Well my New Years goals are being ticked off already and it's only March.
1. Create 3 terrain sets. Done. I think I'm on 4?
2. Assemble 2 warbands of minis off old sprues. Buy new minis only after equivalent amount painted.
3. Design a new set of rules, print off indie/free rules* Do some battle reports - OK not done I'll get there.
4. 2 blog posts a month. Already on 13.
5. Paint 100 minis/always paint more existing models than new acquisitions. I'm on 130 already.
6. Budget. $350. OK I just spent another $50 for some GW Skitarri so we're on $60 terrain + $20 printing + $60 BB team so we're on $190. Eeek, well under but we've 9 months to go...
7. Downsize 3 IKEA boxes of wargaming terrain/stuff. Exceeded.
Main outstanding tasks are pretty much wallet related:
Buy new rules for an existing project. Buy a new cool rulebook.
Some rules PDFs are interesting but colossally overpriced. I mean - $25 for an electronic file + $10 to print and bind it in B&W means it compares unfavourably with say a lovely glossy secondhand GW ME:SBG sourcebook.
I'm open to suggestions for new rules to try. Blog regulars probably know my biases by now...
Some unused minis that could do with as set of rules to reinvigorate them are feudal Japan, 7-YW, and ancient Greece, though I may end up using a ME:SBG adaption for the former. Talking about ME:SBG - I was eyeing off the Pillage rules until I realised it was just ME:SBG with the numbers filed off.
I have some (a lot?) of lovely old Confrontation C3 minis which I am rebasing on 25mm or 32mm circles (square bases are revolting, fight me!). Maybe the latter 32mm size so they can fit in with my many metal Warmachine which have never been used for their intended system. OK, add fantasy rules to possible rulebooks to try.
Something with zombies might be good inspiration for my post apoc vikings vs zombies homebrew rules. The Last Days? Does Silver Bayonet use the shitty boring system Frostgrave does? I've always felt I should own Napoleonics but they are just so dull to paint. $1 says both rules have hitpoints. Maybe... what's that magazine that has the rules in it - Blaster? any good rules in that? Some non-PDF actual printed rules would be nice, but not if I'm paying $50 for ship it from the USA.
Mantic vs GW vs Boutique Startups
In my painting I've really noticed the huuuge gap in quality between GW and Mantic. Maybe in UK Mantic is a much cheaper option but in Australia they are (a) not readily available and (b) similar in price, especially after P&P. Mantic had a 50% sale, I wanted some were-jaguars, but even in bulk they were the same as the equivalent GW models. The sculpts are meh, the plastic is soapy and on one occasion (my Mantic skaven cyborgs) the plastic got tacky when I spray painted it, like a toy-store dinosaur.
I've mentioned USA postage making it a literal no-fly zone for even books, but some of the boutique models are insanely expensive, even 3D printed. I noticed BLKOUT (rules I recommend) is for sale in Australia. Yay! Affordable? 15x 3D printed models, and a rulebook for $207, not including postage. Kill Team starter with the same gear from my local game shop was $118. Are these guys expecting to retire millionaires from making wargames? I know there is economy of scale, but come on.
I always love Kroot but they lack variety in gear and weapons (or did when I got them a decade ago). maybe a search on ebay for those animals (Krootox?) -they ride on? My daughter asked for some blue Na'vi Kroot.
d12Finity (Main project)
This is my current main project - a quicker 'opposed roll' Infinity that actually plays without needing the rulebook and has a manageable amount of rules, allowing me to use my abandoned 40K, Infinity and Mantic minis alongside my daughter's Necromunda.
This has lots of momentum as (a) I have lots of unused 40K and Mantic in small, squad-sized packages (I intended to play Shadow War Armageddon/2018 oldskool KT back in the day) which are fun to paint and (b) I can read my old rulebooks for ideas when I am way from the house like on boring car trips (my wife drives our family sedan, I only like my 'funner to drive' n54 135i).
I like d12s as they adapt perfectly to d6s and also align fairly well with d20s, keeping lots on the dice and avoiding the extreme 'swinginess' of d20s.
Remember: the mechanics are irrelevant (besides being simple and consistent) - it's the RNG % the rolls generate that matter.
Here is an example of how I can replicate 40K kill percentages using a single d12 vs two d6 rolls.
A STR3 lasgun vs a Tough 4, Armour Save 6+ Imperial Guardsman is two rolls of .50 x .83 = 42% chance of a kill, once hit.
In my version, there is a single "Defence" roll where the defender rolls under a stat to save. The defence save is 1-6 for 'Tough 3' equivalent, and +1 each level of armour save. So the defender needs a 7 or less on d12 i.e. .58 to 'save'. Which means a 42% to be killed.
Two different systems. Identical results 'in the end'.
My daughter and I are currently working on Esher and Skitarri Rangers respectively. She is mulling over punk hairdos for her "Pink Ladies." The purple fidget is great for mixing paint as when it dries you just pop the tried paint out. d12s sitting out from testing 'd12Finity.'
Tankmunda (Side Project)
My tank-Mordhiem with post apocalyptic. Currently (thanks Tim from comments) I have just added a bunch of ragged Peter Pig resistance and civilians to be my dirty post apoc 1930s scavengers. Still on the lookout for 15mm zombies/werewolves/monsters that don't require paying extortionate US postage.
My current dilemma bogging this project - I feel basing 15mm individually (like I do with sci fi) may work better for my game of small ragtag scavengers, but I do have lots of WW2 on FoW bigger bases and it kinda makes sense to keep all my WW2 era troops similar. Changing the bases midway means I can't use my existing troops with them without them looking dumb.... but the chances of me actually playing FoW itself ever again is pretty slim...
OK, it's getting late and I may still be able to sweet talk my wife into watching Predators (2018) with me. But before I go, here's my random thought:
You know those silica gel packs they are used to dry stuff out? For some reason there's one on our kitchen bench. It says "Do not eat" Dessicant Throw Out etc. But why the quotation marks next to "Do Not Eat"? Can I eat it or not? It's bothering me. Silicon should be pretty non toxic, it just won't break down... A quick google and I found the answer on Facebook, the source of all wisdom.
