2021 in Review

 As is tradition around here, I review my gaming experience during the year, Let's take a look.

2021's Top 5

These are my most viewed posts from 2021.

# 5 is the Tomb of An-Makeran, a Khamen & Candorra RPG adventure.

# 4 is Battle of Blastof Heath Using MicroBattle. wherein I play the classic scenario from Young and Lawford's CHARGE! or How to Play Wargames.

# 3 is Trouble at Threshold Station, wherein I adapt a Hero Kids adventure to my own RPG rules.

Technically, my second most viewed post this year was my assessment of Squad Hammer. It gets disqualified because I wrote it in 2018, so

# 2 goes to my analysis of determining to hit in RPGs and my application to my own RPG rules.

And # 1 is MicroBattle 2021, my quick-play rules for battles using very small figures in small spaces.

2021's Trends

In January, I was playing around with my MicroBattle rules and even applied them to an RPG (Trouble at Threshold Station as mentioned above.

I began a new horse & musket campaign in February. Once again, my imagi-nations of Bluderia and Redgrave battled for supremacy.

The campaign was interrupted when I got bit by the Byzantine bug. I managed a Byzantine scenario

But I spent a lot of time prepping for my resumption of LARPing and my establishing a Byzantine-themed unit.

My Byzantine garb.

And a new unit shield.

This new kick did lead to experiments with gladiator fights and chariot races. I still need to finish painting my chariots so here is a picture of two fantasy figures fighting in the arena.

In the summer, I was inspired by the new Osprey grand tactical Napoleonic rules, Absolute Emperor. I returned to my horse & musket imagi-nations and finished the campaign. Once again, Redgrave reigned supreme.

I then toyed with a Byzantine-themed skirmish project, but it never really went anywhere. Instead, I resumed an RPG campaign with my "heroes" Tweedle & Dunh. Most of their adventures were "theater of the mind," but I managed a few shots with miniatures.

Then, I briefly did a sci-fi scenario inspired by West End Games' Price of Freedom RPG, essentially an RPG version of Red Dawn. My cat, Cooper, watched over the battle.

For Halloween, I did a virtual RPG session with my wife and brothers (one lives in New York City and the other a few miles away in sunny South Florida). They unraveled the mystery of Caede Manor..

And then my gaming went into a major slump. I made a few posts about LARPing, but I didn't play any games for several weeks!

2021 Prognostication Review

I look back at my predictions for 2021 and see how badly I did.

• LARP posts - with vaccines coming out and COVID restrictions ending, I expected to post more about my LARPing hobby (call it 1 to 1 wargaming). I got that right as I returned to the LARP battlefield and posted about it 8 times during the year. What I did not expect was to go on a Byzantine kick and develop a unit and persona based on that theme (no pun intended).
• MicroBattle - I planned to expand MicroBattle to skirmish and RPG. I managed to use it for RPGs, such as my Tweedle & Dunh adventures from September and October. I never managed to work up a skirmish set, largely due to the lack of figures for skirmish game. No, I did not complete a final version by year's end.
• Settle on a Character - I kind of did this, focusing on Tweedle & Dunh this year.

OK, not horribly wrong.

What I did not expect was my horrible November - December slump. I went several weeks without a game, and did not even bother to post anything some weeks.

A Mini Minis Game Project

Last year, I moved my 3mm MicroBattle miniatures and accoutrements to a nice 9" x 12" box. I then picked some more boxes of the same size from GMT Games, planning to move my 10mm miniatures and RPG items to those.

Well now, that leaves me with a couple of nice 6" x 8" boxes. On a whim, I decided to create a mini mini game set up that will fit in the box.

Here is my initial version.

On the left, inside the box itself, I have:

• A plastic box that I will use to store miniatures. The picture shows it with blocks.
• Some dice

On the right, sitting on the box top I have:

• A 5" x 7" gridded board made up of felt glued to cardboard
• Various terrain (river, hills, woods, and a road. No buildings yet)

My initial experiments with MicroBattle featured armies of 4 units. I think I'll return to that setup for this kit.

I want to add buildings and 3mm miniatures. Here are my plans.

• I ordered Monopoly style buildings from Pico Armor. I'll paint them in Roman and northern Europe styles.
• I will build two ancient/medieval armies composed of 3 units each of heavy infantry, light infantry, and cavalry.
• I will use my left-over Magister Militum cavalry and archers
• I need heavy infantry so I ordered some O8 legionnaires from Pico Armor
• I plan to use MicroBattle, possibly with enhancements based on Sellswords and Spellslingers. I may transcribe the rules onto index cards.

That's the project so far. Stay tuned for updates.

Inspiration from Sellswords and Spellslingers

I have been intrigued by a recent post on Lead Adventure forum that compared Ganesha Games' Sellswords and Spellslingers (S&S) to Rangers of Shadow Deep.

I have Rangers although I never played the rules. Nevertheless, I really like the background and scenarios, and have adapted them to my own RPG rules.

I've heard of S&S before but refrained from picking it up because (a) it uses D20s and (b) it uses cards. I have an aversion to both of these traits. Yet some of the comments on LAF about its solo suitability piqued my interest. I decided to get it and see.

After reading through it, I won't be playing it as is. Instead, like many games, I'll convert it to my MicroBattle rules. However, there are some aspects about its solo mechanism that I like and will look to incorporate.

• I like that you never roll activations for the NPC bad guys. Instead, failed activation rolls for your troops translate to possible enemy activations, depending on the card draw. This seems like a streamlined way to handle enemies. I may ditch the cards and create an enemy activation table instead, but I like the general concept.
• Enemies don't roll in melee. Instead, you roll for your figures. If they miss, the enemy hits instead. Again, super streamlined. I'd like to experiment with it.

I've been dabbling with these mechanisms and will post about it soon.

Merry Christmas!

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2: 8-11 NIV) 

May Christ bless you on this most blessed day.

More Twelve Games

Looks like I am proceeding with the Twelve Games of Christmas during my vacation time. Here's what I have played.

Game 1 (Sat. 12/18) - As I previously mentioned, my wife and I played Forbidden Desert.

Game 2 (Sun. 12/19) - I played The Lost Expedition solo, although my cat Thomasina watched.

I picked this up during a short-lived jungle exploration kick. By the time I got it, my interest waned and it sat unopened in my closet. Looking for something to play, I decided to give it a chance. I'm not going to do a full analysis here. Suffice it to say that it felt very random, and naturally all my explorers died.

Game 3 (Mon. 12/20) - I recently discovered Operation Last Train, a free sci-fi game by Joseph McCullough (of Frostgrave et. al. fame). The concept is that a small force of soldiers drop onto a bug-infested planet to save any survivors. Rather than play the rules as written, I adapted the concept to MicroBattle.

My troopers (bottom) arrive at an embattled farmstead. They see some green hellions (I don't have bugs so Khurasan's mini-hellions filled in) near the main building.

Communications failed so no pictures (translation - I was too lazy to document the mission fully) Privates Able and Baker advanced on the left, reaching the left-most buildings and rescuing 6 survivors. 

Sergeant Hawke led Privates Charles and Daniels on the right. They were attacked by a swarm of hellions. Charles went down but they managed to wipe out the little beasts. Sergeant Hawke reached the third building, when five of the hellions jumped him. He went down, followed shortly thereafter by Daniels.

As the hellions rushed at them, Able and Baker escorted the survivors onto the waiting dropship (off board) and managed to lift off.

As they began to fly, they noticed that Sgt. Hawke had activated his rescue beacon. The dropship managed to swoop down so they could grab the sergeant.  

Per the rules, there is a chance for downed troopers to make it out. Sgt. Hawke made his roll, so I created this little bit of fiction. Charles and Daniels, however, ...

Then they blasted off from the planet.

This was a fun game with quite a bit of suspense. I used MicroBattle's random activation/movement, which increased the tension. Just meters away from the dropship. Able's group of survivors froze for 2 turns while the hellions drew nearer. Fortunately, heavy gunfire cut the beasts down before they could get to the survivors.

Game 4 (Tues. 12/21) - Met up with my brother, who is visiting from NYC, to play Dual Powers. My brother gave it to me last Christmas, but I never had a chance to play (I did not realize until today that it has solitaire rules).

It is essentially a resource management game set during the Russian Revolution. I played the Whites vs my brother's Reds. We muddled through learning the game, and made a lot of mistakes. In the penultimate turn, I was able to wrest control of a key sector of the capital, winning the game.

Game 5 (also Tues. 12/21) - To entertain our cat, I pulled out a game in the evening. I chose an oldie but goodie, Elder Sign. I played solo and was a bit pessimistic about my chances because I am a very bad die roller. But I got hot, and easily sealed off the gates before Yog Shothoth appeared.

Game 6 (Wed. 12/22) - My wife fell asleep early so I could not set up the gaming table lest I wake her. But I had to play a game for Thomasina. Therefore I took to my Switch and played video Yahtzee. It counts. right? Sure, why not.

Game 7 (Thurs 12/23) - I tried to make it across the Oregon Trail. Here's how my characters did.

In my first expedition, Lil' Jeb died of dysentery, Jim Bob died from a snake bite, and then Mary Sue succumbed to typhoid. The numbers show how far along the trail they got before dying. Given that you need 50 cards to get to Oregon, the expedition barely made it halfway.

I tried a second expedition, but brothers Zeke and Zeb both died of rattlesnake bites. And it was a very short game!

🎲🎲🎲

And so this is where I stand as of last night. Stay tuned for more games over the coming week.

Twelve Games of Christmas

We kicked off my Christmas vacation with a game!

My wife and I played Forbidden Desert, a game of archaeologic adventure in a, well you can guess.

Picture from the manufacturer's website

Does this mean that once again I have taken up the challenge of the Twelve Games of Christmas? It wasn't my intention. In fact, I have not attempted the challenge since 2018. However, I have been remiss in gaming lately, so maybe this is a way to redress the imbalance. We shall see.

No Bull

Wow, I have been silent for far too long.

I have been busy with LARP preparations and so have not done anything wargame wise.

Last weekend, this was our LARP opponent.

I spent a bit of time making the axe. The costume was simple. Some brown clothing combined with these horns.

Alas, I forgot to take a picture of the Minotaur.

Anyway, we initiated a couple of new players into the fold. I posted our story on my Paladin's Path blog.

LARP and more (or is it less)?

LARP

LARP has been dominating my time lately.

Recently I created a buckler using a foam kickboard.

It measures approximately 17 x 11 inches. I slapped the X (actually a chi) on with duct tape. It's just a placeholder until I paint something.

I did a photo shoot last weekend. I really like how this kit came out.

Our group is inspired by the Byzantine Empire so this is my attempt at a (somewhat) inexpensive kit. The tunic and pants cost <= $20 each. I made the helmet from a cheap Halloween costume item. The brigandine was a bit costlier, but not really needed for the game. It's something I already owned and thought it would look good.

Gaming

It has been a month since my last Tweedle adventure. I have the basic idea for the next one, but haven't got around to playing it. This is largely because I want to illustrate it with miniatures like last time, but the figures need to be painted. This is one of the drawbacks to minis in roleplaying games; you can quickly run out of figures unless you already have a large inventory of monsters.

Family Game Night

We did manage a family game night last weekend. We played Castle Panic, and just managed to stop the invading horde. We were left with just two towers and one wall.

We left the TV on downstairs, which distracted our cat Onyx and let us play the game in peace. Our cat Thomasina was happy.

Thank You Veterans

 May God bless you for your service.

The Chimera Legion Returns

Not much mini gaming going on lately because I've been preparing for the return of my LARP group after another COVID-driven shutdown. 

Just this year, my group switched organizations (Way of the Sword) and theme. We are now Byzantine-inspired unit known as the Chimera Legion.

As leader of the group, I've been making preparations. I need some loaner weapons so I built some swords (pictured here with a javelin)

I need some shields but don't have access to the proper foam just yet. Instead, I ordered a couple ready-made ones. I also created a welcome packet for new players. Here is a shot of the first page of the packet.

Our first meeting on Sunday was small but enjoyable. We only had 4 fighters show up. One was a newbie, so it was great to show him the ropes. Another made the trip all the way from Jacksonville (about a 5 hour drive!). He donated some cool gear to the group.

I meant to take some pictures but I forgot. :( Next time.

Looking forward to next week!

A Haunted Halloween Adventure

Last Saturday, I hosted an online roleplaying adventure for my wife and two brothers. Naturally, it had a Halloween theme. Here are some of the high points.

Background
The setting was New York in 1877 and the characters were monster hunters. I borrowed the premise from the old RPG Chill.

As neophyte members of SAVE, the investigator Sheerluck Holmes, the explorer Fearing Pangborn, and Dr. Sleep (my wife's character) had to investigate several disappearances in and around the town of Kilmore. The disappearances seemed to center around Caede Manor, a house with a bloody past and a reputation for being haunted.

The Manor House

The Adventure

Arriving in Kilmore, the investigators first visit the mayor, Emil Plumpf. His 12 year-old daughter is the latest to go missing. Plumpf informs them that his daughter was last seen heading to the manor at midnight accompanied by a tall, cloaked figure. There were also other disappearances, primarily from local farms. The mayor does assign a deputy, George, to assist them.

The investigators head to the manor. Once they pass through the gates to the property, the gates shut behind them, the sky grows dark, and they hear a howling. The front door is open, but they decide to circle around the house and enter through a back door.

Guests for Dinner

The first room they enter is the kitchen. A short, rotund man wielding bloody butcher knives beckons them to enter. When they do, they see a carved up human body. 

Cue sanity check. The Doctor is momentarily struck motionless by the horror.

As they try to take in the grisly scene, the chef attacks. Poor George is wounded before the Doctor slices open the crazed chef's throat. Sheerluck is a tab miffed that they could not capture and interrogate their assailant. However, he fashions a stake from the leg of a chair. 

Getting Medieval

They continue to investigate the house. In the drawing room, they find an extensive collection of medieval weapons, once owned by Hector Caede, the original resident of the manor. According to local legend, he acquired a longsword owned by Vlad Tepes. He then went crazy and slaughtered his family before escaping into the night. Fearing finds the fabled sword hanging over the mantlepiece.

As they examine the weapon, a suit of armor animates and attacks. Fearing uses the sword, but he begins to hear voices to kill the party. He drops the sword and pulls out his revolver.

Fearing passes his sanity check and can act as he pleases.

By this time, the Doctor has broken her scalpel and the haunted knight hacked off George's head. Fearing then unloads his ammo into the knight's face. Three 6s - Critical hit! The helmet flies off and the armor crashes to the ground.

In the aftermath, the investigators bind their wounds and arm themselves with some of the weapons in the room. Dr. Sleep chooses a spear, Fearing a dagger, and Sheerluck picks up Vlad's sword.

"Don't," warns Fearing. "I think it is cursed." Sheerluck hears voices that urge him to hold onto the sword. He listens to the voices instead of Fearing.

A Bad Night's Sleep

Next, they head to the second floor. They find some bedrooms with bloodstains. They come to the master bedroom and see a cloaked figure leaning over the bed. He turns, displayed two bloody fangs. They prepare to attack, but the figure turns into a mist and escapes out a window. They check the bed and find a farm girl lying on it. She is dead, drained of blood.

Suddenly a swarm of bats attacks the investigators. Fearing flees the room, but Sheerluck takes a moment to lop of the farm girl's head. He and the Doctor then exit as well, escaping from the swarm.

Attic Antics

They find a staircase to the attic. Hearing muffled sobs, they rush up to investigate. Entering a storeroom, they are suddenly attacked by a man with rotting skin. Fearing blasts its head off, but he feels a breeze as a blade passes close by his head. He turns to see Sheerluck preparing to attack him again. 

Failed sanity check. I was actually going to give Sheerluck more time before he turned, but my brother decided to roleplay.

Fearing grapples the investigator and rips the sword from his hands.

Sheerluck is confused and mutters something about not knowing what he was doing. 

Another sanity check. This time he passes.

As he tries to recover his wits, another undead creature grabs him from behind. Fearing attacks with his dagger, wounding the creature. The Doctor finishes it off with her spear.

A Date with Death

Searching the room, they find a secret panel. It leads into a small room with a coffin. Fearing opens the coffin. A clawed hand lashes out and grabs him by the throat.

A vampire rises from the coffin.

"Who dares disturb my rest?!" he challenges as he continues to squeeze Fearing's throat. Fearing slashes at him with his dagger. Sheerluck attacks with his stake while Dr. Sleep uses her spear. Both manage to inflict severe wounds. But the vampire continues to choke Fearing until he breathes his last. Then the vampire chucks the corpse to the floor and leaps at the remaining investigators. The Doctor impales it and then Sheerluck stabs it in the heart. The vampire dissolves into ashes.

Rescue

Searching some more, the remaining investigators find the mayor's daughter and return her home. The mysterious disappearances cease, and life in Kilmore returns to normal.

But there has been a cost.

RIP Fearing Pangborn

(And don't forget George!)

Game Notes

I created the adventure myself, but I got some help. The picture and floor plan for the manor from This Old Haunted House, on Drivethrerpg.

For the rules, we used Tiny Cthulhu, part of the Tiny D6 series of RPGs.

Freedom for Firenzia

Introduction

On the independent planet of Firenzia, a pro-Imperial coup has ousted the democratic government. The Empire has surreptitiously sent in supplies and reinforcements to the new regime. The Federation is powerless to intervene.

But elements of the population have taken up arms against the oppressors. FREE FIRENZIA is their battle cry!

Background

I've been on vacation this past week. Actually it's a staycation so I had some time for some gaming. I don't have miniatures painted for my next RPG adventure so I decided to run a MicroBattle scenario. Initially I planned a Byzantine battle, but then I read this RPG Pub post. It got me interested in some freedom fighters vs. tyrannical government action. Now this background would work great as a skirmish game, but I don't have skirmish figures. I decided to go 3mm. I also decided to give it a futuristic spin in my sci fi universe.

Set Up

I decided to run a One Hour Wargame scenario. I randomly selected scenario 3 - control the river. 

The government forces (red) consist of 3 infantry companies, backed by 2 tanks and a self-propelled missile launcher.

The freedom fighters (blue) lack armor, but they have more infantry and a couple of artillery pieces (represented by horse & musket cannons; I don't have proper sci-fi artillery).

The Battle

Government forces (top) are advancing down the road to the rebel-held city of Eldridge. The rebels send their rag-tag troops to stop the advance.

Government forces reach the ford (signified by rocks) and bridge. The rebels begin shelling the advancing troops.

On the right, they manage to wipe out a company of government infantry.

Followed by one of the tanks (by the ford). However, another tank assaults rebel troops on the hill.

But it gets destroyed.

The rebels then push the government troops back across the river.

Victory for the forces of freedom!

I had some company while I played.

Family Game Night Fail

Back in July, I mentioned how we resumed family game nights, but moved to the bedroom so that our cat Thomasina could watch.

Well, we haven't been regular with it but still manage a game from time to time. Last Saturday we decided to give Thom a treat with a game.

When I started setting up, she was sleeping in our spare bedroom. By the time I had the game up, she came into the bedroom and took up her usual viewing position on her perch. We weren't feeling up for anything too complicated and Elizabeth was feeling nostalgic so we pulled out the venerable kid's game, Candyland.

Well, Thom watched for a couple of turns and then left the room. I guess it was too simplistic for her. Wow, judged by our cat.

We finished the night by playing Dead by Daylight on the Nintendo Switch.

Tales from the Woods

A Tweedle and Dunh Adventure

One day, Groombal orders our heroes, Tweedle and Dunh, to go into the woods to find briar heart. They'll need to cut down a tree so Dunh brings an axe.

A little ways into the woods, 3 crazed wolves attack.

Before they know it, the wolves are upon them. Tweedle does not have time to cast a spell, so he sets to it with his staff. He manages to KO the attacking him. He turns to help Dunh, who is beset by two. Dunh chops one with his axe and Tweedle takes out the next.

Later, they discover a pool of befouled water. Its contents are seeping through the forest, spreading corruption.

"Something's just not right about these woods." declares Tweedle. Dunh agrees.

Our heroes are attacked by 2 scorpions.

Tweedle casts mirror image to confuse them. One attacks the mirror images, dispelling two before Tweedle offs it. 

Dunh is having problems with the other. It inflicts multiple wounds; fortunately it does not poison Dunh. Finally, Tweedle and Dunh gang up on the last and kill it.

They proceed deeper in the woods. A shambling mound attacks.

Tweedle tries to scare it away with a fire illusion, but the spell fails. Dunh charges, and strikes his axe deep into its side. The axe gets stuck.

The thing grapples Dunh, dragging him into its slimy mass. But Dunh manages to free his arm and grab his sword. He strikes, severing pieces of vegetation from the creature. The thing recoils in pain, allowing Dunh to get free. 

Enraged, Dunh charges, slicing several bits from the creature. Finally, Tweedle smashes it with his staff, and the thing crumples lifeless.

By this time, Dunh is seriously wounded. But they are deep in the forest with no safe place to rest. They press on.

Finally, they come to a hut. They knock and a lovely druidess answers. She invites them into her stone-floored home.

Seeing Dunh's wounds, she offers a healing potion. Dunh reaches for it.

"Wait!" warns Tweedle. "Something is just not right here."

Dunh hesitates. The druidess' appearance changes. She transforms into a hideous hag! With a cry of anger, she fires a magic missile at Tweedle. It just grazes him!

The hag attacks Tweedle, but only manages to dispel his last mirror image. Tweedle casts a protection spell. It fails to stop the hag and she rends him with her claws.

Dunh turns to his friend's defense, chopping into the hag with his axe.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this thing!"

The hag continues to press Tweedle, rending him again. But Tweedle lashes out, smashing in the hag's skull.

🎲🎲🎲

Our heroes spend the night in the hut. They bind their wounds and get some rest. They even find some briar heart.

"I didn't even need this thing," Dunh complains about his axe.

Their return trip home is uneventful. They tell Groombal about their adventures. Surprisingly, he is gravely concerned.

"I don't think the hag was the source of the corruption. There is more evil in that forest than you have seen so far."

GAME NOTES

Lately, I've been watching a YouTube channel called Dungeon Craft. The host talks about a lot of RPG topics, including crafting terrain for use with miniatures. This inspired me to do a little crafting.

I sifted through my 10mm fantasy miniatures for some suitable figures. The best I could find for Dunh was an axe-wielding barbarian. I decided to create an adventure to explain why he switched from sword and shield to axe. Hence the trip to the woods.

I then needed some forest terrain. I had some green felt for the floor. I whipped up some trees using cork, corrugated cardboard, and pot scrubbers. I think they do the job.

I made the stone floor earlier in the week. It is inspired by Dungeon Craft, but much simpler and less realistic. I used corrugated cardboard because I have a lot of it lying around, thanks to ordering pet supplies from Chewy for my 4 cats.

Finally, I started painting some fantasy figures I had lying around.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed some actual pictures of my RPG adventures.

Tweedle's Arachnaphobia

A Tweedle & Dunh Adventure

They Meet Groombal

Once they ensure that the goblins do not return, Tweedle and Dunh resume their journey to town. After an uneventful trip, they arrive. They quickly get lost in the winding streets of the thriving metropolis. At least it seemed thriving to two country bumpkins.

"Now where could Groombal be?" pondered Dunh.

"Groombal?" a passerby replies. "He lives just around the corner, third door down."

I rolled a D6 to see what happened in town. I was just free-forming it, with a 1 being something bad and 6 being good fortune. I rolled a 6.

Soon they are in Groombal's curiosity shop.

"Go away! I don't need help." the elderly, bearded sage complained.

"But my master told me to bring you this book," replied Tweedle as he pulls the golden tome from his backpack.

Groombal stops shooing them from his shop.

"What is this?" he asks, as he takes the book.

Tweedle explains how they found the book, how Doc considered it dangerous, and how he tasked them to bring the book here.

Once Tweedle finished his tale, Groombal replies "Very well. You can stay here with me. But you need to work. I'm sure I can find something appropriate for you.

Into the Sewers

A week later, Tweedle and Dunh find themselves climbing down into the town's sewers.

"This is not what I had in mind when that old bat said we'd have to work!" complained Dunh as the noxious odor of the sewer caused him to wrinkle his nose 

"I know, Dunh. But he needs those spider glands for his research. And, well, that's what research assistants do."

They descend a rusting iron ladder into a room (1). It is swarming with cockroaches the size of a shield. The roaches attack. Both Tweedle and Dunh take wounds, but they fail to hit the roaches.

"Let's get out of here!" yells Tweedle. "Run into the next room!" Dunh nods and they charge through the bugs and into another room (2). Dunh nearly stumbles into a bear trap. They notice other traps in the room, some with a variety of crushed creepy crawlies in their teeth.

The Sewers

Leaving the trap room, they arrive at an intersection (3) and get ambushed by two giant spiders. 

One sinks its fangs into Tweedle, but he pulls away before it injects its poison. Dunh battles the other, slashing upward and slicing open its abdomen. The creature sinks to the ground. By this time, the other spider has Tweedle in his grip, slashing him with dripping fangs. Dunh attacks, practically slashing it into two.

Both are wounded, so they retreat to the previous room to rest and bind their wounds. Refreshed, they continue. They jump across a crevice (4). Dunh stumbles and falls, taking damage. They fight a swarm of smaller spiders (5), pass through an empty room (6) to a large room filled with the bones of past victims. Tweedle shivers in fear.

Note - he fails a Fear test so is -1 for the rest of the adventure.

Backtracking, they fight through some wandering spiders and come to a large room (8), with a nest of eggs. A giant spider attacks them, but they quickly kill it and then destroy the eggs.

Next, they pass through an empty room (9) and a webbed corridor (10). As they struggle through the webs, small spiders bite them, further sapping their strength.

In the next room (11), they come face to face with the queen spider. While Dunh charges, Tweedle casts his mirror image illusion; three more Tweedles appear. The spider flings a web at Dunh. He dodges and set upon the queen. It sinks its fangs into him. He begins to feel woozy from the poison.

At this point, Tweedle considers retreat. He can't see how they can win.

Seriously, at this point, I considers a withdrawal. But I stuck it out.

Then he has an idea. Tweedle rushes up and begins prodding the creature's eyes. It turns on him.

"Tweedle, don't!" cries a shaken Dunh. "It'll get you!"

"I know what I'm doing! Just hit it!"

Tweedle keeps dodging and prodding, provoking the spider. It strikes, but merely dispels an illusory Tweedle. Dunh attacks from behind, but his attack bounces off the spider queen's thick carapace.

"You need to hit it from underneath." calls Tweedle.

"Can you get it to rear up?"

Tweedle smashes the beasts eyes. It rears, hissing in rage. Dunh stabs it. It lashes out, dispelling another fake Tweedle. Again, Tweedle provokes it into rearing. Again, Dunh stabs. This time his blade sinks deep into the spider's soft underbelly. Green ichor flows from it. It convulses and dies.

The retrieve the spider queen's venom sac, and find a few coins. They return victorious to their new master.

GAME NOTES

Once again, I used my MicroQuest rules with a Micro Chapbook adventure.

I experimented today with monster cards. I jotted the monster info on index cards, shuffled them, and then picked the encounter for each room. At one point, I defeated a somewhat difficult foe, and thought to myself, "I won't see that again." That event turned me against the cards; there was less uncertainty about what lay ahead because I could not roll up the same monster again. I think I'll stick with tables for future adventures.

The Adventures of Dirk Daring

Introduction to Dirk Daring

Dirk Daring, a famed stunt pilot, is serving with the Lucranian Air Force in its war against the evil Reich. This day, he is testing some engine modifications recommended by his engineer, the talented and lovely  Sally Sweeting. She accompanies him this day.

They are beset by two Reich fighters - Cobras.

With some deft maneuvering, Dirk gets on their tails. He pulls the trigger and ...

Nothing. "Curses, a jam!" Dirk shouts.

He manages to clear the jam and tracks down one of the Cobras. But the other has crept behind him. Shots ring out.

Dirk barrel rolls, and escapes damage.

Some nifty maneuvering allows Dirk to turn the tables. He fires!

One Cobra goes down in flames.

The remaining Cobra doesn't stand a chance.

At this point, Sally calls out. "There's more of them!"

Dirk looks. It's an entire squadron!

"Sally, my dear. I think it's time to get out of here. Let's see what this new engine can do!"

Dirk guns it, and their craft pulls away from the pursuit.

Dirk is looking behind when a ball of light suddenly materializes in front of their plane.

"Look out!" cries Sally.

But it is too late! Their plane flies right into the ball. There is a crash, then everything turns black.

What happened to Dirk and Sally? Find out next time!

GAME NOTES

WARNING - Spoiler Alert

If you want to be surprised by Dirk's fate, you should skip these notes.

Anyway, my bout of RPGADD continues. I'm back to my homebrew, quick-play MicroQuest rules. Once of my goals with MQ is to have a set of rules that can handle any era. I decided to experiment with this premise. I figure the best way to test it is to run adventures across time and space. Sounds like a time travel RPG to me.

The Premise

For this campaign, I decided to reboot a character from some previous games. He first appeared in a dieselpunk Four Against Darkness variant then was featured in some air combat games. 

Now he's my time-tripping RPG hero. He'll be joined by his trusted engineer, Sally Sweeting.

I plan to take much of the setting from Timemaster, an 80's RPG that has been republished on Drivethrurpg.

The Dogfight

I decided to begin the campaign with a dogfight. Rather than use miniature rules, I decided to experiment with a quick-play RPG-style combat.

I borrowed some elements from Warbirds, a dieselpunk RPG about dueling pilots. Dogfighting is highly stylistic. Pilots make a maneuvering roll, with higher rollers being able to attack those with lower rolls. 

I adjusted the maneuvering rules to provide a degree of advantage. Winning by a small difference gives you a deflection shot but a large difference puts you on your enemy's tail.

Anyway, the rules seemed to work fine for a quick dogfight.

Tweedle vs the Goblins

A Tweedle & Dunh Adventure

The Heroes Depart
Excitedly, Tweedle and Dunh prepared for their journey to town. Doc gave Tweedle some last-minute advice, including a few protection spells. The heroes packed their meager belongings, said goodbye to their loved ones, and headed out.

After a few days journey, they came to a small village. There, they learned that goblins had been raiding the town. When Dunh proclaimed that Tweedle was a powerful wizard, the villagers prevailed upon them to confront the goblins.

Into the Mine

Our heroes proceeded to a formerly abandoned mine, now the lair of the goblins.

When they enter the mine shaft (1), Dunh trips and falls. Tweedle thinks he's been attacked.

"Where are they?!" Tweedle exclaims.

"It's OK, I just tripped over something." Dunh feels around, and pulls out a rusty sword.

"Junk," says Tweedle.

"I don't know. Look at these runes. It may be a valuable antique." Dunh decides to keep the sword.

They enter a small room (2) and see three goblins. 

Tweedle casts a mirror image illusion, but it fails. Instead, an illusion of a target appears on his chest.

Taking an idea from Dungeon Craft, I roll to see if a spell succeeds and I apply a backfire to critical failures.

"That's not a good sign." Tweedle thinks. Fortunately, Dunh wades into battle and wipes out the goblins.

Next (3), they defeat rats, and then run into some more goblins (4). Tweedle uses an illusion of a fireball to scare them off.

Ambush!

One flees straight (5) and the other left (6). Our heroes head straight, running into two more goblins, which they defeat easily. Then they pursue the other goblin. Hiding around a corner (6), it sneak attacks the heroes with a javelin, striking Tweedle.

The ambusher flees again. The heroes pursue into a warren of rooms and shafts (7 - 12), but the goblin escapes.

"Must be a secret exit," Tweedle opines. They look, but cannot find any. They do find some gold rocks (8) and a potion in a storeroom (11).

They backtrack, finding the goblin camp (13). It is empty except for a trio of goblin slingers. Once again, our heroes wipe them out.

The Goblin Chief

Finally, they come to a room with a makeshift bone throne. Upon it sits a huge goblin, with two smaller goblins flanking it.

"Kill the wizard!" the chief shouts in guttural Common speech. The goblins charge.

Tweedle again tries his mirror image spell. This time, another Tweedle appears. One of the guards engages Dunh, while the others charge at Tweedle. They quickly dispatch his avatar.

Dunh easily kills his opponent, then turns on the chief. The two start trading blows. Dunh gets some hits, but the chief has metal armor that deflects the blows. Meanwhile, the chief's cleaver cuts through Dunh's padded armor. Soon Dunh is bleeding from multiple cuts.

By now, Tweedle smashes the last guard. He turns to help Dunh. They hammer away at the chief, knocking off bits of armor. But it refuses to flee, and stands tall against the heroes.

Yet it's time is up, Tweedle and Dunh begin connecting with their strikes. It weakens and then falls dead.

In the room, they find a secret exit. The dirt floor is well-trodden. It appears that most of the goblin clan escaped.

Aftermath

Tweedle and Dunh return to the village's acclamation. The village elders prevail upon our heroes to stick around for several days, just in case the goblins return. They don't. It seems that Tweedle and Dunh frightened them out of the area.

A week later, our heroes resume their trip to town.

What happens in town? Tune in next time to find out!

GAME NOTES

Once again, I used my MicroQuest rules. The adventure came from the second scenario in the Micro Chapbook. I used Dungeon Map Doodler to map out the mine. I figured out how to do rough caverns.