TheAuldGrump

This is going to be one of those years. 😞 The Auld Grump

Megan's mum came up with an alternative title that gives away the entire plot. But only if you have read Bloom County. The Auld Grump

I once saw a photo of the remains of a man that died while trying to steal copper in Poland. From high power lines. No, not a Polish joke - copper is worth a lot of money, and some folks... do not think things through. The Auld Grump

Arise, ye slumbering thread! I've been reading Beware of Chicken, by Casualfarmer.... Which has been a whole lot better than I had expected. Read the two books that have been published on Amazon, then chewed through what is on Royal Road. My favorite character is not one of the main characters - the Lord Magistrate is of that odd sort of Lawful Evil that is functionally identical to Lawful Good, the only difference is in motivation. Cowardly, but his cowardice results in his standing stoicly in the midst of danger. (Inside, he is screaming.) Takes care of his subjects - they are where taxes come from. Is over qualified for his position - and quite happy with that, he's lazy (sort of), it is so much easier to take care of and run a small domain. Does not abuse the women among his people - a sure route to rebellion, and odds are that they won't enjoy rope play like he and his wife.... The net result is his people thinking the world of him - which strokes his rather large ego. He is paranoid, so has been very helpul and polite to the cultivator that has taken residence in his district - so the cultivator has been polite and helpful in turn, which has made the Magistrate more paranoid, so he is more helpful and polite.... Definitely light fare, but rather good. The Auld Grump - the Lord Magistrate's son has been building a reputation as an amazingly astute investigator... for much the same reasons. (He is also cursed with always being in th right place at the right time. Every. Damned. Time.)

The decision has been made for us - One Page Rules is reworking their Alien Hives, so we will be getting the new sculpts as they come out. The Auld Grump

Saw the trailer for the CG/live action The Little Mermaid.... My main feeling was they missed an opportunity to tie it in with their Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. https://youtu.be/0KQcsWPoazc Mermaids are supposed to be bad news. The Auld Grump

I'm a Grump - my thought was 'Can I keep it in a terrarium?!' Spiders don't bother me. Scorpions, on the other hand.... The Auld Grump

We saw Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3. And it finally happened. The credits started rolling and nobody left their seat. They had the mid-credit scene, and... nobody left their seat. Not a single person left the theater until the credits had finished rolling - Marvel has... taught us well.... The Auld Grump

Ine Page Rules has a 70% off coupon for Patrons for the month of May. Not sure if we will finish off Duchies or Alien Hives.... The Auld Grump - not made any easier by the fact that neither of us currently plays either....

A limited campaign. One of the things that makes Gang Wars different from Necromunda is that both sides bring pretty much equal forces - no more than 50 points difference between the forces on the table, so not all of a powerful gang are on the table at a given time. The players determine how much to bring - if both sides have three hundred points, and want to bring all of them, then they can. If one side has three hundred points availabe, and the other has only one hundred and fifty, then the bloke playing with three hundred available will only bring two hundred - and if he does then the other player gets an underdog bonus. For every ten point difference, the underdog can modify either their own or the other player's die rolls by +/- 1. A larger gang has more flexibility, but not necessarily more brute force. And the underdog can mess that force up by choosing nasty times to change a die roll. Sorry Bob, that Deadly 3 lascannon that missed you by one point? It didn't miss.... I would try to make my force as near equal as I can..... The Auld Grump

https://youtu.be/OjiKQ55HHpY The Auld Grump

You know, they have had Star Wars games using D6s, they have had Star Wars games using D20s. They have had Star Wars games using d10s. Why the heck has no one listened to Obi Wan, he told us: Use D4s, Luke. Use D4s.... The Auld Grump Not if there is any Retriever in the mix. Sammy's only half, but his reaction to the smell of a strange dog is that somewhere there is a friend that he hasn't sniffed yet. He will circle, snuffling happily, tail awag. The Auld Grump

Yep. Nice models, not nice price. My one worry is that I might well end up buying a lot of those, and it might end up costing more in the long run - but in smaller drops. The hags, the demon tree thing, Those trees, in particular.

Megan is getting some nice figures for her Reiklanders in Mordheim, I am getting a total jerk of a Witchunter... and the undead are gorgeous, even if they really won't work for Mordheim. And that ogre militia commander... Noice! The Auld Grump Odds of my using that terrain for Eternal Dynasty in Grimdark Future?.... The Auld Grump

https://youtu.be/XOgrfNioMXA The Auld Grump

Building the foundations for this right now. NOT copying the Necromunda setting - instead of a single huge Spire there are six smaller Hive Cities, with exciting names like Primus, Secondus, etc. - but each hive will also have a nickname to describe it. Terrain will be Industrial Decay, not Grimdark Gothic. About a hundred and fifty years ago there were seven cities - but one collapsed, killing over a million people. That collapsed city is now occupied by scavengers - the upper reaches being picked over by Jackals, the lower reaches home to the warrens of ratmen. The ratmen have been blamed for the collapse, despite their not being in the ruins until over fifty years after the collapse. The Hives are connected on the surface by roads, rails, a few canals, and vast off road land trains. Underground there are roads, rail, access tunnels, and aqueducts - the aqueducts are not supposed to be used for transport, but no one is enforcing that regulation. Gangs include those listed in the free Gangs of Hive City lists, Ratmen Clans, Soulsnatcher cults, and Jackals. Roughly one third of the battles will be turf wars, half will be over resources - AKA loot, and the remaining sixth will be Special. Special battles include things like kidnappings, extractions, assassinations, sabotage, intelligence gathering, escort missions, and rescues. Things we need - 3D printable models for the gangs, special scenario ideas, nifty terrain bits. The Auld Grump

Get the Gang War supplement and army list. I've been working on some Gang War world specific battles - the one we have actually tried tonight is Tunnel Fight - battlefield is one foot wide at either end, two feet wide in the center, and four feet long. That middle section is pretty much a subway/freight station. The hazard is a freaking train that comes barreling down the tunnel on a result of 7+ on a D6. (Add one for each turn after the 1st - so no chance on the 1st turn, 1 in 6 on the 2nd, 2 in 6 on the 3rd, etc..) Don't be in its way. In tonight's test, the soulstealers lost three soulstealers on the 2nd turn, as the train smacked right into them. Duncan thought that he would have more time... he was wrong. Your real enemy - The Auld Grump

Dark Realms April release is a Skaven laier - Lots of up, down, and under - I look forward to using it for Mordheim, Frostgrave, or Age of Fantasy Skirmish. Three different versions, one vanilla - One choco-vanilla - And the one up top is double-choc. I think that I will have the bottom in water, since wading through sewage is so much fun for the PCs. *EDIT* By pure coincidence, the Archvillain Games release for May is also skaven/ratmen themed. I might have mentioned One Page Rules ratmen as well, but... the OPR ratmen are much cleaner, and live in actual towns, not ruins that have fallen into the sewers. The OPR ratmen are... floofy. The Auld Grump

There have been times when I have had to use the scraper as a chisel, held nearly parallel to the build plate, striking it with a rubber mallet, to get a big print off of the plate. I keep meaning to look into flex plates for the XR-6, and then forg ooh! shiny! Our FDM printer has been repurposed - it has gone from being used for terrain to making toys for Brigid. She loves those flexible toys that are printed as one piece. The Auld Grump

Crisp! Whose not-Terminators? (PM, if you can - GW being what it is.) Printing Battle Brothers right now - to replace my long ago Dark Angels 5th Company (Engineering) Badger Wing. The Auld Grump

I just got to use that image for Mercedes Lackey. Thanks! The Auld Grump - we went to the Portland Swing Project's live band night - my feet still hurt, but it still makes me smile.

Discovered another Patreon on the Mordheim Facebook page - can you guess what warband Knucklebones Miniatures is working on? These feel seriously old school to me - like, 1980s 1st edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle old school. The Auld Grump

I... want that rug.... The Auld Grump - picturing that rug, a cat, and a laser pointer....

Song I have known for years - https://youtu.be/b-FzXDz4LGU THE KING OF MAINE (By James Harper ©1988, as sung by Molly Carlson; slightly changed by Charles Ipcar, 2005) Joey Jones was a native of the Sunrise County shores. He lived on a road less traveled, in a shack perched by the sea. People claimed that he was crazy from shell shock in the war, But he was a fine friend to all my friends and me. He was old when I first met him, and a gentle kindred soul To the ones like me who loved to hear his tales of long ago. He told how this land was conquered by the gleam of Viking gold, When they sailed with Leif the Lucky from their land of endless cold. And we'd walk to where he always liked to be, To a hill above the barrens 'tween the jack pine and the sea. There we'd rest upon the stones in the place he called his throne, Surveying all the kingdom of the Last-King Joey Jones. Like the Roanoke colonials who were lost without a trace, No one knows the fateful ending of that ancient Viking race, But I found myself believing in an old man's simple claim, To be the last of the Lords who ruled the Maritimes to Maine. "When my last day is upon me," said my King-without-a-crown, "For the honor of my Fathers I can't rest on Christian ground; For if Jesus comes to greet me, well, I'm sure He'd understand, For Odin ruled the Vikings and from Him I take command." "Let me lie where I've always liked to be! Let my spirit greet the morning as it rises from the sea! Let a cairn of native stone and the wind which sings and moans Bear witness to the resting place of Last-King Joey Jones!" I won't tell you how we found him, or the oath my friends all swore, How we climbed that hill together with the burden we all bore. "He just disappeared one evening" is the tale most often told, Leaving old army medals and mysterious coins of gold. Maybe Joe was crazy, but that doesn't change a thing. If the good were meant to lead us, he'd have had my vote for King! Though he's mostly now forgotten, still I climb this hill alone, Singing, "Skoal, to the Northland and to Good-King Joey Jones!" For he lies where he always liked to be, Where the rays of endless morning come rising from the sea. Goodbye, Joey Jones, Lord of all this land of stones. Goodnight, my prince. Goodnight 'til endless morning. By whatever name He's known, may God bless these weary bones. Goodnight, 'til we all rise with endless morning. A good root for an adventure. The Auld Grump

I had pretty much talked myself out of OPR's Duchies of Vinci... Then we watched Arcane... Now the idea of the Duchies as the bad guys in a narrative campaign is taking root. I like them better as the baddies... The Auld Grump