Must have been in Mercenary...

Finally, for the first time in around 20 years or so, I have a copy of the revised edition (1981) of Traveller Book 1: Characters and Combat.

This is like the one I originally had, back in the day. I loaned it to a guy and never saw it again. Bastard.

Anyway, I could have sworn that it was in there somewhere, that if a Marine character got Blade Combat as a skill and wanted to specify it as any blade weapon other than the Cutlass, that he had to roll something (11+ if I recall) to "buck the customs of the service" and do so -- otherwise, he had to take the skill as Cutlass.

I loved that little rule. It said so much about the Marines as a whole, right there.

Anyway, I also got a copy of the rules and map (but not the box or the counters) for Snapshot, which was the boardgame of personal combat aboard spaceships.

I'm going to use Snapshot to expand the individual combat rules and Beyond Book Two to expand the spaceship construction/combat rules.

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to set this in the Official Traveller Universe or not, but I really don't want to use any of the expanded character generation from Book 4 and beyond.

Also, I really don't know when (or even if) I'm going to run this. But it'll be nice to know I have it, in case an opportunity comes up.

Points of Light

Rather than trying to write a better review than Grognardia, I figured I'd just post a link. Go read it.

More on Caesar Fantasy Miniatures

As you can see, I took to heart the fourth lesson from my last post. ;)

Anyway on the left is one of the skeletons from the Caesar Miniatures Undead package.

On the right is the skeleton from the D&D Basic Game (3.5 edition) from Wizards of the Coast. Now, this guy is crouching down (an artifact of the plastic they use, I think, or else he's just that way because he was smushed) or else you'd see that the Caesar fellow is about 2/3 the height.

In another, unphotographed, comparison, he's a bit taller than a Halfling Brawler, if you're familiar with that figure.

Now, the WOTC figs are somewhat taller than the old 25mm "standard". This scale creep is sometimes called 28mm, Heroic 25mm, or even 30mm.

My figures may be much smaller, but at least I can carry more of them for less weight and in a smaller box, to boot.


I didn't get around to doing any dipping last night. Tonight, I hope -- the stuff requires adequate ventilation, so I generally do it outdoors. We'll see.

Lessons learned about photographing miniatures

The first lesson I've learned about photographing miniatures is: Don't do it late at night when you're tired.

The second lesson I've learned is: Don't just say that you've switched your camera to the "close up" setting, ACTUALLY SWITCH your camera to the "close up" setting.

The third lesson I've learned is: Use a tripod.

The fourth lesson I've learned is: Use enough light.


These photos reflect the application of the first three of those lessons.

These are my skeletons. First the back, then the front.

Painting results

I never said I was a great painter, but apparently I'm a really lousy photographer.

I took a picture of the primed skeletons, and then two more of them when they were painted.

And none of them came out well at all.

They're blurry, the detail is all lost (and I was even using the setting on my camera for close up work, too!).

But the painting looks okay.

I'm going to let them dry for a day and then dip them.

And I'll have my girlfriend take the pictures when they're done; her pictures always seem to come out okay.

A painting we will go...

I have to start painting my Caesar fantasy miniatures sooner or later, so I might as well start tonight.

I found my primer last night and primed up the skeletons (scroll down on the link above until you get to the Undead). We'll see how it goes; I've never painted 1/72 plastic figures before.

There are a few painting guides out there, but I'm a bit leery of trying to use Elmer's Glue as a primer...anyway, the regular stuff I use (from the Armory) seemed to stick okay. The problem of course with plastics is that they bend, and when they do, the paint flakes.

And anyway, I'll be using Miracle Dip as a final coat, so that should hold everything together.


I hope.

Pictures tonight when I get something done...

Encounter Critical!

I had never created a character for Encounter Critical. Until now, that is.

For those of you who don't know, Encounter Critical is an absolutely brilliant game designed by a pair of crazies in Wisconsin back in the late 70s. Except, of course, that it's not. It was really designed by S. John Ross, of Risus fame, as an homage to those games of yesteryear, and (incidentally) as a hoax.

We now know the truth, but still the game is beloved by a rare few who "get it". I'm hoping I'll be one of those few. Right now, I'm still in the early stages. (I went through this with Risus, as well, so I think I know how it goes...)

Anyway, without further ado, here's my character:

Character Name...Zarko
Player Name......Coffee

Class............Criminal
Race.............Planetary Ape
Level............1

Adaptation...... 7
Dexterity ......15
ESP.............11
Intellect.......15
Leadership...... 6
Luck............11
Magic Power..... 8
Robot Nature....14
Strength........11

HP...................12
Ranged Damage........+4
Melee Damage.........+0

Mutations
(none)

Alchemist.............14%
Appease...............38%
Argue.................66%
Camping...............23%
Clue..................27%
Command...............34%
Command Energy........27%
Command Matter........23%
Conjure...............01%
Consume Alien Food....03%
Crowd Manipulate......11%
Enrich................20%
Ensorcel..............57%
EXP Bonus.............12%
Fake..................17%
Great Feat............16%
Guard.................69%
Happenstance..........23%
Illicit...............01%
Invisibility..........52%
Labor.................92%
Lesser Feat...........74%
Logic.................91%
Machine Friend........40%
Magical Attack........16%
Melee Attack..........55%
Mistaken Identity.....14%
Monster Friend........16%
Murder................15%
Psi Resist............58%
Psychic Implant.......14%
Ranged Attack.........73%
Read Minds............15%
Restore Courage.......16%
Saving Throw..........37%
Scholarship...........73%
Seduce................08%
See Future............05%
Sneak.................51%
Sneak Attack..........62%
Steal.................35%
Survival..............40%
Unpleasant Order......70%


GC: 700


Equipment:

.45 automatic pistol, w/addl ammo 365 + 3.65 + 3.65 = 372.3
Theskian Dagger, 2.............................6 + 6 = 12
Bulletproof vest....................................... 60

Canteen................................................ 9
Lockpicking tools......................................223
5 days rations......................................... 5
Utility belt with pouches.............................. 5
60' of good rope....................................... 10

Leaves: 3.7 GC



This is for an online EC game that's going to happen over at the RPG site. Here's the link to the sign-up thread over there, if for no other reason that I don't forget it:

http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=11458