RPGs, Wargames, and Everything In-Between
So I 3D printed a cannon for my human army for Oathmark, as an artillery piece, and then I looked at the quick reference chart to see what the stats are for a cannon, as an artillery piece.
Cannons are not allowed, as an artillery piece.
Maybe I can say it’s a really strong ballista? No?
*sit in corner with dunce cap*
As if I needed yet another game to delve into…
Description, per Osprey Games’ website:
—
Empires have fallen, and the land is broken. The great oathmarks that once stood as testaments to the allegiances and might of nations have crumbled into ruin. In this lost age, fealty and loyalty are as valuable as gold and as deadly as cold iron, and war is ever-present
Oathmark: Second Edition is a revised and expanded version of the popular mass-battle fantasy wargame, Oathmark. Featuring new and expanded rules, units types, and a whole host of other revisions from years of player feedback. Command the fantasy army you’ve always wanted in Oathmark: Second Edition, whether a company of stalwart dwarves or a mixed force with proud elves, noble men, and wild goblins standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the battle-line.
Fight through an integrated campaign system and develop your realms from battle to battle, adding new territories, recruiting new troop types, and growing to eclipse your rivals…
…or lose what you fought so hard to gain and fall as so many would-be emperors before you.
—
So this game is interesting in that you create a kingdom from scratch, and depending on how you build/lay out your kingdom, you’ll have access to different fighting units, from militia and swordsmen all the way up to creatures like ogres and dragons. You’ll also have champions, leaders, and sorcerors to aid in your battles, and depending on how your forces do, your kingdom will rise and fall, grow or shrink.
Initially I was just gonna make an orc army (naturally) but then decided to pick up a box of humans, either to fight the orcs…
… or maybe ally with them?
I dunno. This will probably be something I play solo anyways, so I can create whatever I want.
I did order some leader-type miniatures as well as the orc and human Infantry boxes, and I also 3D printed a second set of swordsmen for the humans, and I may do the same for the orcs. The game is miniatures agnostic, so I’d like to go with 3D printing for anything beyond the base army boxes I got (30 minis each). I kept looking for 3D figures in my files for leader types, but just went with the metal minis available for sale online.
I have a queen/wizard/musician set coming in for the humans, and a king/wizard/musician set coming in for the orcs.
Funny thing is that while miniatures exist for the musicians and standard bearers, they have no significant qualities or skills in the game itself.
So my human kingdom will be led by a queen (unamed for now) who will lead her army into battle, while King Bob the Orc will lead the orc forces.
Stand by!
These are the voyages of the starship Excalibur.
Her ongoing mission:
To explore strange new worlds;
To seek out new life and new civilizations;
To boldly go where no man has gone before.
Reciting that is like like reciting the Green Lantern Oath.
Amazing what a GOOD episode of Star Trek can inspire me to do.
Don’t touch that dial!
My biggest issue with trying to play a solo RPG in the Enterprise-era is that I’m simply too unfamiliar with that background.
And while I toyed with the idea of doing my own Star Trek Discovery with a female captain but in the TOS era, I’ve decided to go with what I know best.
The Movie-era USS Excalibur NCC-1788
This was the ship my character commanded in the old FASA Star Trek RPG. My plan is to use the ship and the captain (my namesake) with the following changes:
I’m even paining up a new 3D printed miniature of my doppelganger.
Speaking of crew:
This command crew is considerably more alien (read: non-human) that the FASA crew.
If I feel up to it, I may start this campaign this weekend.
Stand By!
This has started to be one of my favorite phrases in a description of any tabletop miniatures game.
As I start to play games like Frostgrave and Rangers of Shadow Deep, I find myself looking at my old D&D/RPG miniatures to fill in for some of the character models I need for the games.
An unused rogue mini will be a thief in my Frostgrave warband.
One of my paladin minis will be the champion in another warband.
And I’m sure I’ll find a purpose for many others of these miniatures.
Meanwhile, instead of scrambling to find enough creatures for a given scenario in some of these games, I came up with this simple solution.
I’m printing a dozen of these guys to proxy *any* creature that my warbands come across. Some of the scenarios call for 5 of a certain type when all I have is 2, so the generic green SFX guys will fill in for the missing creatures.
Stand by!
I was browsing Osprey Publishing’s July Flash Sale and came across a new tabletop skirmish game called Warriors of Athena, and after reading the description I figured that this would be the perfect next game for me to try.
“In an age of monsters, humanity is besieged, sheltering in isolated city states as the forces of destruction ravage the land. There is a spark of hope, however – the demigods. These heroes, born of the gods and granted some of the power of their divine parents, stand fast against the chaos. Explorers, warriors, and diplomats, they sail the wine-dark sea, seeking adventure, battling horrific creatures, and protecting the helpless.”
It’s a relatively new game (released in February?) but I’m sure I have plenty of miniatures that can fit the bill for both heroes and monsters.
You create a hero in the same vein as many of the Greek heroes (Odysseus, Jason) with possible parentage from the gods, who can grant your hero gifts or weaknesses, choose your heroic abilities, generate your stats, recruit your companions, choose your weapons and armor, and name your character.
It’s a pretty straightforward character creation system.
So I came up with a campaign idea for Five Parsecs From Home.
Mando’s Mission.
With just a crew (clan) of 2, I’ll have the Mandalorian go after Imperial warlords in the Outer Rim.
Though technically I can have Zeb along for missions.
Colonel Ward and the New Republic will be his patron, giving him missions. I’m hoping Skullforge Studios will create some new character minis from the movie.
And of course I’ll use my Star Wars Legion miniatures, though I did just print up another Zeb, I’ll paint him like he is in the movie.
Stand by!
Yet another game joins the ranks of the Soon to be Played™
1-4 player skirmish game where you control a Guard captain and his squad, while attempting to keep the peace in a medieval town.
Ahead of receiving the game from overseas (England) I’ve ordered an extra set of guards from the miniatures manufacturer, Wargames Atlantic, so I can assemble and paint up some guards.
Some of the paint schemes I’ve seen have inspired me to simply use team colors from various English football (soccer) squads, like there’s a blue/white scheme that can represent Tottenham, or gold/black for Wolverhampton Wanderers.
And there’s like 20+ civilian miniatures in the game who can be suspects for crimes from the plot cards played during a scenario.
Stand by!
“I swear on my name and the names of the ancestors… That I shall walk the Way of the Mand’alor… And the words of the Creed shall be forever forged in my heart. This is the Way.“
The real reason I’m getting back into Star Wars Legion?
Along with choosing from 4 clans (Clan Wren, Clan Kryze, Deathwatch/Super Commandos, Children of the Watch) there’s an option where you can create YOUR OWN CLAN.
Clan Pepsi and the Pepsimandalorians will live!
Stand by!
As I printed up a squad of Security Troops from “Maul: Shadow Lord” (or ‘Maul Cops’ as I call them), I thought about what it would cost to dive back into Star Wars Legion, now in it’s 2.0 format.
I’ve been very reluctant to do this since I have a smaller area to play in my apartment, along with the cost of a new army or armies.
After reviewing a couple of videos on YouTube, I discovered that it wouldn’t cost me anything except color printer ink.
I was afraid that I’d have to grab a new Starter Box, but since I have all of my Legion miniatures (Rebellion and Empire) in a few boxes/cases, the only things missing were the unit/command cards and the measuring/movement tools and dice.
Past me must have anticipated this, because I found that I had downloaded all the updated print and play unit cards from the Atomic Mass Games site, even for units I don’t have (but could 3D print proxies for, like Daimyo Boba Fett).
I also found that I there are ‘Recon’ rules for play in a smaller area, 3ft x 3ft instead of 6ft x 3ft. And I do have a double sided 3ft x 3ft play mat.
I’ll need to grab some stuff out of storage soon, specifically the 3D terrain I had printed, and the core box with the measuring/movement tools and dice.
Stand by!