MDRG Miniatures: Break Out The Miracle Grow, We Need Reinforcements!

In Mutants and Death Rays you can field warbands of all kinds of different critters and I've modeled a number of them.  The mutants of Dr. Medel, the robots of the 00101001 gang, Mordac and his band of survivors, and Saint Mark with his followers from the Ranks of the Pure.  The only two types of creatures that I haven't done yet are the Wretched (think plague zombies and you get the idea...) and plants.

Yes, you read that last one right; plants.

There are lots of minis out there for all kinds of different things but one of the types that is lacking (at least that I've found anyway) are plants.  GW has made a number of them in the form of dryads and treants but that's a pretty limited pool to choose from which is why I haven't attempted one yet.  As luck would have it the solution to this problem came from a bunch of dollar store flowers.

First I stripped off the leaves and the flowers to give me the basic structure of the critter.

Next I straightened out the six out "legs" and then bent them to give the look of spider or insect legs.  This left one stem located in the center of the bunch that I twisted so that it resembled a tendril.

This gives you the basic form for the creature but there are still a few details to add.

For these I removed the petals from one of the flowers and attached this to what had been the base of the stem to create the "eyes".  Then I took a couple of the sets of leaves and slid them up the central tendril to create some of a body.  And voila!

An "instant" giant plant creature and only for a dollar no less!  Ya can't beat that with a stick even if you tried.

I still have to create some smaller critters to go along with these giant ones but this is definitely a good start toward getting them to the table.  I've got some ideas on this front but nothing concrete yet so more on that later.  Until next time...

MDRG Terrain: Dude, That's My Car!

A while back I stumbled across an article over at Matakishi's Tea House about a couple of grav cars he made for his Rezolution APAC crew out of old mice.  No, no, no, I'm not talking about the living kind; that would just be creepy!  In this case I'm talking about old PC mice saved from the doom of the trash can and given a second case at life!  Needless to say I was quick to dig out a mouse from one of our old computers to make my own, though I wasn't as quick to actually get it painted.  Still I've finally gotten it mostly done so here it is!

You can definitely still tell what it is but overall I'm really happy with how it looks.  I'll probably add some more details like graffiti and maybe some old markings as well but for now its good enough for gaming.  Now I just need to get my hands on some more mice to make some more grav cars which won't be too hard as you can get them dirt cheap on eBay.  Until next time...

The Mutant Menace Of Professor Medel

With 00101001 ready to roll, I've been frantically painting to get some of my other crews ready to go!  Well, frantic might be a bit of an exaggeration but you get the idea.  Anyway, with the man made mechanical menace done I've decided its time to make some man made biological menaces as well so without further ado its time to turn our gaze to the horrific "pets" of Professor Medel.

XP-002a aka flitter wings (38 points each)

Quality 4+, Combat 3
Special rules: flying, stealth

The flitter wings were one of Professor Medel's first creations.  Flying along on silent wings, flitters will swoop down and bite at their prey before rising up into the air and out of reach again.

XP-005c aka Muffin (40 points)

Quality 4+, Combat 3
Special rules: long move, sprint, superior senses

Muffin is enhanced canine mutant that is the size of a man and boasts a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.  In addition to its already impressive move, Muffin can also let loose with a massive burst of speed to close with the enemy even faster than normal.

XP-013b, c, and d aka Boffo, Pickles (28 points each), and George (31 points)

Quality 4+, Combat 3
Special rules: +2 on climb rolls (all), big (George), savage (all)

Boffo, Pickles, and George are Professor Medel's constant companions and protectors.  George is the oldest and most powerful of the three but that doesn't make Boffo and Pickles any less dangerous.

Professor Johannus Medel (50 points)

Quality 3+, Combat 2
Special rules: genetic booster drug, leader, pistol 

Leader of this collection of home bred mutants is the infamous Professor Medel.  Known throughout the wastes for his gruesome experiments on man and beast alike, he usually avoids settlements but lone travelers are often easy prey for him and his... pets.

While I was worried that 00101001 might be a little over the top, I'm actually concerned that Professor Medel and his pets might be a little weak.   With their lack of ranged attacks and a Combat of 3 throughout most of the group I'm just not sure how well they will hold out, but even so I think they are going to be as fun to play as they were to paint.  The next step is to get the two groups to the table and slug it out but more on that later.  Until next time...

The 00101001 Gang

It's been a while since I've gotten any miniatures to the table but I think it's time to rectify that by heading back to the blasted future of Mutants And Death Ray Guns.  Digging through the various miniatures that I have laying about I've found a few different gangs that I can put together.  The first of these is a robot gang who are determined to sweep away the oppressive scourge of Humanity.

XTU-1a aka Needle Nose (52 points) and XTU-2b aka Zippo (50 points)

Quality 4+, Combat 4

Special rules: force field, intrusion module, needle gun/flamethrower

XTU-1a and 2b are both old military prototype stealth units designed to move behind enemy lines and either assassinate targets or launch terror attacks.  Both units are equipped with force fields and an intrusion module which make them extremely dangerous opponents when cover is available.  Needle Nose also mounts a needle gun making him an ideal assassin while Zippo carries a flamethrower for those late night barbeques.

ACAU-M1A aka the Brute (43 points)

Quality 4+, Combat 4

Special rules: big, steel plating

In sharp contrast to the two stealth units is the metal behemoth known as the Brute.  Towering over the rest of the gang, the Brute is encased in steel plating and mounts a now defunct cannon on its shoulder which makes him appear far more terrifying than he actually is which is still pretty scary.

SAR-05ds aka Siryessir (47 points)

Quality 4+, Combat 4

Special rules: all terrain ability, SMG

Rounding out the actual combat units in the group is Siryessir, an old robotic drill sergeant who speaks loudly and packs a sub machine gun.  Subtlety never really was his thing.

Medibot z37 aka Ol' Doc Hack (41 points)

Quality 4+, Combat 4

Special rules: medical robot, savage

Ol' Doc Hack is a malfunctioning medical robot that now tries to end the same lives it used to save.  Equipped with a savage old amputation saw and medical injector, Doc Hack likes nothing better than laying waste to the soft squishy things in close combat.

DASU DB-88 aka Diisun (55 points)

Quality 3+, Combat 3

Special rules: civilian robot, leader

Surrounded by vicious combat robots, Diisun has been able to worm his way to the top by using his free form civilian programming to heap commands onto the military robots with their very rigid command structure.

At first glance this gang does look pretty over the top.  Two of them have stealth while another is not only big but also has armor plating.  This makes for a potent core of the group which is why I really tried to add in some weak links to the chain.  Only half of the robots have ranged weapons and their leader has no real weapons and has the lowest Combat score of the bunch.  Is this enough to balance them out?  Only time and another battle report will tell.  Until next time...

Me be Reta! He be Poog!

Well, things have been a little quiet around here, at least on the blog anyway.  I've been working on a few different projects lately including the We Be Goblins game that I mentioned last week.  So for painting for that is coming along very well.  Why here are two of the little knee biters now!

Reta the fighter and Poog the cleric

For the We Be Goblins characters I wanted to try to stay as true to the characters as possible without having to do a lot of modding so I decided to focus on different paint schemes instead.  Reta for example is supposed to be wearing a wedding veil and a halfling ladies' corset.  To keep it simple I picked out one of the goblins wearing a headpiece (complete with feathers even!) and armor that almost looked a little like a dress then I painted it white-ish.  Poog on the other hand is the only goblin wearing a chain mail shirt and carries a javelin so I used on of the spear wielding goblins for him and painted his chest armor like it was made of metal.  I've still got more to do but so far I'm really happy with how they are turning out so far.

In addition to painting up these little suckers, I've also been prepping a special Halloween game of Call of C'thulhu!  No one in my group is very familiar with this game so I decided to go with the pre-gen character route.  This will let us sit down and get right into the game plus it gives me a chance to get creative with the scenario prep work.  In addition to making some handouts for the game I'm also making up some character files for the different pre-gen characters and I've also managed to get my hands on some minis for the game as well!  Of course all of this isn't necessary but I happen to love Halloween and if I'm going to do a one-shot for it I want to make sure I do it right.

But wait, that's not all!  If you call now you can also get... oh wait... sorry.  Got carried away with myself though there actually is more.  I'm also putting together a Halloween Fear and Faith battle report plus there is still more to come for the Mutants and Death Ray Guns mini campaign.  Lots of stuff in the works so I'm off to do more work.  Until next time...

Seeking Shelter In The Wastes

In the last MDRG battle report, the Enforcer Leader Gabriel was able to grab the artifact and left the Survivor's camp with Rebecca in tow.  The rest of the Purists did not fare so well, including the vaunted Saint Mark who was cut down by Darius, a former member of the Purists.

As the two of them traveled across the wastes, they stopped at a nearby settlement where they meet up with a couple of Enforcers that were scouting the area.  Realizing that they are seriously lacking in their ranged capability, Gabriel also enlisted the service of two human mercenaries; one who calls herself Kali and carries a massive chain gun (mechanically its an assault rifle though I don't think that even begins to cover it...) and the other is Celina.  Having left the settlement earlier in the day, the group decided to take shelter in some ruins for the night.  Little did they realize just how little shelter that had actually found...

For this scenario, the board is laid out as you can see below.

The Purists are taking refuge inside one of the ruins in the center of the board while the rippler bugs are coming on from the two long edges of the board.  I also decided to use the twilight rules from Fear and Faith just to add a little something different into the mix.

The ripplers with the first turn as they are surprising the Purists.

The two from the southern side of the board swept forward to engage the Purists while the two bugs on the northern side remained at a distance, watching their new found prey.

On the Purists turn, Kali attempted to disengage from the rippler that is next to her but she slipped on some rubble in the ruin and fell to the ground where the rippler was able to make short work of her.  Rebecca and Gabriel both charge forward seeking retribution and together they are able to dispatch the flying insect.  Meanwhile Lucius moved out of the ruin towards one of the bugs still hovering in the distance and Sarah is able to stun the bug that is threatening her.

For their second turn the two ripplers from the north both swept in, one attacking Lucius while the other attacked Celina.  Both of the humans were driven back by the giant insects but neither one was wounded.  The other rippler was able to stagger to its feet and eyed Sarah warily.

Celina opened fire on one of the ripplers but the bullets bounced harmlessly off its thick chitinous shell.  Lucius moved back into the ruin to try to block either of the bugs from charging Celina as she prepared to take another shot.  The rest of the Purists held their positions as the last few rays of sunlight disappeared and night started to settle in.

After watching the bugs skitter about for a minute (yep, two failures on the first activation for the bugs!) the Purists decided to launch themselves against these abominations.

Rebecca and Gabriel both let loose their battle cries and charged the lone bug to the south.  Still its thick shell proved too strong but they were able to stun it and drive it to the ground again.

The two bugs to the north dashed forward to engage Lucius but he was easily able to hold off their blows.  Meanwhile, the other bug again clambered to its feet and tried to decide which of its opponents was the biggest threat.

 

Sarah attempted to swipe at the bug and had to dance backward from its slashing claws.  This left it open for Rebecca to return the favor as she tried to pierce its shell.  Lucius was also able to force back one of the two ripplers facing him which Celina then tried to shoot but again to no avail.

Trying to single out their prey (and because I forgot that one of the bugs was actually locked in combat with Lucius...  ah the joy of oversize bases...) two of the ripplers pounced on Sarah but she was able to easily avoid their blows for now.

As the rest of the Purists gathered round to keep one of the insects distracted, Gabriel was able to leap onto one of the ruined walls and bring down a fatal blow on the insect!

With their opponents distracted, the two remaining ripplers pounced on the humans.  Sarah was able to drive one of them back but the other swooped in behind Gabriel and knocked him down off the wall!

Enraged by the giant bug, Gabriel leaped to his feet and smashed the bug that had knocked him down.  With only one bug left, the rest of the group surged forward at least keep it pinned down.

The rippler lashed out and was able to knock Rebecca to the ground but Sarah was able to rush to her aid and destroyed the last bug with one mighty blow.  With their ambushers destroyed the Purists returned to their camp and passed the rest of the night uneventfully.  At least until next time...

The Battle For The Future Begins Now

With my Purist and Survivor warbands made up it was time to get them to the table!  The question is what kind of a battle should I have them fight....  The rule book for Mutants and Death Ray Guns (or MDRG for short) comes with suggestions for six different scenarios for campaign play.  While I like the look of all these scenarios I decided to just make up my own after looking over my terrain.  For this scenario, the Ranks of the Pure are raiding the Survivors base camp.

While scrounging through a nearby ruin, the Survivors uncovered some bits of Ancient technology.  They haven't been able to figure out exactly what they do but they are keeping the for now until Darius and KROM-89 can figure them out.  Meanwhile the Purists have heard about this discovery and Saint Mark has some suspicions about what they might be.  Knowing that such artifacts should not be left to the mutant scum that roam the wastes, he quickly gathers a small group and launches a lightning quick raid so they can "liberate" the artifacts.

The camp consists of a couple of shanty style buildings (think random bits of steel and wood attached to posts), a couple of scrap piles, a couple of small woods, and a couple of old craters.  To keep things simple all of these terrain pieces count as rough terrain while the woods use the normal rules from the book.  The shanties are handled a little differently though.  They are treated as woods as far as models shooting out of them but unlike normal woods these models can be shot at though they do have cover.  For movement purposes they are treated as rough terrain but models can freely move through the walls as they are too flimsy to slow anyone down much.

Next the Survivors are placed inside their buildings and then three markers are placed in the shanties to represent the artifacts the Purists are looking for.  These are represented by the neon green flags on the board.  These represent the possible places the artifact are located.  To actually find it a Purist must spend an action to search.  If all three markers are on the board it is the right one on a one in three, if there are two markers then it is on a one in two, and obviously if only one is left it must be the one.

For their first turn, the Purists charge forward.  Saint Mark charges into the shanty and opens fire on Mordac.  Catching the mutant completely by surprise, the Saint is able to quickly burn him down with his laser gun.  Acolyte Rebecca swings around the southern end of the shanty to explore one of markers while Enforcer Jacob smashes through the wall to search the other marker.  Finally, Enforcer Delilah charges forward to engage Jorchak.

The Survivors are stunned by this sudden attack and are momentarily stunned, missing any opportunity to act (ah, the joys of failing on the first activation...).

The Purists continue to press their advantage as Saint Mark and Delilah are able to force Jorchak to the ground.  Jacob tore through the pile of junk and couldn't find the artifact so he headed off toward the other shanty along with Gabriel.  Meanwhile, Rebecca moved up to the pile she was supposed to search and apparently saw something she didn't like the look of as she just stopped and stared.

Darius and KROM-89 both manage to finally shake off the shock of the attack and move themselves into position to attack the Purist intruders.

Darius doesn't have the range with his flamethrower but KROM opens fire with his pistol, driving Jacob back into the other shanty in search of cover.

The Purists opened turn three with Enforcer Delilah slaying Jorchak while Rebecca finally dug through her pile of junk only to find... nothing.

 

With only one possible spot left, the rest of the Purists quickly turn their attention to the remaining shanty and the Survivors therein.

With the Purists rushing their position, Darius and KROM opened fire on Saint Mark and are able to drive him to the ground while El-lea bursts through the wall of the shanty to engage Enforcer Jacob.

Enraged by the insolence of the mutant scum, Saint Mark rises up and opens fire on Darius.  Only by a stroke of sheer luck was Darius able to dive back into the relative safety of the shanty and avoid being burned down like Mordac.  Delilah and Rebecca both rush forward to help their Saint while Jacob and Gabriel are both overcome by El-lea alluring pheromones and are unable to do anything.

Knowing that Saint Mark will stop at nothing short of slaughtering them all, Darius moves forward and lets loose a blast of fire from his flamethrower.  Again his luck holds out and Saint Mark drops to the ground dead.  Meanwhile El-lea tries to take advantage of the confused state of Enforcer Jacob but he is able to shake it off long enough to block the killing blow.

Jacob again succumbs to El-lea's allure but Gabriel is able to shake off the effect.  Running forward, he grabs the artifact and makes a break for it.  Rebecca stalks forward toward Darius and KROM while Delilah charges El-lea and forces her back.

Confused by Gabriel running away from the battlefield, the Survivors were again stunned into inactivity.

Jacob is able to shake off El-lea's allure long enough to rush forward to attack her but only manages to drive her further back into the shanty.  Meanwhile the rest of the warband begins falling back to meet up with Gabriel.

Realizing what the Purists were after, the Survivors quickly recover and lash back out at the Purists.  KROM tries to shoot at Rebecca but isn't able to get a clear shot off.  Darius decides to take the bull by the horns and runs forward to blast Delilah with his flamethrower, burning her down on the spot.  Finally, El-lea moves forward to lock Jacob in combat again.

This renewed ferocity catches the Purists by surprise and leaves them momentarily stunned.  (Yep, it was their turn to fail on the first roll.)

Trying to press home their advantage, KROM opens fire on Rebecca and strikes true but her force field cuts in and saves her.  El-lea continues to trade blows with Jacob while Darius tries to see where Gabriel went to with the artifact.

The Purists continue their retreat with both Rebecca and Gabriel managing to make it to safety.

 
Jacob is not so lucky as KROM and Darius both move in to help El-lea finish off the Enforcer.  Surrounded it was only a matter of time until he finally fell under El-lea rain of blows.  Even so, it is a hollow victory.  The Ranks of the Pure managed to escape with the artifact and two of their companions had been seriously injured in the raid.  The only thing left for the Survivors would be to exact their revenge.  Until next time...

But Only The Strong Shall Prevail

Now that we have the Purist party it is time to create someone for them to cleanse.  While the previous party was all based around one faction, this party is going to be a mishmash group of survivors who have banded together for mutual protection.

The nominal leader of this motley little group is Mordac the mind manipulator.

Mordac (re-based Star Wars CMG mini)

Mordac is a human mutant with telepathy and light projection, and is equipped with a force field.  With this telepathy to potentially stun targets while he blasts others with his light projection, Mordac is actually a pretty potent all-round fighter.

Next in the group is Darius.

Darius (Dark Age Forsaken Weaponsmith mini)

Darius is a pure human who used to be a member of the Ranks of the Pure until he realized the true evil they were willing to perform in pursuit of their goals.  Equipped with a flamethrower and trained as a gunsmith, he provides the human technical support for the group.

Next is the maintenance robot KROM-89.

KROM-89 (Mongoose Publishing Paranoia RPG mini)

A useless husk when they first found him, KROM has become a pet project for Darius.  So far Darius has been able to reactivate this old robot and trained it to assist him with maintenance.  Just like Darius, KROM also is trained as a gunsmith and has a pistol built into its arm.  Between him and Darius this will let the Survivors ignore the first two malfunctions with their ranged weapons which could come in handy.

Jorchak the reptilian bounty hunter is next.

Jorchak (re-based Star Wars CMG mini)

Jorchak is a mutant human who is trained as a sharpshooter and equipped with both an assault rifle and flak jacket.  His scaly skin also makes him more durable than your typical human as represented by the tough mutation.  This combination makes him one of the most potent in the party as he can not only dish out a lot of damage, he can take quite a bit as well.

Last but not least is El-lea .

El-lea (Rackham Confrontation mini)

El-lea is also a mutant human but her specialty is close combat.  In addition to her massive sword, she is skilled as a hand to hand specialist and her mutations let her move faster than normal and also exude a pheromone that intoxicates those who get too close to her.

In their explorations this group has also managed to scrounge together nine food points and six energy cells that are shared amongst them all and rounds them out at 284 points for the warband.  This won't hold them for long but its definitely better than nothing.

Unlike the Purist group, this ragged little band has a little bit of everything but definitely has an emphasis on ranged combat.  This will make them a potent adversary for the Purists at least until they are able to get into close combat.  When that happens we'll just have to see how things play out, starting of course with a battle between the two groups...  but that we'll get into that next time.  Until then...

The Pure Shall Survive

Doesn't it figure?  SpacerGal comes back and then I disappear for a bit!  It looks like things should be back on track for me now as well so without further ado its time to get to that post-apocalyptic goodness that I'd alluded to earlier and what better system than Mutants and Death Ray Guns by Ganesha Games.  For my first party I decided to make a Purist party using the construction rules that Ganesha recently released. I happen to have some Dark Age Forsaken miniatures that will work out very nicely for this so without further ago I started crunching the numbers. For those of you who might not know, the Purists are just what they sound like; humans devoted to continuing the human species as it has always been, without mutation. Fanatically devoted to cleansing the world of those they deem impure, the Purists are will to work along side androids and robots as these have not been touched by the corrupting force of mutation. Sound like a fun bunch, right?

First and foremost in the warband is Saint Mark, hero of the Ranks of the Pure.

The heroic Saint Mark (Dark Age Forsaken mini of the same name)

Now I don't normally like copying the miniature names but in the case of Saint Mark it just seems to make sense. He's obviously better equipped than the rest of the Forsaken minis I have and I kind of like the idea of the leader of the Purists calling himself a Saint. In this case he is also going to be a major points sink as he is one of the most potent members of the party as well. He is a hero which guarantees that he will have an automatic success on his quality rolls and he is equipped with a powered hand weapon, a laser gun, and heavy armor. This should make him very durable, not to mention that his ability to deal out some serious damage as well! I had also toyed with the idea of also making him a champion as well but that would have driven his points right through the roof so I decided to just make him a hero.  Hopefully between his high combat and armor he will be durable enough as is to last through the campaign though only time will tell.

Next in the warband is Saint Mark's loyal attendant, the Acolyte Rebecca.

No picture as I'm not happy with her paint job yet (Dark Age Forsaken Reaver mini)

Unlike Saint Mark she does not have any ranged weapons as she specializes in close combat.  In addition to being the champion in the party she is also a hand to hand specialist.  This makes her very potent in close combat but leaves her vulnerable to ranged attacks.  In an attempt to mitigate this she also has a force field to give her some protection.

Finally are the three who make up the bulk of the party, the Enforcers Jacob and Delilah who are lead by the Enforcer Gabriel.

Enforcer Leader Gabriel  with Enforcer Jacob and Delilah (Dark Age Forsaken Coil minis)

All three of the Enforcers are hand to hand specialists and are equipped with the frenzy combat drug.  This makes them very potent in close combat though it does leave them potentially vulnerable to ranged attacks.

This leaves the warband with three more available equipment choices which I'm going to use to get a bunch of food and energy cells (eighteen of the former and nine of the later to be specific) which will be distributed evenly though the warband. All told this rounds out the party nicely at 291 points and all the food and e-cells should make them very survivable for campaign play as they won't have to worry about scrounging up more of the essentials right off the bat.

Don't these just sound like a bunch of fun loving individuals that you'd want to invite to your next family picnic? Yeah, didn't think so. Of course the game wouldn't be any fun if the Ranks of the Pure didn't have someone to "cleanse" so next time we'll take a look at the motley band of survivors that I managed to cobble together. Until next time...

Song Of Blades And... Death Rays?

Recently Ganesha Games announced that they are working on some changes for their game Mutants And Death Ray Guns (or MDRG for short), a post-apocalyptic miniature game that uses the Song Of Blades system. The game currently uses a random system to generate your warband. You choose the basic types (human, mutant, mutant plant, etc.) but any skill, mutations, and equipment are all rolled randomly. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it really captures the post-apoc "scrounging to survive" kind of feel but with my own WYSIWYG background with 40k I have stayed away from this particular rule set.

Now they have announced that they are working on some construction rules for MDRG so I decided it was time to check it out. From first impressions it looks pretty interesting and the random nature actually doesn't look like it would really cause that much of a problem as few of them are so extreme as to require some vast alterations. Don't get me wrong; I still like the idea of being able to choose just what I'm going to use but I can see doing a random campaign over a couple of evenings just for kicks to see how it plays out. But more on that later...

As for the rules as written in the book they look pretty good. The game includes a simple campaign system that lets you add some flavor to your games instead of just fighting random battles. I can also see ways to expand it using a simple map to track territories that you control and potentially collect resources from which would add an interesting element in my opinion. Gonna have to start working on that 'cause it sounds like a lot of fun....

Overall, I like what I see so far. I haven't given the game a test drive to see just how it all fits together but as the Song Of Blades system is a pretty sound one I can't see there being much wrong with this one. Now I just need to put it through its paces which means more battle reports soon! Until then...