Bugs... BUGS!!!

Awesome Things

I am a huge fan of Space Hulk. I am also a huge fan of awesome terrain and close quarters battle in miniature games. Some game systems (Infinity, Necromunda and Space hulk... duh!) work awesome in this style of game and I'm always in awe of those in the hobby that construct their own 3d representations of such awesome terrain. Indeed this type of terrain also fits right into my main requirement for buying terrain.... Multi-use. If I can' use it for more than one game system, it's of no use to me at all.

Enter Bug Hunt Corridors from Fantasy Arc. These lovely people have thrown down with laser cut buildable corridor terrain which works wonders for Space Hulk, Necromunda, Infinity and Sedition wars (battle for alabaster... Another Kick starter I supported and will have in my grubby little pig paws soon.... oh yes....), and for Roleplaying games such as Cyberpunk, Mutant Chronicles, or any sci-fi style games (star wars? why not??!!). This simple and most excellent set covers all of these loves for me. Check them out and give them a bit of support!

Bug Hunt Corridor.

Bean out~

Conversion VS. Creation

Behind the Screens

Some people have asked me why I've chosen to create my own system instead of just converting a system I like over to my uses. The answer is simply Control. While There are plenty of gaming systems out there, and I'm sure there is a system that does everything I want and more, I don't have the time, nor the inclination, to go searching. I've been Roleplaying for 20+ years now and in all those years I've never found a system that does all I want.

So why not just ADD what I want to a system I like?
I'm not a fan of adding to another game system as people will, no matter how good their intentions, pick at the homebrew stuff and snipe at it as it's not canon. Plus I may end up selling this some day (ahhh the great hope fo every writer ever...).

In truth, Ashes is a rather hodgepodge system as it stands. I've borrowed and stolen from half a dozen other systems, tinkered with the mechanics and made it purr just the way I want it to. All checks are made on two ten sided dice (2d10), and you simply have to roll under your stat after pluses and minuses are taken into account. This goes for virtually everything. It's simple, direct and to the point. No averaged target numbers. No arbitrary limits. The limits are just how good a players stats are and no more. Elegant is a word I've been told fits the system.

I couldn't have been more tickled at hearing that, as nothing detracts from a game as heavily as clunky mechanics.

Hopefully I'll have some of my rules up for dissection for you all in the next little while.

until next time,
Keep on rolling.
Bean out~

Building better rules: Houserules

Behind the Screen

Sometimes, the Rules As Written way of doing things is... well... it's like bashing your head on a wall. The mechanics may be clunky. They may be poorly worded. They may even be straight up crap. These are the pitfalls of dealing with big business. They don't always have the best stuff.
Thus it falls to us, the players, to come up with hotfixes for these little hiccups in sense and tinker until we get something that works better for our needs.

Case in point: the Armour rules for cyberpunk 2020.

Ashes: Evolution of a system

Behind the Screen

So, as I stated a few posts back, I have recently (or rather, not so recently... but within the last year anyways...) taken it upon myself to develop my own set of RPG rules for gaming with my chums. Naturally, being the genius I am (and oh so humble), I have set out with one goal in mind: A simple system bereft of all but the most rudimentary math and utterly intuitive.

Aka: the same thing everyone else claims.

AAAAAAAAnyways, Over the next while I'm going to be charting some of my rules ideas, charts and other random stuff while I go about creating this (potentially catch-all) system. To start off with, I want to discuss some of the ideas behind the game and what I want to accomplish/Steal from other systems. First things first: Ashes

Your Mission, Should you Choose to Accept it.

Hook, Line and Sinker

Bean here with some more Missions for you to throw at your players:

Gang War:
Two of the more prominent gangs in the area have begun a turf war. With the violence quickly escalating and civilian casualties mounting the players have a choice to make: Work to end it, play both sides in the hopes of making some hardcore money, or join up and break some heads.
Types: Sabotage, Assassination, Robbery, Protection, Recruitment, Terror Tactics

Press Ganged:
The players awaken, after a night of particularly rowdy partying, to a thumping migraine and shackled ankles. They're aboard a transport to some far off location to fight someone's dirty war, and have two options: Fight and potentially live on to win renown and riches, or Run and die in an unmarked grave...
Types: Search and Destroy, Suicide Run, Cloak and Dagger, Black Ops, Runner

Outbreak:
A Disease or plague rocks the land, can the players find a cure?
More importantly, can the players SURVIVE?
Types: Survival, Smuggler, Sickness, Fight the power, No room left in hell

The Bounty:
Someone from the players past has paid out a huge bounty on one of the players.... Dead or Alive
Types: Survive.

Until next time,
Keep your players guessing.
Bean out~

Google + hangouts

Awesome Things

Eureka!

So, As I've pointed out a few times, I currently live rather far away from the majority of my friends due to an unfortunate incident involving injury and hospital time. Thus, whilst I've been in my medical exile over the last year, I have been forced to go from  roleplaying with the chums once or twice a week, to once or twice every few months (if I'm lucky) each time I'm able to make it back onto the mainland to visit. As of last night, this has changed, as I have finally managed to get some of my friends together (along with some new ones) and started playing online. This has been made possible Via Google + Hangouts.

I know some of you out there are saying "well no shit Sherlock, online gaming has been a thing for a while", to which I reply, "I know". But I like to cover all my bases before I start something big like this and, having done my due diligence, I have discovered it works quite well. With Google + Hangouts one can host a VIDEO chatroom with up to 10 people total, screenshare notes and maps, and generally get up to much of the shenanigans that one can whilst in person without all that bother of actually arranging a place to play. With the addition of a great app called Scoot and Doodle, a little paint program that all can access and edit which works a treat for encounter mapping (and is saveable as well as shareable to facebook for others to laugh about), almost all the tools you need for online pen and paper gaming is available in one neat little package.

As an interesting aside, there is a group working on a G+ hangouts dice roller app, which is AWESOME, as the honour system for individual dice rolling isn't really an option for some groups.

So, how did it go?
Smashingly!

Once the group settled in, and my brother stopped farting around with hats and meme face replacers.... The game went wonderfully, with the action starting off almost instantly, and a daring prison escape against all odds (Seriously, they rolled crap and got almost wiped out by falling masonry!) the group made it to land and can now set about putting the punk into Cyberpunk!

Good times.

So, for those who are looking into various SIMPLE (*cough cough* I'm looking at you Roll20*cough cough*) programs for running pen and paper games online, I give a very thankful and huge thumbsup to Google + Hangouts.

Until next time,
Pirate hats and sound effects do not, a serious game make.
Bean out~

Prime time: Krylon Dual Paint + Primer

Product Review

I did not use gloss....

So once again, I've been testing primers, this time, courtesy of Maqma (Was awesome to see you mate, now if only you could move back from ye olde Hong Kong....). Krylon Dual Paint + Primer matte finish.

Now, a word of warning, This stuff goes on thick. I had to draw back on my usual Omega-PRIME-job (copyright pending) as it was going on just too heavy. Due to this, make sure you shake the can hella good before you use it. Lotsa shake-a shake-a.

White Dwarf Jan 2013

Product Review

(An ongoing review for WD)

Well then, THIS is surprising. Games Workshop is MAINTAINING the quality of a product for an extended length of time! At four months and going, White Dwarf is still kicking hard and I'm actually excited to get the new issue each month.

So what pretty pretties are in this months WD?
Lets find out.

Aaaaaand We're back!

We're (I'm) Back!
Razzle Dazzle!

It was a nice vacation, I had a chance to make it out to see the friends and some family (and soon to be family -- Congrats to my brother on his Proposal to his now Fiancee being accepted), meet up with some old chums (Maqma, seriously, was awesome seeing you, Thanks for the compressor! and hangout, Richard, you getting the plague and not coming out was awful and I shall never fully forgive you... I kid... I kid.... Get better man), Play some Infinity and get some stuff (I GOT A MINIDONUT MAKER!!!).

What does this all mean?
Reviews, tutorials and you all get to follow along as I try to figure out how an Airbrush works. Added to the Commission paints jobs I have to finish up, The campaigns I am running and the Roleplaying system I'm writing, and some potential business opportunities I have a lot to write about for the upcoming year, if I can drag myself away from Mechwarrior Online. In other words,

Regular posting will commence on Tuesday.

Until then,

Bean out.