Sorry for the title but Peaches is stuck in my head. I was opening a can of said peaches and inspired, started to sing. My kids didn't believe it was a real song, but unfortunately I contracted an ear worm (apparently that's a thing).
Well 'The Forest' project (apart from basing a few spider cultists) is grinding to a halt as I await more minis from UK. My French Indian War troops are on back order. But the spice must flow! (Aka I need to maintain my momentum)...
Many of these had been half-painted and I did use craft paint. I'll award myself 8pts for all the basing though.
There is quite a lot of dinos, including 4 t-rexes. There's a few more yet to paint. My son reminds me we also need them for my psychic-knights-100YW-on-dinos project which he is keen to get underway. The kids vetoed the addition of dinos to the forest as it "didn't fit the vibe" and "dinos will take over" which is surprisingly restrained. I reckon adding dinos improves everything.
These villagers are earlier settlers who live on the edge of the forest. The furry, barbarian vikings (you know, the ones who turn into werewolves) live deeper in the forest. My kids like me to tell stories about the game world and (like Tankmunda) it lives in their imagination, sometimes inspiring drawing maps or making their own stories. French Indian Dinos haven't caught on as much, despite showing them Last of the Mohicans battle scenes, then clips from Jurassic Park. Hmm maybe I need to add pirates...
Forest Project
My first Forest rules deliberately had a bit of a D&D (but d12s) feel to it. You know, stat 6 is average, and 7 is +1, 8 is +2, 9 is +3 and 5 is -1, 4 is -2, 3 is -3 etc - roll d12s against each other to compete etc. I realized how D&D inspired Frostgrave is, actually. It works fine, and I do like the "advantage" from D&D (a bit like Trench Crusade) but tis a bit clunky. I'm interested in making melee with choices - at least attack/power attack/aoe attack vs fight back/block/dodge - and this probably isn't the best system for that. I viewed my d12Finity rules more for shooting games but it does allow multiple dice/dice pool (defensive dice, dodge dice, etc)...
I'd like it so you can assign dice to a pool, i.e. a sword (parry) could be a defence or an attack dice. A shield is a defence dice. Everyone can use a 'dodge' dice which may break off the attack early if it triggers early in the melee sequence. Longer weapons get 'advantage' on the first round - thanks D&D; and shorter weapons get advantage on subsequent rounds when the fight moves into close/grapple range.
However if this slows the game too much I'll shelve it, use something simpler, so not to detract from the 'faster slicker than Mordheim but more tactical than Frostgrave' vibe I'm aiming for.
My local Bunnings still hasn't restocked 3mm MDF but I found some old coasters and made some round terrain pieces. About a dozen of them. They will also serve as scatter terrain in the postapocalyptic world of Tankmunda where WW2 tanks drive through deserted, ruined, overgrown towns (think Stalingrad meets Pripyat) and wolves (or werewolves) roam the streets. There's a reason folk drive tanks instead of walking, folks. It isn't much but it keeps up the momentum and took only half an hour (terrain is as plastic tube hotglued into 3mm MDF, with sand, spraypainted brown, drybrushed with some real rocks glued on) and the trees I've owned since 2015 so it's all 'free.'
As you may suspect, I quite like the 'quick water' resin-y premade stuff I bought for a $10 bottle. I think I may mix my own as I currently have a greenish brackish colour only. While I prefer some other methods, I'm matching the style I already have (i.e. MDF, with pipes glued in) with the tree trunks just slipping into the pipes. The hairspray has mostly controlled the 'shedding' but I don't think my ancient Aliexpress trees are coming inside any time soon.
d12 40K KillFinity Project
This is frozen as I work hard at Forest mobs and terrain but it was quick to knock out some leapers. They were $15 - from a starter box, I presume. Some coral from the Barrier Reef gives me a (very simple) weird alien base. Drukahri and Orks still need to be done but that's only about ~15 each.
I've been raiding my son's toybox for dinos, and also for random zoo animals etc. This panther was a posable toy where I filled the gaps. It's quickly painted and nasty but adds another predator to The Forest. I may do some diseased/mutated animals - I've seen a sprue (WA? Frostgrave?) that sells tentacles, rats and leeches I feel I need. My painted total this week is 40+425 = 465. Plus ~12 or so forest terrain pieces.
Fun projects and yes, Dinosaurs do make everything better!
ReplyDeleteI too like the water effects - what brand is that please?
"I too like the water effects - what brand is that please?"
Delete-AK Puddles Acrylic DIorama. It comes as a greenish brackish colour but I painted some green underneath as well so it's probably not so extreme. It's premade so just squeeze and voila!
There's a bigger bottle where you mix your own paint in which would be better in hindsight...
-eM
Thankyou!
DeleteI think I sent you an early draft of d12Finity. Sadly my kids are not interested in supercavitating subs atm so that one is on the backburner..... Although my 12 y/o daughter is interested in submarines in general for some reason and has been borrowing out books on them.... My son, heretic, does not like spaceships. I'm pretty sure he is adopted...
DeleteIn other news: I am about to get involved in pike and shot, unearthing a huge army box of Warlord stuff which I am going to give my own weird twist.... is that something you're interested in?
-eM
Dice pools!
ReplyDeleteHave you looked at the Nightwatch/Exploit Zero/etc. games by Patrick Todoroff? You get a d6, d8, and d10 to assign to your actions each turn, and you succeed on a 4+. If you're good at something, your roll two of that dice type and take the best result.
Another fun dice pool mechanic I know is Alternative Armies' En Garde. In that one, you have a pool of several dice ranging from d6's to d20's. You secretly select a die to use each turn, with your die type determining your movement. Bigger dice are more likely to hit, but smaller dice strike first. Failing to hit means you lose the dice, and you are gradually fatigue d as your dice pool shrinks.
It's probably too much for more than a couple of combatants, but I'm sure there's a way to do something similar for a larger game.
"Have you looked at the Nightwatch/Exploit Zero/etc. games by Patrick Todoroff"
DeleteIt's on my wishlist. I'm just waiting for it to not be $25.... I quite liked his Zone Alfa rules; which were more 'standard' mechanics but actually were quite similar mechanically to some of my scifi homebrew rules - so I presumed I'll like them.
I do like dice pools but I'm not wedded to them. I just want CHOICES - not just push models together and roll until one falls down...
-eM
> push models together and roll until one falls down...
Delete... or runs away.
If you have morale with a flee result, that's the most accurate for historicals.
- GG
...as long as the one running away doesn't get automatically hit/a free attack on them.
DeleteSo many rules do that and man it annoys me. Running away means you should be harder to hit, not so easy you are automatically hit..... You are getting OUT of range...
-eM
Turning and running in the midst of a battle was usually a bad idea... Routs are when a defeat turned into a slaughter.
DeleteYou can see this in videos of street fights, or even of chimps fighting. Running away means "this guy isn't a combatant any more - he's prey".
Oh I totally agree running away/the rout stage of a battle is responsible for the majority of casualties.
DeleteI just hate the "free hit if you pull back rule" as cheesy and lame.
-eM