Dungeon Crafting

 I've been painting my science fiction floors and walls from Dungeons and Lasers (and I also backed D&L 2 and figure I'll go fantasy for the core set but pick up that sweet Dwarf mining room. And a big dragon or two). I've been experimenting with making a dark wash which I am actually happy with. Using a tube of black acrylic paint that cost all of $1 and mix to about 1 part paint and 3 parts or so water and it does pretty well with filling in the back spaces. I use a plastic blister pack from a mini for mixing, so recycling as well as saving money. I figured if I used the Army Painter washes I bought, the paint would be more than the plastic walls!

I started with a dull grey primer, using your generic primer from Wal-Mart. $4 for a can beats the $9 for a half size can and for scenery it works well enough for me. Then each set has its own colors laid on that. Initially I was hand painting details, and doing a poor job that looked bad. So I took an entirely different approach: the primer, then the dark wash for the shadows, then decided what to do for each set.

Each set as its own color scheme. The core set got a blue dry wash on first then a copper dry wash on top of that. Trying to make my ships scruffy and worn looking. Hopefully the last post or two back shows that okay, but I think they look better close up.

The AI center has a white wash, then I started painting the little buttons and things. I've got some clear plastic from a pasta box, and I've tried cutting to cover the monitor, but you can't really see it so not sure if I plan on doing that or not. I may try painting one side, then flipping to see if it shows up looking more like a glass screen. Experiments, I tell you!

The xenogeneis chamber is of course green on the dark wash. This set of rooms may be usable for fantasy as well.

The engine room uses that silvery blue paint to look more like stainless steel. Not sure how effective it works but I am happy enough with it for the moment.

Overall, generally happy though some things got too heavy a coat: I need to practice more obviously, which is true of everything. 

Finally, I bought some little tiny battery-powered lights that I am also going to mess around with. I am hoping to be able to use them to make torches on walls, or lights in the ship. Not sure why the Dwarf is aboard this ship, but I thought I needed a character for scale. Hmm, could also put the lights in the floor. Nice thing about these nano-lights is that I got a pair for $5 including wiring and a battery, so cheap enough to mess with. I bought 2 sets, so we'll see where this goes.

And looking through the door into the control room(pre-light)

And finally, I do have part of this organized in bins. And bins in bins :)  Got to thinking about how I would transport this stuff to a game session once we actually get back into face to face gaming. I'll have to pick and choose the things I will need but should be able to fit it all into 1 bin. I have one box full of skeleton minis. I must have liked them though I think one of the horses is missing a rider. Those are all old actual D&D metal minis from the 80s. Good times!

Finally, I really do need to get back to my Traveller solo game. Maybe tonight or tomorrow depending on time. I mowed the grass today (hopefully last time of the year) and found a ground nest full of bees. Who were quite angry with me. Only about 5 stings or so, and I am so glad I am not allergic to bees! Tomorrow is actually a pretty full day - gym, then Red Cross to give platelets, then meeting one of my gaming buddies who I have not seen since February or so! Turns out a game I've been holding on to over 35 years, and never played, is on his wish list. So hopefully I'll remember to bring him Starship Troopers and maybe, when we can get back to gaming face to face, we can add another game day that is not an RPG game as we both love (and both suck at apparently!) war games and other games.

True fact: I got into RPGs as I truly am a horrible tactician and strategist. I got tired of my 3 year younger neighbor beating me at every single game we played. Though I still had fun, it is nice to win once in a while!

And finally: if you can, give blood or platelets. I started decades ago, and it helps people who are going through the hell that is cancer. My wife barely survived 3 years ago, and while I don't think any of my platelets made it to her, I do know that they have gone to people that it literally means life and death to. And hey, I can see a Traveller adventure wrapped up around delivering plasma. In fact, there was an Amber Zone Chill in the Journal of the Travellers Aid Society #15 that dealt with this very thing. Hmm, maybe I need to reread all those Traveller magazines again.

More catchup, and slightly more revised Sir Zay

 After finding out I was looking at the wrong set of microlite rules and, you know, reading the last email from the DM with the current rules, finally got all the rules so some minor revisions. Most of these were made during our session 0 / session 1 game last Monday. Sir Zay was transported to the Galon Empire several weeks before our group gets together, and has fought in at least one battle against the dark tide rising out of the Warlands. While a follower of Pholtus, in this strange new land no one has heard of that god, but there is a god of the light, Peltos, Father of Light. Sir Zay has had many discussions after battles with the Sea Wolf, a leader of a human fighting force. Now in the city of Bastian, with his one time commander wounded beyond the touch of Sir Zay's healing hands, Sir Zay is starting a new path. Still in the battle against the dark, he has met up with new companions: Flick, a quiet dark Elf who seems to move with the Shadows; Stern whose name matches his demeanor, a monster hunter with a tragic story; and Father Tobias, a cleric of the Lady of the Hills, the Argent Lady. Our group has been brought to the Council of Five and tasked with retrieving manticore poison to fell the dire beast attacking the last city against the horde. 

Oddly, I actually have an entire page of notes I was trying to keep while playing. I've said that I want to grow into the skin of my character, and Sir Zay, raised since birth by his mother, a follower of Pholtus and a cadre of clerics, knows no other way to think. His father was not an adherent of that particular faith, and is one of the reasons, other than being the 8th child, he is wandering the world. He has a need to prove himself and his faith, and as Flick is a self-avowed atheist, I'll see if I can role play that without moving into parody or crossing any personal, real-life boundaries. So I'll have to verify with the player to make sure he understands it is all in-game. And in keeping with my general PG-13 approach to role playing games, we should be okay as that boundary also applies to the more philosophical elements of the game. And now I'll hop off that soap box. It was just a long-winded way of saying I am going to try and role play a cleric with a firm belief in his god and his attempts at adding more followers. Not that paladins do that as much as clerics, but that's my current version of the lawful good paladin I am playing.

Now, back to the character himself. Stats have all stayed the same (and oddly he is actually weaker than the other players in many ways, but I actually favor playing an underdog in some ways as it makes you think). And I do roll crappy when gaining hit points for leveling up.  

So we're still at strength 17, dexterity 14 and mind 14. He has +2 weapon mastery, soldier 2, aristocrat 4, Cleave, lay-on hands that cures 3d4, divine smite that acts as a silver weapon when attacking evil or undead if I read things correctly. He has a 23 hit points, armor class 17 and a single action point to use judiciously once per session. His weapons are as before - the great sword doing 2d6, the great ax for 1d10, a heavy cross-bos for 1d10 and a javelin for 1d6. He carries in addition to the regular adventuring gear equipment to maintain his armor. Each evening he meditates, and part of the meditation is a ritualistic yet effective cleaning and polishing of his armor. Not your traditional armor, it is more Asian styled similar to the image below but adorned with the sun and moon symbo; of Pholtus. It is, as noticed by his travelling companions, shiny though he does have a cloak should stealth be required. Or as stealthy as he can be wearing several pounds of chain armor.

Now I did say last weekend I'd try & get another Solo Traveller post in. So far there just has not been time and opportunity simultaneously. I have been working on painting the science fiction terrain tiles from my Kickstarter. I made my own wash that I am pretty happy with, and trying a few different things that the camera is not really picking up too well. The core set is the dark wash, then a heavy blue dry wash, then copper wash on top of that for the flat pieces and some other colors here and there. The AI control room will have the same dark wash, but trying for a lighter blue first layer of dry wash, then a light blue wash on that. The engine room has the dark wash and dark blue first dry wash, then a silver/blue wash on that for a more stainless steel approach. At least that was the idea. The xenogensis room is dark with a dark green wash to give us that Aliens vibe. I can use that in the Fantasy Trip as well I think. Below is my attempts at this so far. Going for a scuffed, well used Star Wars vs the pristine Star Trek ship style. None of my characters could ever afford the good ships :)

Corsairs: Session 7 - the capture of the Dancing Crestar And Epilogue

 Last episode, our crew had captured the Dancing Crester and maimed Captain Horn of the Alderil Empire, as well as almost mortally wounding the Lady Gysby of the Lathian States. Our first from Sleve did not help but at least did not kill her, while the Crester's ship doctor sewed up the captain. Ylervan pretty much wanted to just throw them off the mountain - the Ironblood justice is a bit more severe and final than that of Teboa.

By the time they get both ships docked, which required some manuevering for the Crester lacking both sails and rudder, Miss Baudelaire was quick to pillage the larger ship. I deemed this a store - a good take! They shuffled around the cargo as the rest of our adventurers went to the captain's cabin. Haven given their word (and I wish I could recall that term when you honorably surrender and will not cause problems later), Horn's primary concern was for his crew. He wanted to know that they would be safe and have a fair trial as they were following orders. Some discussions later, they name of Sir Wisym Pycey came up as the ultimate backer behind this particular mining operation, with the Lady Erin Gysby acting as the middle man, but getting her fair cut of the profits. 

Securing the ship, the group is called above board to the cries of the miners. Having wandered back up the mountain, but bereft of tools from the explosion in the mine and running for their lives. they wanted to know what they should do. While there was food for a few days, they were now essentially stranded on the mountain. It would be a few days hike to get back to some of the villages, so they were not helpless. Our crew decided not to do much with them, other than see if the other Dwarves would care to have a few more miners. These did appear to be people from outside of Teboa. However - despite their pleas of ignorance, they were still mining the repellium. Should they be brought back into town, they would be tried and convicted in the most likely case.

Ylervan makes a great sailing roll and the running repairs for the Fools Errand are completed and she is sky-worthy again, for at least relatively clear skies.

A bit later, the Fools Errand lifts off to revisit the Dwarven mine, carrying both the captain and the still unconcious Lady Gysby. They did think to check to see what she had on her person at this point, and found a small bag of coin and a well-creased map of an island, with the word home on it. As an aside, this may have been a poor reflection of One Piece's Nami: was she dealing with the Alderil Empire to free her home somehow? My original notes just indicate this was to be her last job and she wanted to retire a wealthy woman. Could be more to her than just a pretty face and a connection to the boss. Regardless, that may just be me after the fact. 

The Dwarves will take a few of the miners but not all. And I think this is where we pretty much stopped. And I can't entirely recall as my notes only consist of the 1 line, getting the ships docked.

Now, what will happen is that they will take the captain and Gysby to Coastone and drop them off with the constables. With their prize money they fix the ship, spending a week or two in port and living things up. Getting back to Chaydale and Sir Dayon Griffiths, they will be given ownership of the Fools Errand and somehow Sleve, our smooth talking wanderer, is made captain. Reading the rules on being a captain, it actually fits him in some ways. 

So we're set up for the next adventures in a very large sandbox. I'll have to generate some ideas sot see what they would like to do next.

And as per my previous post, the first supplement for Corsairs came out, and it really expands on ship options, sailing, and a few other things. The ship will become yet another character essentially with a few optional traits. What is cool is that they do present the swivel gun, which we already added to the ship./ But, she now has a reputation from defeating a larger ship that also had a big reputation from the war. 

I still need to read the entire supplement, but looks like we now have some better rules for giving chase, dealing with altitudes, fighting behemeths and a few other things. Made ne want to keep playing, despite my somewhat limited endurance for running games. 

At some point I'll see about doing a game review of both Corsairs and the supplement. Having not really done a game review before should be an interesting first try at any rate.

Sir Dayton Griffiths, our patron for the Fools Errand. There will be a letter of marque for our crew and they can chase adventure forthwith!

Sir Zay Mk II

 Sir Zay of Nyron was a D&D character I played for a few sessions and managed to get up to a 3rd level paladin. I do think the leveling up happened too fast but that is an artifact of the way our gaming club did things: we alternated 2 month sessions with 1 month sessions, and rarely went back into a previous game world. And most people prefer playing at a more heroic scale, so most of the games we either start higher than beginning characters or the leveling up gets accelerated. For me, it makes some things seem rushed but that is just the way the in-person group played. Now that we are remote playing via Skype mostly, and we've a smaller sub-group of the gaming club, we've changed how we do things a bit. Essentially still rotating games, but we play an adventure until it is done or at a good stopping place before moving to the next game. While we've not yet gone back to any previous games, the seeds have been planted as I got some favorable responses to running a Traveller game from where we left off. 

And of course, being allowed to transport the same character from the D&D to the microlite version means I do get to play Sir Zay, my somewhat self-doubting paladin.

So, starting with the pure D&D stats, which are a 3d6 range as is the microlite, we should be able to translate the stats 1:1. However, I'll also accommodate any class and racial bonuses so that the end result matches what I think it should be. There will be some GM feedback eventually. Note that for initial stats for a random character he is wanting us to to 2d6 + 6, so initial stats will be generally above the average for 3d6 of 10.5 (the average of any dice roll is given by ( ( Max Die Roll + 1 ) / 2 ) * Number of Same-Sided Dice )

• Strength: 17. While 17 is the range this character should end up, as he is a fighter and a +2 to strength, we'll put his strength at 15, then add in the +2 for the same 17. For the Fantasy Trip, 17 is really high for a character with a lot of experience. However, being 3rd level give him some experience, and I want to see about keeping this to a 40 point character. We'll go with the microlite pre-class adjustment of 15 but drop even more to 14, which is statistically not as high when comparing systems. But I do want to keep the character from being too unbeatable. But we'll bump that up later with the toughness skill to give him an effective 17 hit points as well.
• Dexterity: 14. Certainly well within our range. As there are no other bonuses and this fits within the range, we'll leave it as is for microlite. For the Fantasy Trip, 14 is pretty good, though with his plate mail it would drop his chances to hit. Seeing as he is a paladin I may give a bonus on his armor, so we'll drop his DX to 13.
• Mind (IQ in D&D & TFT): 14. As with the dexterity, for the microlite we'll leave that as is. For TFT, as I am aiming for a 40 point character is considered formidable (see p 16). We'll match this to the dexterity as they are the same in the D&D stats, so 13. This gives us the 40 point character.

The other D&D stats (constitution, wisdom and charisma) don't exist in the other games, though they can translate out as skills and backgrounds. 

And Sir Zay is human and carries quite a pedigree.

Looking over the fighter's background skills, we have thief, powder engineer, soldier, aristocrat and clergy. We can take thief and powder engineer off of our list of backgrounds. His primary background is aristocracy, so we have that at +3. Splitting up the 8 remaining points on really the 2 remaining base backgrounds makes those too high, so we'll do a +2 clergy as he has taken his vow, and a +2 to soldier as he is a soldier as he is a paladin for Pholtus. That leaves us 4 more points for background which I'll have to discuss with the GM as I am not entirely sure if we can pick from other race backgrounds. Though the humans are adaptable so get a +1 to all skill or task rolls.

For the Fantasy Trip, we obviously need the weapon skills. Sir Zay uses a longsword (Sword [2]), javelin (pole weapons [2]), heavy cross bow (bow [2]) and a battle axe (Ax/mace [2]) and we'll assume knife at 1, This is 9 of his 13 IQ points. Looking back at the original character sheet, he has a 16 charisma so we'll throw in charisma [2]. Laying on hands is a divine skill, but as magic uses ST (similar to the microlite rules), we'll just use the physickers ability [2] to mimic that a bit. The aid spell in the rules is too expensive both by dint of magic costing 3x the points to learn for a non-magic user, as well as too costly in terms of the character. We'll finally throw in 1 level of toughness [2] for a total of 15 points. Combined with his increased stats and my goal of the 40 point character with some experience, that is probably about right.

Microlite Sir Zay of Nyron

Strength: 15/17 with fighter bonus Dexterity 14 Mind 14

Background: Aristocrat +3, soldier +2, cleric +2

Skills: Martial (sword, bow, pole and ax weapons; a well rounded fighter). I think cleave may be the ax skill but unsure.  favored weapon being his longsword. He also carries a heavy cross bow, javelin, battle ax and a wide assortment of knives.

Fantasy Trip Sir Zay of Nyron

ST: 14 DX: 13 adjDX: 12 IQ: 13

Skills: Sword, Pole Weapons, Bow, Ax/Mace, Knife, Charisma, Physicker, Toughness

Armor: +2 DX chain armor (3) and toughness (1) for 4 protection

Weapons: 2 handed bastard sword (2d+2), javelin (1d-1), heavy cross bow (3d), battle axe (3d), knife (1d-1)

Background notes

This applies to all the game worlds this character gets played in.

Coming from a noble family, Sir Zay grew up learning both the martial arts and the aristocratic graces from an early age. His mother was an adherent of Pholtus, so young Sir Zay was also brought up to revere the god of light and spent many a day with the clergy as well. The 8th child of his father, and the 4th child from his father's 2nd and much younger wife, led Sir Zay to often be the butt of family jokes. Insecure and knowing he was an expendable noble, he trained exceptionably hard, and on his 18th birthday, left Nyron to explore the greater world, and to prove himself worthy of the family name by dint of courage and action, not mere accident of birth. 

His travels honed his martial arts, and, not neglecting his religious vows, also sought out chapels and clerics to further his devotion. He swore the Oath of Devotion and is bound to justice and order. This gives him some connection to Pholtus and he been known to smite down his enemies, sword flaming with the Light of Pholtus.

He is quite good looking and carries himself with a graceful ease no matter his surroundings. Sir Zay can charm most people and is an earnest listener as well. He cleans his chain mail daily when possible, so that it gleams even in dim light. His sword gleams with an inner light at times, and Sir Zay tends to be a bit more fastidious than most wandering arms men.  Quite good looking, Sir Zay gets along not only with nobility but also the common man. Being the youngest child, his elder siblings, especially those of his father's first wife, teased him mercilessly and he often took refuge in the vast kitchens and actually talked with the servants and learned that they too had lives of their own with their own hopes and dreams.

While he does have lands and titles and could wield significant political influence in the kingdom of Nyron, he is wandering distant lands and has left his holdings in the care of his siblings. There may or may not be a lot left upon his return.

New game world notes

So - how does our Sir Zay end up in the new game world? Last time the character was in use was in the early stages of the  Ravencroft adventure. As that was more than a year ago all I can recall is that we were just in the area where we could see the castle looming above us. One evening, Sir Zay, fully loaded with weapons, leaves the fire the heed the call of nature. One thing his adventures have taught his is always go fully prepared for anything. While in the midst of relieving himself, his is inadvertently passed through a portal, to end up urinating on a guard in the new world. Angry and surprised, the guard names our Sir Zay Pee Boy and sadly that nickname may persist. Bewildered but wanting to do right, Sir Zay will join the battle for good against the darkness. Does Pholtus hold any sway in this realm? Only the gods will know (and perhaps Sir Zay at some point).

Between games

 We finished off that arc of the Corsairs adventure last Monday. I'll be doing a recap over this 3 day weekend sometime with any luck. The next game is  microlite D&D style adventure, and I am managing to bring back Sir Zay. As I only got a few sessions with him in the actual D&D game, he will be transported via an odd gate to the new world. I just have to translate out his D&D stats, skills and all that to the new game system. So expect a post on that process as well!

I also got the first supplement to Corsairs, and it is very exciting! It greatly expands on ship options, from additional, more detailed guns and gun options, to more sailing rules and a few other things. My first go over really got me wanting to play more Corsairs! I will have to actually print this out myself when the game from Australia shows up (it is in the mail, but mail has been wonky, especially international mail). One of the interesting aspects is a ship's reputation. The Fools Errand gained 2 reputation points - 1 for defeating a larger ship, and another as that ship had a reputation from the wars (yes, retrofitting some of the new and optional rules). So the ship, like a Traveller ship, starts to become part character in of itself. 

It just takes time to develop those personality quirks and things, which is why I am so happy to bring back a character I only got to play for about 7 sessions. I want to play a character over years if possible, both game years and real time years. In college my Scout, Captain Nathan Brazil (hey, I was reading the Well World series when I started, and the name is cool) got in about 2 year of real time game play. I should really bring him back as an NPC or patron in a Traveller game - still have his character sheet around here someplace (looks over the piles of gaming material surrounding the desk like a palisade and realizes it may require some really good navigation or lore rolls to find).  And it is okay to play the same character in different games: I could translate our paladin Sir Zay to the Fantasy Trip (and I might at that, but at a 3rd level D&D character he is certainly not a 32 point beginning character).  

And (stream of consciousness here) I like to be able to figure out who my characters are. I generally play variations of myself, or what I'd like myself to be. I don't think I've ever played an evil character, or a malicious one. The farthest I got from me was that Traveller Marine character: gung-ho, shoot first and let other people ask the questions. She was cool - the game misjumped into D&D (the GM wanted to play that using the characters we started in a Traveller game). They ended up popping out next to a dragon, who was quite angry. So I was buzzing about in powered combat armor with grav belts and a fusion gun. The dragon & I both died leaving some large craters in the ground, but a goddess (and I cannot recall after almost 40 years!) liked what she saw & my character came back. With wings so she could still fly!  I still have the mini I bought for that (think it is really an angel type but close enough!) Those are the gonzo things I need to let loose with more often, instead of playing a somewhat idealized version of me. Which is interesting coming from me as I do complain about people playing the same character in every game. Hmm, a little bit of Freudian projection there? Or was that Jung? Sorry - 40 years since I took any psychology classes as well, though it turns out when I looked at my transcript a few years back I was pretty close to having a minor in psychology. Never noticed at the time. See - stream of consciousness!

Anyway, this is mostly a "filler" post. I hope to get at least 2, maybe 3 posts done this weekend:

• Sir Zay conversion to the microlite setting, along with some background notes. probably try my hand at a Fantasy Trip conversion as well
• Corsair end game recap, which includes some post-game things and options for our next round
• Solo Traveller. no, I've not forgotten it! Just seems to be a lack of time and inclination simultaneously!

And I hope everyone has a great weekend, and for those of us lucky enough for a 3 day weekend, a nice 3 day weekend!