancing around is shocked to discover what he had thought was a large white rock outcrop is in fact a gigantic skull. Closer observation with his spyglass reveals that an encampment seems to have been set up next to it and as he cautiously approaches, he can see it is abandoned. Could this be the bandits encampment but why is it seemingly abandoned? 

He suddenly freezes as he realises that there is a slumped form lying in the centre of the camp. It is the body of a man. As he approaches the still form the ground opens up beneath him and he is forced to fling himself backwards, barely avoiding the spike lined pit that was obviously intended to trap whoever was foolish enough to investigate the body.

Recovering, EM-RY5 scans the surrounding area and sees a path leading towards what appears to be a small settlement and cautiously follows it, wary of any further traps. Like the bandit camp, the settlement seems abandoned and while there are signs of a struggle, there is no further clues as to what happened. 

The Golems search does yield some success when he finds an old Cog Bike in a shed. It is a three wheeled vehicle made from Rook components and while it has seen better days, it appears functional. EM-RY5 mounts up and sets off at increased pace to try and catch up with the bandits and find out the fate of the villagers.

Campaign Log Day 4 

As he pelts along through the countryside on his recovered Cog Bike, EM-RY5 begins to see signs of travel, a discarded shoe here and a split sack of flour there. He increases his pace, the Cog Bikes dynamo churning furiously as he powers on until he sees a bloodstained figure lurching from a stand of trees ahead.

Only as he slows does EM-RY5 realise he's fallen into a trap! Figures burst from the undergrowth and rush the startled golem. Doubly shocking is the realisation that the armour the figures wear has an icon that matches the Rooks that have been troubling his home. Launching himself from the saddle, EM-RY5 crushes the head of the first attacker with a sweep of his mace but the rest overwhelm him and a blow renders him unconscious.

Consciousness  returns slowly and the adventurer wakes to find himself looking up at a small black dog. The dog is wearing a red collar and likes his face. Grunting and groaning, EM-RY5 pulls himself upright and the dog lets out a happy bark and wags its tail. Absently patting the dogs head, the golem looks around. Both his bike and the attackers have vanished but he now knows his enemies are here in another Roomland. Thinking to the confrontation, the masked figures were small and bearded but burly and he realises that they were in fact Dwarves.

Realising that daylight is fading and pushing on would be foolish, EM-RY5 decides to camp amongst the trees and fishes around in his pack where he finds a piece of jerky which he feeds to the dog, who happily eats it. Looking at the name tag, the golem realises the dogs name must be Liran and calls it by name and the dog perks up before sitting obediently. 

Campaign Log Day 5

The Roomland of Balconia so far...

Setting off first thing in the morning in pursuit of the Dwarves, the adventurer emerges from the treeline with Liran sniffing amongst the leaves that litter the ground. Ahead he can see a stepped valley descending into the depths as far as the eye can see. Set near the trees is a sturdy building with a large wheel emerging from the roof. The golem realises that it is a cable car station that will allow passengers to traverse the steep valley quickly.

Suddenly Liran freezes and begins to growl in the direction of the wood behind the station and the trees begin to sway as a Rook lumbers out. It is squat and heavily built and carries a large shield from which a snub nosed cannon emerges. EM-RY5 quickly calculates his position. He could dodge past the Rook and descent using the narrow switchback path he can see as the construct cannot follow him but it will delay his pursuit of the Dwarven bandits by several days, possibly allowing them to escape.

The Bombardier Rook

With a battlecry, EM-RY5 hefts his mace and charges, the small dog Liran hot on his heels. The Rook braces itself behind its shield and the cannon belches fire with a roar. The shot flies wide and before it can reload, the furious golem is upon it.

The first blow from EM-RY5's mace is caught on the machines shield but the thunderous discharge of electricity makes it stumble and the second blow connects with its shoulder and rips off the entire limb, sending it crashing down into the valley below. As the Rook stumbles past EM-RY5's third blow crushes its head and destroys its cortex. The Rook collapses to the ground.

With a victory cry, the adventurer waves his mace in the general direction of the bandits for good measure before searching the fallen Rook, Liran sniffing the fallen machine curiously. The gun arm would have come in handy but it is currently lying further down the valley so EM-RY5 shrugs and heads into the cable car station.

It appears that his foes don't have a high opinion of his skill as they have failed to disable the cable cars, obviously figuring that the Rook would deal with any pursuit and it doesn't take long for EM-RY5 to figure out the simple controls and leap into a car as it leaves the station with his small canine companion under his arm.

The trip down is peaceful as EM-RY5 looks out the window, noting the Rook's arm is stuck in a tree smouldering as they trundle past. Liran seems to find the journey hugely entertaining, spending much of the time sniffing out the window.

As evening approaches, they near the second cable car station and EM-RY5 leaps from the car with his companion before it reaches the station, mindful of the treacherous Dwarves penchant for setting traps and settles down for the night and begins to read further into the journal in search of clues...

Conclusion

Well that was an action packed start to an adventure and I'm finding myself really enjoying playing Colostle. I will need to get some more artwork put together for future posts but the storytelling and journalling nature of the game has been brilliant fun and I can't wait to see what happens next!

All the best!

Colostle Season 2: A New Adventure

 Hi!

I've got a weeks holiday and have spent a bit of time putting together my assorted solo RPG stuff for a campaign of Colostle.

I've played a session or two of Colostle last year and really enjoyed the game but felt that the combat system was a bit simple as its really easy for you to defeat non rook opponents but the actual rook combat was too abstracted, with the result being decided by random card draws.

For this adventure, I decided to mash together a bunch of different bits and bobs to create my own combat system based on Brutalquest as well as throwing in bits and bobs from my Table Fables books. Initially it seemed to have worked out rather well but as I got further into the game, I got overwhelmed with choices and whatnot so I've decided to start afresh using just the basic Colostle rules and a dice system for combat.

I'm also using papercraft tokens to represent my character as well as the assorted heroes, villains and denizens of the Roomlands that he encounters along the way.

I've also been using some random generators from Cairn (a freely available RPG)  and some diy ones I made up to help design my characters which seems to be adding a bit more depth and flavour to my game and will be drawing up the locations I discover and those I meet along the way.

Hopefully I'll be able to post up the campaign as it proceeds in the coming week so watch this space!

In the meantime, All the best!

2022 Yearly Review

 Hi!

Well here we are in a new year and I wanted to take a quick look back to see how I got on and what I hope to do in the new year!

Figures Painted

Well looking at my handy chart, I managed to complete 128 miniatures this year across several scales which isn't too bad, even if quite a few were tiny trooper scale.

Possibly my favourite miniature project of the year was to get the Havok miniature starter set painted which I almost completed as I still have the Karn Battleform to paint but I've been really pleased with how the miniatures painted up and how pleasingly Rogue Trader they are in style too!

I do want to get the last of the figures painted up this year so I can repeat my achievement of the other year and an entire starter set painted up like I did with Deadloque. I'd also like to take another look at the Nexus rebels Battleform to add some doodads and decals to give him a bit more interest to the paintjob.

My tiny troops were an unexpectedly popular addition to my collection and have allowed me to play out test games of rulesets I've had kicking around for years but never had enough figures to make a go of before.

Looking forward to 2023, I think I'd like to try and make some more of them including vehicles and possibly make a tiny troop version of 2nd edition 40k or Fantasy Battle to allow me to scratch the larger battles itch without having to spend a fortune to collect the figures or indeed an eternity to actually paint them all up!

I'm also keen to keep on going with my Rogue Trader alternative Imperium project which has been bubbling away for years now and keep painting up more random figures to include in games of Planet 28.

I really enjoyed painting up the Ramshackle Games Giggles Clan that Curtis kindly sent me and I'd really like to get the rest of them done over the course of the year as the Giggles are such a characterful force and really pleasant to paint as they've such fun sculpts.

I also managed to get some more doodads sculpted up for my Rangers of Shadow Deep SD scale project in the form of some loathsome Zombies:

I'm desperate to get some more stuff sculpted up and painted so I can play past the first couple of scenarios as it looks like a fun campaign to throw my Boar Company into the action somewhere on the border but as with so many projects, I flit from one to the other without managing to complete them but possibly 2023 will see more successes!

Games Played

Looking at my chart, I played 47 games using six system but I suspect its closer to 70 if I included all the mini solo rpg sessions I played so it has actually been a really good year for gaming as I've found the definitive ruleset for my core gaming in the form of Nick Evans Planet 28 and Brutalquest. 

They are both great rule systems that focus on small warbands and require a handful of figures to play some really memorable games, most notably with Inquisitor Fishers retinue setting off on a quest to recover an ancient archeotech artefact somewhere in the Farpoint system but also Fael the barbarian having an epic adventure on Aeroth.

I've found the use of these little rulebooks incredibly inspiring as I've found myself drawing lots of characters to include in games and it has been a great way to combine my enjoyment of wargaming and drawing and sculpting to make the most of my hobby!

That's not to say that I only plan on using them as I've got a literal plethora of other gubbins that I either want to play more in the coming year or picked up during 2022 and didn't get the chance to do much with. I've got Colostle which I've really enjoyed and have already mentioned Rangers of Shadow Deep but I also picked up Five Parsecs and Five Leagues from Modiphius in October and am keen on giving them a try or at least using their campaign system to add some intrigue into my ongoing campaigns.

I've also been bitten with the solo RPG bug and have absolutely loved the simplicity and countless adventures my bodged rulebook collection and stack of Rorys Story Cubes has set me off on and foresee me playing lots more in the not too distant future as while it's not as visually pleasing to put together as my miniature skirmishes, it's been such a simple way to play lots of really enjoyable games.

Plans for 2023

While I've got tons done in the first three quarters of 2022, a new job has taken up the all the hobby time of the last three months while we went through the silly season and an absolute ton of work to get ready for it but the new year will see me able to once again get some much needed relaxation and hobby shenanigans so what do I see myself doing?

First and foremost, I suspect that I'm going to be concentrating on either 28mm or my own sculpts moving into the future. I have been humming and hahing about it for quite some time now but I think that while painting 15mm scale can be quite a cost effective way of putting together forces, it seems to lack the character that I'm aiming for in my small skirmish games (knowing me I'll promptly do an about face on this at some point in the future!). Instead I will be concentrating on a couple of settings and trying to really delve into two campaigns.

The first campaign will be following the exploits of Inquisitor Fisher. I did plan on continuing the Farpoint campaign but I got a copy of Death in the Throneroom, the mini campaign for Planet 28 2nd edition which I'm really keen to get up and running.

By combining my solo RPG with an assortment of other gubbins I plan on creating several factions and playing out the campaign over 2023. This will require me to put together four new warbands and an assortment of Dramatis Personae as well as terrain but I'm really looking forward to the challenge, especially as it will be rolled up into my Farpoint one to boot!

I'll be drawing up stuff and posting it fairly regularly as well as attempting to complete one sculpt a week to add to my collection and bring some of the characters to life which is going to be tons of work but should also be great fun too.

 

The second campaign will be on Aeroth and feature Fael and co who will be getting their own miniature representation as I start delving into adventure somewhere on the border.

This is going to be a bit of a slow burn project as I want to get the Planet 28 one up and running first but I'm really keen to get to work on fleshing out the setting and introducing new adventurers to my collection. Some of the campaign will be miniature based skirmishes while others will be purely pen and paper sessions but it will allow me to keep myself entertained during the year and hopefully provide enough variety to keep me motivated and inspired to get it all done!

I also hope to be able to get back into the swing of posting up here regularly a couple of times a week rather than my somewhat erratic posts of the last year but we shall see how I get on! 

I hope everyone has had a fantastic new year and thank you so very much for reading my jibber jabber over the years and in the meantime, All the best!

Richard