Random Updates: Aaaand I'm Back... Again...

So not much in the world of gaming for me for... how long has it been?  Wow, months now I think.  In fact looking back at my posts on the blog and things have been somewhat erratic about the past six months now.  There were a couple of months of very intensive gaming as we found a friendly local gaming store followed by a few months of much less after we found out that the local gaming store wasn't quite so friendly after all.

On the upside, we have added a number of games to our gaming collection which we've been having a lot of fun with lately.  I've also made some headway at breaking my miniature slump that started back in May.  At that time I had been working on assembling a Colonial/Victorian Science Fiction British army.  While I was making solid progress with this I was blindsided contradictory force composition requirements ("Try to be historically accurate but you can have lasers."  WTF?!?) and a total lack of interest in any sort of play testing to make the overall gaming experience better.  Thankfully an old friend of mine has recently renewed my interest in Malifaux so I've been working on completing the miniatures that I already have as can be seen with my post about my Ortega crew.  Sonnia Criid's crew is still also almost done (just one more Witchling to base) along with all but my Peacekeeper for my Guild supporting models.  Of course this would mean that my Malifaux minis are almost all painted so of course that means its time to pick up some more; enter Lady Justice!  Her's is the first of new Wyrd plastics that I've purchased and they look really impressive though really fiddly (and I thought that the Mobile Infantry from Mongoose were tricky!).

Thankfully all of this gives me a lot to post about, and now that I've finished playing the original Mass Effect for the first time I have some free time on my weekends again!  Huzzah!  Now I just need to start typing again and then slowly but surely there will be some new content here.  In the meantime, I've also started an Instagram account which I've been slightly more regular about updating lately (click and post... just makes life easier sometimes) so you can also check things out there.  In the meantime, expect more coming here on the blog soon.  Until next time...

Workbench: The Ortegas Ready For The Hunt

Back about a year ago I finally got around to starting work on my Ortega boxed set for Malifaux (here's the original post about it here...).  Unfortunately one thing lead to the other and the rest of this project was shelved as I still hadn't gotten around to getting a replacement for my original Nino which was missing some bits.  Well I finally got off my butt and got him taken care of so I could get the whole crew to the table.

I still haven't picked up the new 2nd edition rulebook so I'm not sure how the Ortegas will stack up from a soul stone point of view but I really like seeing the whole family together and ready for action. Wyrd Miniatures are loaded with as much character as detail making them a lot of fun to paint.

I still have a couple of more figures to finish up for my Guild faction but at the rate that I've been managing I should have all of them done before the end of the year, making this the second miniature faction that I will have completely painted for a system (my Cryx army for Warmachine being the first to earn this rare and esteemed honor...).  Of course I'm sure there is more that I'll be adding to the faction before too long but it's really exciting to see them complete.  Next up, Sonnia Criid and her Witch Hunters.  Until next time...

Workbench: The Magical Circle Of Runic Goodness!

I happened to look at one of the games my daughter was playing on my wife's iPhone and was immediately taken by the artwork.  Apparently it was some kind of fantasy game were you are supposed to raise dragons or some such but there was this really cool ring of glowing runes that really caught my eye.  A quick sketch later and I was off to build my own magical runic gateway... thingee.

I'd originally planned on typing up a whole step by step tutorial on this project but unfortunately my inspiration got the better of me and before I knew it I was done!

Overall I'm really happy with how it turned out though I might go over the symbols carved into the stones to give them more of a glowing effect but we'll have to see.  I'd actually tried this for a couple of them but it didn't look quite right so I'm just going with the plain stone for now.

So what's it for?  Well, damned if I know but I've talked with the Munchkin about giving Song of Blades and Heroes a try and this seems like it would be a fun piece of terrain to throw onto the board.  When and if it happens, I'll be sure to type something up about it.  Until next time...

Sunless Sea Kickstarter: Victorian Gothic Horror... On A Boat!

Years ago I stumbled across an online narrative game called Fallen London.  I still remember reading choose your own adventure books when I was a kid and this game was perfect to scratch that itch (without the ability to cheat and see which option is best... come on, you know you did it too!).  More that just the story, I also found the setting fascinating and mysterious! Here you are trapped in the Fallen city of London, consorting with Rubbery Men, Devils, and the Masters of the Bazaar as you try to discover what this place really is and how you got here.

Now the folks at Failbetter games are looking to spin off into new and unknowable directions with their Kickstarter for a 2D seafaring exploration and survival game they are developing.  Welcome, my delicious friend, to the Sunless Sea!

Setting out from Fallen London, you guide your vessel into the unknown waters of the Sunless Sea.  Will you find endless wonders or horrors beyond imagining?  There is no way of knowing as each game is a unique experience leading itself to massive re-playability especially when combined with the deep story engine that is wrapped into the game.

Visually this game also looks stunning with its use of lighting effects.  You are literally exploring a world with no sun so even that becomes a resource you must manage.  Do you blaze your prow-light at full strength and risk attracting the attentions of pirates and monsters or run with the light low and slowly drive your crew mad?

Gameplay Concept shot from Sunless Sea

What's even better is this game will be available for digital download with a pledge of a mere 10 pounds (which equates to roughly $16 USD currently...) which is an incredible bargain! Right now this Kickstarter has about two weeks left and is nearly funded so I definitely recommend hopping over and checking it out.  Until next time...

Wrath of Kings Kickstarter: Yet More Goodness From Cool Mini Or Not

Since I had suck a pretty penny into the Relic Knights Kickstarter last year (which I'm unfortunately still waiting to receive...), CMoN sends me a heads up when they post new projects on Kickstater.  Most of them haven't really peaked my interest but their latest one... well, that's a different story.  It's time to get all fantastical and face the Wrath of Kings!

Set in the fantasy world of Arikania, five powerful kingdoms all struggle for the throne of the Ancient King.  An uneasy peace has existed between these powers but that is all about to change as their power hungry schemes lead the world into open war.

The miniatures for this game look really nice and each of the five factions has a very distinct look to them and from what I've read of the flavor all of the factions sound like they will have interesting stories behind them.  What I've seen of the game system looks pretty compelling as well as they've reduced combat to a single d10 roll rather than the usual two rolls (hit then damage) so games should flow along at a good pace.

As for the Kickstarter itself, its also driven ahead at a pretty steady pace.  Blowing through its $50k goal within the first day, it looks like it should meet all of its current stretch goals and maybe even a couple more beyond so all of the pledge levels give you a very respectable army that you will be able to play right from the start.

Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to back this one but I wanted to make sure to get it out there for people to see as it does look pretty cool IMO.  They are in the tail end of their drive though (only 10 days left as of this posting) so if you're going to check it out I'd suggest doing it soon.  Until next time...